The Crazy Me..!!

An Old Passion Rekindles ..

2006-10-31T04:40:00.000-08:00

Mid-terms are just around the corner, a huge pile of readings, cases, books and handouts to sift through; And the Summer Placements are here too -- a flurry of applications, a huge list of Pre-placement talks lined up, Shortlists arriving now and then, and a new 'Summer Prep Material' popping up in my mailbox every few hours; No time to read novels( My latest book 'Eragon' has been lying at my bedside waiting to be picked up...for long), No time to watch movies( No space on my hard disk, lotza 'must-watch' movies sitting there ) , and Games...ahh, a big NO-NO.

So what am I doing here ? In these dark and dire times, the busy schedules keeping me always on my feet, planning every possible minute in the day ? Simple answer, my fingers itch to start writing again. But haven't i been writing all those banal reports everyday for one course or the other ? What about the SOPs( Also known as Motivational Letters, duh! ) I have been writing for all those companies ? ( Even a Day 2 company wants a 500 word essay on how i have proved myself to be superman-or-something in my pathetic professional life ). Haven't i got enough dose of 'Creative Writing' all these days....

Nah! I had an overdose of writing about what a great person I am and how I fit into so called Great Company...I'm sick of it. I am here to write about things as they are, and as i feel...to vent out my frustrations, to record my little moments of glory, to shamelessly crib about the failures and just bitch about Life in B-School.

Life has drastically changed after entering this place of my dreams..and I can't miss a chance to rant and rave about it. The two week hiatus I had planned lasted for more than a season, well, that's what B-School is about. I sometimes wonder if this is Business School or a Busy School.

But now the calling has come...the calling to start writing..to continue with my crazy journal again...And here I am.

Off to Estivate

2006-06-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

Tommorrow is my Last day of work, and my halcyon days are at the end. The notice period have been real cool. Well, not everytime do one gets paid for coming to office sometime near noon, sitting in AC chatting and orkutting and downloading movies to watch over the night. Believe me, the post-resignation days are the best part of your association with your Organization.

So it's now time to get back to my home, sweet home; To peaceful slumber, delectable food and idleness. And throughout these days, I am gonna be completely isolated from the civilization err, internet. With no Net Cafe in the 20 kms circumference, and no system at home, It's gonna be just soccer and my books. I desperately hope that our cable operator has been kind enough to subscribe to ESPN.

So I'll take a brief respite for two weeks from blogging. And will start posting once I enter the only place to Be - IIMB.

Some Gyaan on CAT n Aftermath

2006-06-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

Duh! I am not fond of giving sermons, but I always end up doing exactly that. But this time I am not set out to deliver a litany of homilies, as I usually do. I am just in a funny mood to play with words, and decided to use this opportunity to etch my learnings on rock, err blog for posterity.

I have compiled my own experiences and those of my friends, and collated all the gaan bestowed upon me by my seniors n coaching centres and the so-called gurus over the past year and a half, as a valedictory note in a fitting tribute to one of the most exciting phases of my life. I will try best to keep it light and straight, entertaining and informative, a nice break from ur hectic prep. schedules. But remember that my writing style is no way near as gripping as the Ekta Kapoor's soap operas(phew!), and you are warned.

I'll start with a simple confession : I haven't cracked CAT, I have only cracked an IIM. With my percentile, IIMB has been the only IIM kind enough to call me, and I converted it. So I will try to concentrate more on the GD/PI part, where I feel I have performed better.

The Humble Beginnings

CAT is not just a test to take, It is a career decision. So, the first step is to do some soul searching to find out the precise reasons for pursuing MBA. Once you are clear about your motives, they themselves prove to be strong motivators.

It's not uncommon that people take CAT for the wrong reasons and in fact, for no apparent reason at all. Or the numbers of CAT applicants wouldn't be so great. The true IIM aspirants are in fact less than a quarter of the total applicants; your true competition lies there. And to list out some of the most common reasons :

The Big Bucks Theory : One of the wrong reasons. In fact the biggest and the most common illusion. But taking the realities into consideration, it can be seen that the Bucks aren't really so Big. People can earn loads more continuing in good old software field, without sweating much.

The Stagnant State Theory : A fear arising from the perceived state of stagnation of the career, esp. amongst the graduates, propels many to look for a masters degree, so as to avoid any skipped promotions citing inadequate qualifications. Happens among the workex guys and valid enough reason.

The Follow the Mob Theory : IIMs are considered the most prestigious institutes in the country, and the IIMers are considered to be the cream of the country. Naturally any fresher without any idea of what awaits him in the corporate world, would want to prove his mettle by getting into the most sought after institutes, expecting them to give him a gratifying career. The reasoning behind that : If they aren't that good, why would so many people slog so hard to get in.

The My Job Sucks Theory : Very common motive, esp. amongst the IT Professionals with a coupla years workex. I don't think it warrants any elaboration.

Most possibly, one or more of these would be your motive. But MBA is in fact bigger than these. And these reasons are not worth the effort you are gonna put in the coming few months. You will come to know the right reasons as you get along with your preparation. As you know more and more abt MBA, the illusions will fade and clear goals will form. The sooner you realize that, the better it is.

Now that you have taken the decision, what is the first step ? Get enrolled in some coaching institute. Which one ? It depends on your comfort because the cost, the material, the tests are almost same across all the Biggies. Now, Is it necessary to join an institute? Well, I feel it helps. It reminds you of your goal, keeps you on track and facilitates interaction with likeminded people etc etc. The most important factor is that it gives u a good peer group. Group work helps a lot in CAT.

And the next step, Plan your course. Plan it till the date of exam and stick to it. Plan it, unless you want to wake up one fine day to find out that you haven't completed half the reading material, whereas the mock cats are fast approaching. Believe me, that would be a nasty experience.

The Language, numbers and general awareness, the three things intrinsic to CAT are not something you can develop overnight. These require regular and consistent effort. Don't expect to improve your vocab mugging up wordlists in a month, you need to pick up words with context at most 10 a day. Vedic maths is not gonna help you, unless you practise them over a period. And Year book will not boost your GK all of a sudden, you need to follow day-to-day news.

Gunning up for the D-Day

You'll come across a lot of tip and tricks to crack CAT. I am listing down the most important of them, which you wouldn't want to miss.

1) Never Lose your Focus

It doesn't matter whether you start early or late, as long as you work in a focussed manner. Almost every one exhibits a great deal of zeal in the initial days, but as time goes on, the verve is lost. Only a determined and resolute aspirant can carry forth the same momentum till the final day. You may have to go on official trips, you may be plagued with illness, your boss may foist critical tasks on you, family problems and XYZ, whatever, remember it's your goal that is important and that is which matters in life. All others are temporary. Do not lose your focus for these ephemeral tensions.

2) It is not hardwork as long as u love it

Many times I was asked, " After slogging for five days in office, How do you manage to work over weekends for CAT ? Some hardwork !". Nope, It is not hard. It is not just weekends, I used to spend an hour or two on CAT after spending half the day in office. In fact I used to look forward to my preparation. It used to bring excitement and challenge to my humdrum existence. It wasn't hardwork, It was a relief ! So, feel passionate abt it, and you'll never have to wait for that dreadful study hour to be done with.

3) Do not Boil the Ocean

Sometimes Enthusiasm crosses the line and becomes over-enthusiasm. In such ebullience, people tend to read anything they can get their hands on and in the end they end up forgetting everything they had read. IMS classes, TIME tests, Career Launcher material, Vedic maths, Wren & Martin, Think without Ink, Word power, Barron's word lists....phew! Relax Guys, Don't just barge into the battlefiled. Have a tactical gameplan. Know what to read and what to leave. One set of material and one test series is enough. Do not overdo things, Just do whatever you do with concentration and get the basics right.

4) Fortify your strengths and fight your weaknesses

Generally, people tend to spend more time either on their strengths or weaknesses and neglect the other. If you concentrate on your weaknesses, you may miss cashing in on your strengths. And by sticking only to strengths, your fortunes lie in the hands of the paper-setter. So polish your strengths and make sure that you get comfortable with your weaknesses too, so that you dont have to miss the few sitters in the area.

5) Pluck the low hanging fruit

Most important. Though we were surprised last year with less number of questions than the number of minutes, generally CAT is all about picking the sitters in a huge heap of questions. So identify the easy topics, the ones you are comfortable with and pick those easy ones begging for your notice. Do not leave the entire section or topic. For example, take a look at DS, even if your DS stinks. You may spot an easy one. Browse through the Qns of the RCs you haven't touched, Just in case you find a straight fact based or vocab based question, you can score. It is a sin if you haven't browsed through all the questions, at least in VA and DI.

6) Don't put more money after bad money

When you start answering a question, and end up nowhere after a minute or so, Do NOT spend any extra time just because you have invested so much time already. This is not the time to think about Return on Investments. Even RCs, don't answer all the 5 questions just because you spent so much time reading the entire passage. Remember, CAT has got negative marking. Every one knows this, but still fails to resist the temptation and finally ends up ruining the test. If you want to get through, You need to learn to control your ego.

7) Use the pre-tests effectively

SimCats ya MockCats, Take them darn seriously. If your preparation till the point gets you ready, it is the conscious effort you put into analysis of the mocks that gives you the extra edge. Picking the sitters, leaving the suckers, distribution of time, controlling the anxiety..all these indispensible skills can be cultivated through effective use of mocks only. Make sure that by the time you take CAT, you have consistently performed well in atleast 3 mocks.

8) Skewed Percentiles ain't any good

Profile of a Loser : VA-65%, QA -98%, DI - 99%, OV - 99+%. No IIM Calls. This is not at all uncommon. You will find enough people everytime this way. That is a result of neglecting the weaker section. Make sure you allocate equal amounts of time across the sections. By spending more time on some easier section may be you'll get a high overall score, but you'll end up with a low percentile in the harder section. It is hence important to spend equal time/effort/concentration across all the sections.

9) Burn some calories..and midnite oil

It is imperative that you work hard. And as the D-Day approaches, anxiety gets on the nerves, tensions peak up, and the efforts are aggressively doubled to the extent, where the fatigued mind shouts, "Enough!". It may lead to saturation and disinterest. In all such occasions of low morale, using certain motivators as catalysts helps. I used to keep the copies of BusinessWorld, BusinessToday ( Top 10 B-Schools Issue ) and certain issues of Advance Edge ( Yes, I am an IMS student ). Whenever I felt my ardor going down, I used to take a look at the cover stories, the pics of those hallowed halls, the snaps of the smiling faces of the students, and all those discussions going on about the B-School Grads' worth.

10) Cool and steady wins the race

This is the success secret! Before and on the D-Day, Just keep cool. Go with an open mind, a fresh mind, with a lot of confidence, without any anxiety or nervousness, maintain your cool during the tough times, perform in your natural way, steadily without getting frustrated or distracted and you have done it. Come out, relax and jump in joy. Fool around for while, and get back to the next task...The task is only half-done.

Finish in Style

The GD/PI stage is as important as the written test. After seeing a high percentile, a sense of achievement and complacency sets in. But remember, there are people who ended up with no converts inspite of having all the 6 IIM GD/PIcalls, and at the same time, there are people who converted their only call ( Yours truly being one among them). So this is the time you need to put in double effort, because you'll have to fight with the cream of CAT aspirants now.

1) Practise makes man perfect

Many of you might have never faced GDs before in your life. Maybe you have a low voice, you are too generous to interrupt while others speak. Everyone has one problem or the other. Only way to get out of the fear is to practise. Find a good peer group and engage in as many informal discussions as possible. Convert your chit-chats into intellectual discussions. It helps.

2) Form an Opinion on everything

Editorials are no more nasty. You need to read them, understand the issue with it's historic roots and future implications, and form an opinion after, I repeat after taking into account both sides of the coin. Don't jump into conclusions and don't just mug up facts. Try to study the ramifications and think about feasible solutions to the problem. Developing these qualities helps you in anlaysing the GD topic. And gets you through in the PI.( Usually General Awareness is tested in PIs )

3) Silence is Suicide

Unless you open your mouth and put your points forth, you will not be able to get into any B-School inspite of having huge percentile. You may be having so many ideas. But if you don't butt into the discussion, you are out. No panel would come back and give you an exclusive chance to express your ideas. Sometimes they ask you to summarize, but better avoid such situations.

4) When to shout and when to shut-up

In the initial days, I used to feel that people who use lung-power to seize more air-time are the ones who make it through. That is one wrong assumption. The panel easily gets pissed off by such people who disrupt the GD and they immediately strike them off. No one likes to be bossed around. So, If your GD is moving towards utter chaos( yes, with a lil diligence, even a coupla intransigent guys can mess it up ), Just keep your mouth shut. You can try to calm the people, but don't make the mistake of trying to shout them down.

5) Your Body Language can deceive you

One thing a person cannot control when emotions overtake is the body language. It can give your true feelings away. So be extra careful. It is no wrestling match. Don't try to stop others from interrupting you by using your hands, or by an angry expression on your face. And when you are a victim of such snubbing, don't show your displeasure ( You can kick him once out of the room ). And don't sit meekly in a corner, folding your legs, crossing your arms etc. Arrogance, Impatience, submissiveness, everthing comes out. So watch out !

6) Pitch in Early

If you have good information or some good ideas, always try to start the GD. In case someone snatches the first moments away, try to be the second or third speaker. If your ideas are good, people tend to follow your train of thought, and you emerge as the de facto moderator. If you are not able to pitch in early, do not try to disrupt the GD by introducing new topic in between some heated discussion. And If you have no idea about the topic, wait and pick upon the line set by some one else. Don't embarrass yourself starting the GD just for sake of getting noticed.

7) Act as a facilitator, not as a boss

Trying to emerge as the leader of the group is a good thing, but you shouldn't try the wrong ways for it. Don't try to moderate the group by bossing around, like stopping someone, giving chance to another, giving interim summaries, introducing new topics at wrong time etc. Try to bring in ideas at right moments and build the structure of the discussion, and steer the GD towards a productive end. That marks you as the leader.

8) Get noticed, but not for the wrong reasons

People get desperate to get noticed at times. Esp. If they haven't spoken enough content. They try different tricks to grab the panel's attention. But if the trick backfires, you yourself are to be blamed. For example, giving an opportunity to a person desperately trying to pitch in, is a good gesture, If the person brings in valid point. But embarrasing someone who determinedly sat dumb, by asking his opinion, will count against ypu.

9) Don't miss the dress rehearsals

When people have multiple calls, over-confidence creeps in and they feel lazy to attend the not-so-premiere institutes' GD/PI round. That is not a good idea. Treat it as an opportunity to test your skills. Generally, such GD/PIs help you to refine your skills. It happened with me. My first GD/PI was so lousy. My heart was thumping and I was sweating all over. But By the time I attended IIMB, My previous experiences helped me in going with a cool mind.

10) Honesty is the Best Policy

In PIs, always be honest. The proffs are so good and so experienced, that they easily see through the bluff. And being honest, generally boosts up one's confidence, whereas lying increases the anxiety. Be cool, be yourself..that's all.

So, there ends the process. Do your best and leave the rest to Almighty( If you are religious ) or to Luck( If you believe in it ).

P.S. This has become a longer post than I expected. And it could in fact gone longer had I got more time. I hope it helps.

All the Best !

I'm a Virgo !

2006-06-03T04:06:00.000-07:00

Well, anyone who casually browses thru the horoscopes in daily newspaper can tell that from my birth date. Sun signs, astrology and Horoscopes -- Do I believe them ? Of course not. Seriously, I do not give any importance to them. But on a lighter side, I think it's some gud fun !

While browsing thru the Orkut communities today, I came across this particular community where the common traits of the most of the virgos are listed down and are being discussed. Lemme check out how many of these are true in my case. And those interested in a more comprehensive discourse on the sun signs, can browse here.

The Positive Qualities :

=> Modest and shy
True, that's exactly my basic nature. But over the years I have come out of the shell, going around with people, taking up tasks that require more outgoing nature and have cultivated the much required qualities of my chosen profession. I have become extroverted and gregarious, but still, deep inside, the vestiges of my shyness still remain.

=> Meticulous and reliable
True to some extent. Reliable and trustworthy for sure, But not exactly meticulous. Of course, sometimes I am finicky about trivialities. But my indolence often gets better of me, and makes sure that I neglect certain intricacies and end up in one humungous self-created mess.

=> Practical and diligent
I always uphold my principle, values and beliefs. But these themselves are based on a pragamtic outlook towards life and not based on any parochial dogmas or impractical idealogy. And Diligence, well, If I am really passionate about anything, any kind of goal, laziness and inertia will not be able stop me.

=> Intelligent and analytical
Analytical, Yes! Logical and rational thought process has come quite naturally to me. Intelligent ? Thats's tricky.

The Trouble Areas

<= Fussy and a worrier
Hmm..Yeah I am Fussy. When I expect something from someone, I bug them like hell. When things don't go my way, I get pissed off easily. But I take many critical things in a rather cool and indifferent manner. I don't get excessively worried about unimportant things. Still, when the stakes are higher, I get anxious and nervous.

<= Overcritical and Perfectionist
When it comes to things I love, or work i do, yeah, I am a perfectionaist. I cannot tolerate the slightest negligence or shoddy performance. I get very irritated with irresponsible and unreasonable people. And of course, I am overcritical. I express displeasure so easily.

<= A harsh self-critic
I do set high standards for myself and people around me. And often I fail reaching them. And then starts self-criticism that sprouts diffidence. But more often than not, such criticism helped me in acting as a catalyst for my efforts. I am tempted to call that self-motivation.

<= Misunderstood as Cold and Indifferent
With my practical approach to life, and not being very expressive, I am often misunderstood as an out-and-out materialist, with little sensitivity to others' feelings. But I do care for people and am always loyal and helpful. This is something I don't understand. And am trying to work upon this.

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And before I wrap it up, Lemme post a statement I have come across regarding Virgos :

Ironically, most of your best qualities are often seen by other people as your worst. It wasn't always so: in ancient times, when priorities were different, yours was the most prized of the signs. Now, it is often the most disliked. Fear not, though—you're just misunderstood.

So, dear fellow-virgos, we are supposed to be the fossils of the Gud Old days ! Now, How nice is that ?!!

The Chicken and the Egg Dilemma

2006-05-29T01:30:00.000-07:00

Jack has solved the mother of all Dilemmas, "Which is first, Chicken or the Egg ?". He says,"Whichever is ordered first comes first !".

I was about to hit the sack, when my cell beeped indicating the arrival of this message. Now, that's funny ! But the question raised in the joke, continued to linger in my brain. As is the case with any such intriguing Questions, the cerebration has begun -- Which is First, Chicken or Egg ?

Theology always has the simplest and most comfortable of all answers. Almost all religious doctrines advocate the creationist theory. God has created chicken out of the blue, and it began laying eggs; the same way god has created Adam and Eve, the great-great..great grandparents of the entire human race.

But we skeptics cannot accept theories so obvious. We need rational inferences drawn from complicated set of facts and observations. And the best scientific theory to base upon is the Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

Theory of Evolution states Evolution is a process by which novel heritable traits arise in populations and are passed on from generation to generation, and over time, the traits that help the organism reproduce in greater numbers than his peers gradually gain dominence in a population. It was a gradual and complicated process that spread across millions of years. Organic Life forms started as miniscule water organisms, which evolved into fishes, and then developed lungs to become amphibia, that later transmuted into reptiles and birds, one of which happened to be a wild fowl bird, domesticated by man as the hen.

Now, there are two ways in which Evolution can be used to answer this question, one concluding that the chicken is first and the other that egg is first. But both arguments follow the similar lines of reasoning.

A Case for Chicken

Let us say that there exists a wild fowl bird that is not exactly chicken. In order to adapt to the changing environment, one( or some ) of the birds might have mutated into a different species developing certain new attributes alien to the original species, and losing a few inherited characteristics. These birds are the first hens, the primitive ones. When these birds lay eggs, the hatched chicken inherits the evolved or modified DNA of their parents. These chickens represent the original species much lesser and acquire more and more new qualities, that defines the birth of new species. These multiply and evolve into the modern chicken. So, the first chicken being the mutated birds which set off the new species, we can conclude that Chicken is first.

A Case for Egg

The non-chickens or the pre-chickens, whatever u call them, mated to form a cell or zygote, which gives rise to the offspring. Due to certain mutations that happened during the fusion and transformation of the Zygote, the DNA might have been altered in an unexpected way. The zygote divides innumerable times to form all of the cells of the complete animal. Thus the mutated zygote produced the new species, the first true chickens.Prior to that first true chicken zygote, there were only non-chickens. The zygote cell is the only place where DNA mutations could produce a new animal, and the zygote cell is housed in the chicken's egg. So, the egg must have come first.

Both arguments sound good. Whichever you accede to depends on the kind of belief you espouse. If you believe that mutations occur after the birth of an organism, in order to help it adapt to the new demanding circumstances, then Chicken is first. But, If you agree with me, that once the DNA is defined in the zygote it doesn't alter, then the Egg came first.

Whatever be the case, we should be happy to have such a nice bird, that resulted in a variety of delicious dishes.

P.S The above information has been collated from various sources on the Net.

My Worst Enemy

2006-05-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

Laziness, what else !

Every morning it is a great pain to get off my bed to attend to my daily chores. I keep tossing on my bed, obstinately keeping my eyes closed, unwilling to acquiesce the fact that I am awake, deliberately ignoring every signal sent by my brain screaming at me to get off the bed. Heedless of the hour of the day, be it 8AM or 11AM or even 2PM, this routine repeats everyday.

Then begins the tedious process of getting my lazy self into my office seat. Getting ready is a very slow process, with each activity preceded and succeeded by an interlude of idleness( which I call the prep. breaks ), and it takes hours to get myself prepared for the humdrum existence in the Office. So, by the time I wish Bon Jour to my colleagues, it is in fact afternoon.

The rest of the day proceeds normally. But once back in my bedroom, I revert to my languid mood. This time ironically I feel lazy to sleep. I watch TV, read books or just enjoy my repose. It will be well past midnite by the time my eyes burn and eye lids droop, and finally I fall asleep. If I haven't burn some calories or for that matter, some grey cells in my brain, it gets even late. These days I have sort of metamorphosed into a kind of Nocturnal Creature.

Whenever an important exam or meeting or seminar is scheduled in the morning session, I set the alarm much earlier than the optimal time required. So that I wudn't miss anything. But then when I wake up, lethargy takes over me, and knowing that I have ample time, I tend to waste enough in the bathroom or bedroom, that I end up rushing to make it just in time. And if any of the murphy's laws comes true, like the traffic jam or something else, the whole plan is messed up. I have missed enough meetings that way. I even missed my FMS exam.

But now that I am going to a place, where every one slogs day in and day out to get in, the place where fun n learning is omnipresent, where sleeping for more than 5 hours a day means missing something, I need to work upon this galling aspect of mine. And that is the whole point of this post. Even as I write this, the lazy part of me has been entreating me to stop this and get back to my sweet old movie.

No..I am gonna Launch a crusade against my lazyness this very minute. Wait wait, not now, Lemme take a break and start from tommorrow..

BS

2006-05-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this word while reading Jack Welch's 'Straight from the Gut'. He has used it many times, esp. referring to the statements made by his executives. Now what does that mean ? As is the case with other slangs, Dictionary couldn't answer my question. Now, I mulled over it for a while and came up with an acronym of my own invention, BS stands for Business Strategy.

The immense gratification of the self-acquired knowledge didn't last long. While I was orkutting, I happened to come across this mysterious term again. Still confident that it is going to be a positive word, a must-know for an MBA, I innocently asked my to-be-MBA-classmate to enlighten me. And she replied instantly : 'Bull Shit'.

What ?!! Is that so simple, so mean and so disgraceful a word ? And now a person as sophisticated as Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, has used it in his own autobiography. Is it such a common phrase. This isn't something I consider as a part of the so called parliamentary language. And here I was, a fool considering all kinds of fancy alternatives for the word.

----------

Contemplating the experience, I found many such words all around me, used in a very innocuous manner, though the words themselves are mean and vulgar, atleast literally. Screw-up, frigging, sucks, heck, goddamned -- all these words are ubiquitous in our daily lives. We use them so freely, so normally, that many of us aren't even aware of the literal meanings. Some managers even go to the level of using the words asshole, bitch et al. All these are used by highly qualified people even in the boardrooms. And very comfortably.

Now, when these words are translated into Telugu, I would never ever use them. I can't even mention those words here, for my own comfort as well as urs. People who use these words in telugu at social occassions are treated as the uncouth. No cultured and well-mannered person would use such words in public.

But when the same words, which literally are as gross, are used in English, people don't cringe. They take it as a part of the colloquial vocabulary. Well, I myself did not feel even the slightest hesitation while mentioning the words here. I use them so frequently that they no more seem to be the part of lingo of the crass.

Now where does the difference lie ? Does the use of foreign language gloss the grossness ? Or is it bcoz of the open manner in which these words are used by civilized people ? Or were they used so often that they became part of everyday speech ? Whatever the reason is, people use them so effortlessly, and most of them aren't even aware of the meaning.

It's funny how things so gross in our culture seem posh in foreign culture.

What is the Speed of Darkness ?

2006-05-11T02:28:00.000-07:00

I have seen this line as a status message of my friend on Y! Messenger. Intrigued, I contemplated it for a while and finally came up with a err, for the lack of better word, scientific theory. Now, there is nothing new or fancy about this, but as I have lotza time to kill and absolutely no topic to write about, I have decided to bombard u with my silly revelations !

Let us begin by defining Darkness. Darkness is nothing but absence of Light. The same way as cold is absence of heat. The same theory our religious gurus use to pontificate : God is nothing but absence of the Satan or the Evil.

Now we come to question, Does Darkness move ? Many people propound that Darkness just exists, and has no tangible evidence of motion. But the same was attributed to Light, until it was proved that Light actually travels and with a definite speed. Now, we agree that light moves and that absence of light is darkness. So, naturally we can infer that darkness moves as light moves.

We need to consider infinite distances for this. Let us say that you are stationed at a point in Space ( Now, only space is that huge ). Say some hundred light years from Sun. And Assume that the Sun is the only source of light. And the light of sun hasn't yet reached the point where you are standing. You will be in Darkness, right ? Slowly the light from Sun starts travelling towards you, at the speed of light naturally. And in hundred years time( remember, u are 100 loght years away from sun ), light reaches you and darkness vanishes. But say some 10 light years behind you, the darkness still exists. It exists until light reaches the point, which takes again 10 years. So, darkness has moved from the point you are standing to the point 10 light years away in 10 light years.

What I am trying to tell is that Motion of darkness has to be considered as the opposite reaction of the motion of Light. And it is equal. So darkness moves at the speed of Light, but in opposite direction to the motion of Light.

So dear folks, Speed of darkness is 299 792 458 m / s ( Courtesy : Google Calculator ).
And I have got another status message to tout !!

My New Gizmo

2006-05-08T01:37:00.000-07:00

I have recently taken to an interest in Photography. And the first step, procure a digital camera.

So after a lot of reviews and few visits to the electronic shops, I bought my new Digicam, the Nikon Coolpix S1. Though a bit complicated in operation, it is very slim, with a large LCD display, and above all the pics are of good quality. It's a 5 MP cam with 3X optical zoom and 256MB memory card.

Without reading the manual, I started using the cam. Well, the UI is a bit obvious. But not being a master of night photography, of all the 10 or more snaps that I took that day, only one is presentable enough ! And here it is :

FountainHead : My Take

2006-05-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Completed reading Ayn Rand's Fountainhead - One of the best books in modern literature, in print for more than 25 years; My first encounter with Ayn Rand's philosophy - Objectivism. I haven't got a chance to read her 'Atlas Shrugged' , which is supposed to be a comprehensive exposition of her Philosophy, But I have got good insights into what all Objectivism is about.

There has been so much raving about the book, not to mention the occasional criticism and the cribbings that it is too idealistic. So, I have decided to explore this self-proclaimed 'philosophical fiction' and am not at all disappointed.

The Plot

The book is more or less a narrative of Howard Roark's Life. The trials and tribulations faced by him at the hands of the not-so-worthy sham altruists. Ayn Rand has cleverly grafted her ideals into Howard's character. She shows Howard as the ultimate human being, and propounds her philosophy through the depiction of his life.

Howard Roark, the protagonist, is a genius architect, who believes in building each building with a different spirit. He doesn't compromise on his work and only works when he is given full freedom in designing buildings. Naturally, he finds hostility amongst the stalwarts of the plagiarist culture and was shunned, feared, ostracized and persecuted almost throughout his entire career. The story is a walkthrough of his fight against the second-rate people who believe that public acceptance is their ultimate goal. It culminates in an exciting courtroom trial where Roark upholds his philosophy and finally succeeds in his endeavor.

The Characters

Howard Roark :

An independent and asocial genius, with little regard for the opinion of others. A person with great reverence for his work and wouldn't compromise on his work, even if that means he has to go through abject penury, intense calumny and terrible hardships. He believes that his creation itself is the end, the fact that it existed itself is a great source of pride and he doesn't require anyone's approval to convince himself of the greatness of his work. An egotist in his own way, with just a few friends who could understand him.

This is the character I admired the most. Isn't that Obvious -- afterall he is the protagonist. But many people don't appreciate Roark so much. They feel he's impractical and conceited. In my view, a person who knows himself is much better than the confused poor( Shud I say pathetic ? ) souls. Roark is so sure of his values, his motives, his causes and his pride. He never compromised. His skills, his unflinching attitude, the aplomb he has shown in troubled times and above all his courage to oppose the world impressed me a lot. He works for the love it, and not for the material gains, which is a great quality.

There are certain aspects of Roark I am not comfortable with. His passiveness with the society. His inimical behaviour, his despise for the ineptitude and his total disregard for the human race. Now, I felt uncomfortable, bcoz these are the qualities I would prefer not to have. These are qualities an ideal person better not have. But for a person so devoted to his work, who doesn't need social relations to survive, these qualities fit well.

Peter Keating :

A charlatan, a shameless plagiarist who has devoted his life to impress people. In spite of full knowledge of his ineptitude, he desperately tries to convince himself and the world that he is has it in him. He constantly needs approval of the world to keep himself away from his nagging conscience. His insecurity and self-doubt turns him into a pitiful wreck. A parasite by all means, he treats his work as a means to achieve his end: Public Acceptance.

Though many people despise him, I felt pity. This one character sums up our world. Though we deny it, most of us have at one time or other exhibited such characteristics, maybe not at such contemptible levels. He has ambition, which is good. But the means he chose are so filthy and spiteful. His desire for public approval is a disease pervading every nook and corner of our civilization. But such desire, when coupled with ineptitude, ruins a person.

Ellsworth Toohey :

A person who goes after power and influence over fellow-men. Money is worthless for him. All he needs is the servitude of the human race. He uses media to propagate fake altruism. He confounds the wavering minds, shows benevolence to the meek, does favours to the useful, raises self-doubt and fear among the rich and successful, supports and encourages the lousy artists, everything to make people loyal to him and have control over them. A person lacking talent himself, he envies the able. With an uncanny ability to recognize geniuses, he uses every dirty trick to destroy their self-respect.

A highly contemptible character without any doubt. We might even have a consensus on this. But there are certain points we need to appreciate. He recognizes his limitations and uses his strengths to accomplish what he set out to do. Though deprived of talent himself, He understands talent. A truly self-conceited person, who tries to make up for his clumsiness with the support of mass approval. A person rotten to the core.

Gail Wynand :

A man split between ideals and practicalities. He has pure heart that understands beauty, respects talent and despises the masses. But he has given himself to the trend, to leverage the foolishness of the public, to amass great wealth and power. Feeling inspired by the spirit of Howard, he decides to fight back. He stands strong for a while, but later loses the courage and falls back. He flees from truth afraid of the hardships. Finally, he makes amends by stopping his newspaper and giving Roark a chance to use his genius.

Many people love this character, some even more than Howard. I just like/respect him. Throughout his life, he has done things against his beliefs and values. He perpetrated the very things he hated. He lead a life that he despises himself. And when he finally realized his mistakes and fought hard for what he truly believed, he couldn't carry the grit all through the end. He succumbed to the pressure, against his own will. Of course, he stopped living a debauched life in the end, but failed in upholding his true spirit.

Dominique Francon :

A person who believes in freedom from the depravity of the world. She loves Howard for what he stands for. Instead of fighting with him against the world, she tries to protect him from the world. She flees from the world initially and then she tries to condemn herself to the depravity of world. Finally, she realizes that she should insulate herself from the hurt and returns to Howard.

A coward, that's what I would call her. She aspires to nothing due the fear of losing it. She destroys her prized possessions to prevent them from being snatched away. A person should dream, and show courage to achieve them. Instead of running away from the society, a person should either fight/ignore it. One cannot simply detach oneself from the sorroundings, of which one is always a part.

Steve Mallory & Henry Cameron :

People who always upheld their values inspite of chronic persecution. They fought and fought and lost, but never compromised. They end up broken by the world that doesn't understand them, that couldn't bear their genius.

These characters represent the real people who faught for a cause and lost. Those people banished into obscurity, just because they are different from us. Or maybe because they are better than us. Well, Not every Howard Roark can laugh. Some perish.

The Philosophy

I am no expert on Objectivism. But there are certain precepts I have gathered from the book.

Creativity in Man is the supreme power and should be highly reverred. Man should devote himself to his work and find gratification in accomplishment of the task and not in the praise showered by his fellow-beings. Man should not depend on others for approval of his greatness. He should believe in his virtues and competence. Man should take his decisions on his own. Self-respect is most vital in any person and it shouldn't be lost for any reason. Man should always uphold his spirit and should have the courage to face any adversities in that process. Man should know himself and believe himself.

It criticizes altruism and supports atheism. By treating all people equal, man is committing a sin against the people who create the world. Altruism creates a dependence among human beings on one another for their own survival. It results in decadence of human spirit and people start living second-hand lives in rottenness. Also, surrendering oneself before the divine kills self-respect in a man and leads to self-doubt and mental depravity. It limits a person from exercising his own free will, believing in making his destiny and induces a sense of helplessness. Man's freedom is curbed by his dependence on the fate or fellow-men.

----

Though I do not espouse every ideal propounded, the book did influence my way of thinking.

There are certain things which I believe in : Never lose your self-respect, Admire a person's creative talent, Do not depend on others' approval, Work for the love of it, Believe in yourself etc. There are certain aspects I do not approve of : Self-Conceit or Egotism, Not developing good relations, Ignoring the inept, Insulating oneself from the world, Renouncing the material gains etc.

However, there are certain qualities I have decided to imbue myself with. It's not that the book has inspired these thoughts in me. I have been brooding over these things over the past few months, and the book happened to act as the much required catalyst.

Share your work with others but never look for their approval. I shall work for the love of it, for my personal satisfaction, but not for public praise.

I have decided to take my decisions myself, and not to look for help from some one else. Throughout the MBA process, I have been looking for someone to make my decision for me. But not again. Of course I will ask others for the information and facts, but will never pester anyone for any sort of advice. I shall take their suggestions, and considering all the information available, I will take the decisions myself.

---

There are three Questions I ask myself after reading any such inspiring book :

The character I would like to see myself as ?
Obviously, Howard.

The character I would hate to see myself as ?
No prizes for guessing, Toohey.

Which character do I relate myself and my qualities to the most ?
None completely. But mostly Gail Wynand, with some characteristics of Howard Roark, Steve Mallory and Peter Keating( Now don't look at me like that, I am no saint! ).

Return to Castle Wolfenstein : Nazis n the Occult

2006-04-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

After about a month's excitement, the single player version of the First Person Shooter(FPS), Return to Castle Wolfenstein, is completed. Agent Blazkowicz blew the reincarnated evil prince Heinrich to save the Axis Powers from the horrors unleashed by the Nazis during the World War II.

Story :
During the Crunch of the World War II, Himmler, a general of the Nazi forces, conjures up a grand plan to crush the opposition offered by the Axis Powers. He decides to reincarnate the legendary dark prince, Heinrich I, with certain genetic and occult experiments. And Agent Blazkowicz is the American Soldier sent to single-handedly stop the resurrection of the Evil Monsters.

As you can see, the designers tried to make it a all-in-one package. There are Opponents of all Genres to blow up - The Nazi Soldiers, the Genetically transformed 'Super Soldiers' , some kind of heavily armoured androids and the scary monsters of the occult, mummies etc. The plot is preposterous, but so are most of the game plots. Genetics and Occult are cleverly woven into the Nazis' quest for world domination.

Gameplay :
The original RTCW is purportedly the first 3D game in the FPS genre. I had played it when i was a kid and felt that it was scary as well as thrilling. The graphics are very good in the new version. A wide range of weapons, intriguing story plot and whole bunch of bad guys to mow down, what else is expected of an FPS game!! Sound effects make u jump at times. But otherwise, it doesn't belong to the 'Survival Horror' genre at all.

Well designed locations, a decent AI and cool graphics are its merits. On the negative side, the cinematics are of poor standard, the plot is confusing and duration is short. Though multiplayer version is available, it is not very appealing.

But If you are a keen FPS player, Go give it a shot.

The Name Decoder

2006-04-27T02:10:00.000-07:00

Recently, one of my friends found a novel way of titillating our friends in Orkut ( Don't know about Orkut ? God save U!! ). He starting writing scraps with their names deacronymized. A few ignored them, but most of them felt curious. I am one of those, and with due diligence, I have found the site where he got those acronyms.

It is the Name Decoder. It comes in three flavours : Cyborg Name Decoder, Monster Name Decoder and Sexy name Decoder.

And my name means ..

CYBORG

MONSTER

SEXY

My Inner Hero - Wizard!

2006-04-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

Another timepass site, another simple test and here's the result. Maybe I am too bored or too idle these days.

There are many types of magic, but all require a sharp mind and a cool head. There is no puzzle I can't solve, no problem I can't think my way out of. When you feel confused or uncertain, you can always rely on me to untangle the knots and put everything back in order for you.

How about you? Click here to find your own inner hero.

Disgusting DTDC

2006-04-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

I never thought anything could irk me in my current state of Euphoria. But DTDC soon proved me wrong. Over the past week, I have gone through a harried experience that challenged whatever sanity left in me.

Friday
DTDC, which claims to be one of the leading Air Express & Cargo companies in India, has been entrusted with the job of delivering IIMB's admission offer letters to the selected candidates across the country. As soon as I heard the news, I knew from past experience that I was in for some serious trouble.

Several of my Call letters have been delayed, some sent back to the senders quoting 'Address Not Found' and others arrived at leisure. Now, we have a DTDC office at our place, and the people have been properly intimated about the whereabouts of our Address. And I always use full postal address alongwith PIN Code, that leaves no ambiguity on any account. But still my mail always gets delayed, when DTDC is handling it.

Weekend
Some of the guys in Metros have received their offer letters. Others were hopeful of getting them in a couple of days. Well, I didn't have any illusions.

Monday
I called up the Admissions Office and inquired about the Consignment number of my Letter. As soon as I got it, I used the online tracking site to find the status. It says 'En Route Ongole'. Hmm...Maybe these guys finally improved.

Tuesday
It's the same status. I looked up Ongole Branch Office number and called them up. I was told that the package hasn't left Bangalore, and was suggested that I call Bangalore Customer Care. I took the number, talked to the customer care and lodged a complaint.

Wednesday
No Progress. I called up the customer care. Couldn't reach them at all. I thought of trying the Hyderabad number. I looked up the Helpline numbers of Hyderabad and started dialling them. Some of them didn't work, some were busy and others just kept on ringing endlessly. These guys don't even bother to attend the calls. Finally, I got connected with some Branch manager. I explained my situation and he gave another coupla numbers. After trying for sometime, I caught an operator, and asked the status of the complaint. I was assured that the problem wud be solved and that they would call me back by end of day.

Waited till 6 PM, nothing happened. The day has ended without any progress. And I got furiuos. With all the spite and venom I could muster ( I'm not a nasty Guy!! ), I wrote a big mail to the id given on website.

Thursday
I got a reply to my mail reassuring me that the matter would be looked into. I waited till evening and then losing my patience I called up the Customer Care again. One last time. And the same response. After putting me on hold for about 10 mins, the person told me that they couldn't track it right then, but would definitely call me back later. Outright careless behaviour. I was fed up.

Friday
I called up the Admissions Office and asked their help in my case. They promised to talk to the DTDC people. They sent me a soft copy to use meanwhile. It's not going to work, those guys are incorrigible. I will have to settle with the soft copy.

However lousy and incompetent their systems and operations may be, I can't understand why it takes them more than a week to trace a simple parcel. If the parcel had been dropped in the postbox outside the campus, It wud have reached me a long time back. This is just Gross Negligence. A highly callous attitude towards their unfortunate cutomers. How these guys handle Int'l Consignments with all the ineptitude, God only knows!

But I have come to hate DTDC in all sincerety for eternity.

An Obituary

2006-04-20T03:09:00.000-07:00

Name : The CBox Chat Box a.k.a My Guest Book
Born : Jan 2006
Dead : Apr 2006

This CBox was initially put up on my Blog as a substitute for anonymous comments. I wanted to facilitate my friends ( Most of them don't have Blogger ids to comment ) to express their views.

But, later it turned out to be BIG nuisance with people using pseudonyms to thoughtlessly scribble obscene remarks. It proved to be an embarrassment for quite some time, but later on, I found a way to smoke out those miscreants and coaxed/cajoled them into quitting such games. And the CBox has been used in a productive manner since then.

And after some time it lost its novelty and people stopped writing anything in it. Well, I let it lie that way..maybe inertia, or maybe anticipation of future use.

Recently I discovered that CBox is actually an AdWare. Ads were splashed on the viewers whenever they visited my Blog. Strangely, I never saw any pop-up when I myself opened my blog. Maybe the website matches the IP address of the requestor with the IP address of creator, so that the blog-owner doesn't know abt the Ads. A Clever Scheme !! But the trick was out yesterday and the CBox got wiped off my Blog.

And Now, for the services rendered in the past, a few minutes of silence.

The B-School Grads' BIG Bucks (?)

2006-04-17T04:48:00.000-07:00

Records are made to be broken.

Very true about Cricket. The record of 'the highest runs scored in an innings' has been broken twice in the same match - by Australia and then by South Africa..What a match it was ?! So true it is with B-School Placements too, with the 'the highest pay package' record being rewritten twice in the same season - by IIMB followed by ISB.

No wonder 'The Hindu' has found the subject interesting enough to publish a cartoon on it. The media is going gung-ho over the placements. A lot of hype is being created. And eventually the number of CAT aspirants( Or should I just call them test takers ) is gonna shoot up...right out of the roof !! Well, '1 crore' is definitely a BIG number. But are the Bucks really as BIG as they appear to be ?

There are three aspects that we must not miss here..those which the media conveniently prefers to ignore( Maybe bcoz considering them wudnt produce the dramatic effect ).

The Gaping Gap between CTC and Take-Home

All the work-ex guys must have been aware of the structure of the pay packages and the difference between CTC and Take-home. For the less priveleged, here's some gaan:

CTC( Cost to the Company) is the figure that appears on your offer letter, The BIG Number. It comprises of various salary components and perks like Basic, HRA, TA, DA, LTA, Medical Allowance, Insurance, Superannuation, PF, Gratuity and XYZ.

The most interesting one is the Variable Allowance. Companies specify so and so amount as the VA( Variable Allowance ), often a big sum. Now you get a part of this amount depending upon your performance. And to rake in the whole amount, You need to get the 100% rating and appraisers seldom give it. "If I give you the top rating, it means that you don't have anything to improve ", they say. So you can hope for 60-80% of VA only, assuming that you are ready to work ur guts out.

So the 'Gross' Monthly salary comes down to a much lesser amount. Now, after deducting the inevitable taxes and other miscellaneous expenses, you get the 'Net Salary' a.k.a Take-Home. This is the final amount that is credited to your bank account on the salary day.

Experience shows that Take-Home generally comes down to 70% of CTC... With the percentage inversly proportional to the CTC. So, all those who have been performing the simple calculation CTC/12, wake up. Those not convinced yet, move on to the other factors.

The Magic of Dollars and Pounds

A quick observation will tell you that the highest salaries are paid by foreign companies. The salaries in dollars/pounds are converted into indian rupees and we go crazy over the figure. In the excitement, we forget the fact that the bills are paid in dollars too. A person might be earning a few thousand dollars per month, but he/she has to pay more than half of it for a comfortable living. So the savings are almost equal to his/her low-paid indian counterparts'.

So, Cost of Living and Purchasing Power Parity comes into picture here. Rashmi Bansal, an IIMA alumnus and Editor of JAM, has written a nice article on this.

The Past Profiles

The Guys who have bagged those hefty amounts are not fresh graduates or 25-year old young executives. They are people with strong profiles, fancy degrees, huge work experience and a proven track record.

The ISB Grad, who finally caught up with the elusive 8-digit figure, is a person with 10 years of work experience. Similarly, Gaurav Agarwal - the IIMB topper, is 29 and has an IIT degree, an MS from Berkeley and two years of work experience in the US.

The median salary in the biggies is about Rs.9-10 lakh. What does that mean ? It means that half of the class end up with less than Rs.9 lakh. And the people who manage to cross over to the higher end generally are the Fin Guys or IITians or Guys with high workex in relevent areas ( Now, 2 year IT workex has become a commodity, Every other guy in the B-School has that ).

So the ordinary chaps with a few years workex in a reputed IT company are gonna end up with just a few bucks more than that they would have earned without an MBA. And that too, after investing an year in preparation, another couple during the course and scrounging their savings to pay for the tuition. Freshers would be in the same rocking boat too, except that, in addition they have a BIG loan to repay.

======

So, no dreams, no illusions. And while we are at it, Lemme discuss some statements I have come across..

Fresher : " I want to do an MBA after my Graduation. I want to earn in 7 digits. "
By seven digit, If my friend means Rs. 10 Lakh, Thats an achievable target, though a lil difficult. But If it is 20 or 30 lakh, then I suggest professional help. This guy has a serious dormant illness : Day Dreaming.

An Elderly Person : " Just work hard for an year, get into an IIM and you can enjoy for the rest of your life. "
Hmm...Why don't people understand that If it is so tough to get into an Institute, the course is gonna be tough too. The course is not a cake walk. And If you wish to get anywhere near the median salary even, you need to slog.

A S/W Professional : " I will do MBA and learn about Management. Then I need not worry, I can coolly climb up the hierarchy. "
MBA does give u a leg-up, it helps you in the initial days, but it can't take u all the way. It is ur talent and hard work that matters later on in life. And how exactly does one learn Management !!

Now, I hope everyone will agree with me: That there is nothing called Easy/Quick Money.

Awesome Poem !!

2006-04-16T04:01:00.000-07:00

LIFE AT IIMB - A COLLECTION OF THOUGHTS

When I got the call from IIMB,
I got the thrill of my life,
"My life is made," I thought,
"All but finding a wife".

My friends they were all mighty impressed,
They said, "You're quite a stud,"
And Dad said, "I knew you'd make it big someday,
I knew it was in your blood."

For a month after the admission.
I was basking in my glory,
Giving advice to other people,
Narrating to them my story.

I was longing to come to Bangalore,
Looking forward to it and more,
Staying at home all day,
Was getting to be quite a bore.

At last I set off from home,
And reached campus with a smile,
But it all soon disappeared,
When of the readings I saw the pile,

But when I started the curriculum,
I got the shock of my life,
And to pass this place, I would say,
Is tougher than finding a wife.

I managed to clear the courses,
Like a snake wriggles out of its skin,
And all the while I longed to go,
Back to my kith and kin.

Though I was quite surprised,
With all that this place had in store,
I must admit to one and all,
What life never grew to be a bore.

Cause when you didn't feet like studying,
There was always other things to do,
Play some game or watch TV,
Or think of the girls you'd like to woo.

And I say `When you didn't feel like studying',
Cause there was always enough to read,
And if you never `didn't feel like it',
you wouldn't even have time to feed.

The Profs you thought were biased,
The toppers you thought were crank,
Life was full of hypocrisy,
Rarely anyone seemed to be frank.

But as you got used to the life,
A life of downs and more downs,
The disappointments started to cease,
And the smiles exceeded the frowns.

As you looked around you,
More people you got to know,
More friends you got to make,
More often you said `Hello'!

The mess table was the best place to socialize,
Because everyone had to meet,
And they all had one thing in common,
A grievance against the food they had to eat.

Slowly you started finding time,
To do the things you like,
Some people sat and chatted,.
While others went off on a hike.

And if you were free for the evening,
With nothing urgent to do,
Just take the bus to M.G.'s,
And put in a pitcher of two.

At last the parties started,
With drinking and dancing galore,
And we all came to know,
Why the best IIM was Bangalore.

We learnt quite a few things out here,
Not just what the professor tried to teach,
We learnt the 4Ps of Kotler,
And that Putkai is trying to Reach.

We've gone through 2 years of hell,
That's what everyone will claim,
But if I were given a chance on retrospect,
I'd live through the experience once again.

And as I pass out of this place,
Get a job and begin my life,
I still maintain, "To pass this place,
Is tougher than finding a wife."

-Rumy Kanga(Class of '95)

Destination IIM : Mission Summary

2006-04-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

[ Note : This post is strictly for CAT aspirants, to give an idea of what awaits them. ]

Now that the fight is over and done, I thought of chronicling my exciting and enriching journey to the highest altars of Management Education in India. Here, I am posting about things I have done and what I have felt about them.

The Preparation

- IMS Classroom course : CATapult.
Good Course, but the GD/PI module is highly inadequate and dull.

- TIME Mock CAT series
They were tough, but CAT was much more tougher.

- Career Launcher Pegasus material
The presentation is simply superb. Very good for practice.

- TCY Online GK Module
Module was good. But was hardly useful.

- Hindu Editorials
Very very Important. It helps a lot both for RCs and later GD/PI.

- Debates on NDTV and CNN-IBN
These give different perspectives on various current issues, and very helpful in GD/PI

- IMS Achiever's Workshop
The inputs were invaluable.

The Tests

- CAT
Tough. Just 90 Questions. Differential marking.
Horrible Performance.
VA - 94% DA - 90% QA - 94% Overall - 97.25%

- IIFT
Moderate. A section on GK. Questions on Higher Maths too.
OK performance.
Score : 36.6 %

- JMET
Moderate. Quant was damn tough. Others were OK.
Decent Performance.
Rank : 257

- XAT
Very Tough.
Incremental Negative Marking.
Excellent Performance.
Score : 99.54 %

- FMS
Missed due to a Bike Accident.

The Institutes

CAT => BLACKI, NITIE, MDI and SPJIMR
JMET => IIT B,D
IIFT => IIFT
XAT => XLRI

The GD/PI calls

IIM B, XLRI, IIFT, IIT B, NITIE, IIT D.

The GD/PI

- IIFT
An essay on 'Decline in the popularity of Cricket'
A one hour long GD on 'Should Dress Code be implemented in Institutes' ( 12 members )
A 10-15 min PI.
Essay and GD were OK. PI very bad.

- IIT D
10 min, 12 member GD on 'Should IIM/IITs be privatised ?'
PI totally focussed on career goals.
GD was a horrible chaos. PI was cool.

- IIT B
A HR case study.
12 members, 20 mins and was well ordered.
PI was a test of logical/analytical/technical abilities.
Good GD and an Excellent PI.

- XLRI
A 20 min PI.
Mostly focussed on convincing abilities and communication skills.
Average Performance.

- NITIE
8 member, 20 min GD on 'Is management education a Luxury ?'
A stress Interview, totally concentrated on my Engineering Subjects.
Excellent GD, PI not good.

- IIM B
5 member, 15 min Case study.
15 min Summary of the GD.
PI on Workex, Career goals and Current affairs.
Cool GD, Decent summary and decent PI.

The Final Results

Converts : IIMB, IITB, NITIE, IITD.
Kicks : IIFT
Waitlisted : XLRI ( 78 )

Going to IIM Bangalore.. Mission Accomplished !!

IIMB Result : A Dream Come True !!

2006-04-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

" Congratulations! You have been selected for the PGP 2006-08 at IIM Bangalore. The official offer letter is being despatched. Please contact the IIMB admission office in case you do not receive the offer letter by April 18, 2006. To secure your seat you are required to do the needful as per instructions in the offer letter by May 8, 2006. "

I can't believe it. Someone pinch me...Aaargh!! It hurts, alright, I have done it :)

To say that I am on Cloud 9 would be an understatement. I am literally floating in the stratosphere. It took two tedious and long TOI( Transfer of Information ) sessions in office to bring me back to my feet. Slowly, it begins to sink in. And with it, a few memories unfurl..

About Two years back

I was in the final year of my Engineering. Got placed in TCS and had a GATE score of 99.48%.

It was another dull morning session, and the class was half empty. Most of my classmates have been busy mugging up wordlists, taking mock tests, applying for foreign institutes and scurrying around coaching centres. There was enough noise around with ppl exchanging their mock test scores, trading questions on synonyms and having hot debates on which institute is better. But, I was not worried about anything. My mind was elsewhere..

"So how many of u are taking CAT ? ", Our professor finally succeeded in capturing the attention of the class. Hands shot up. No, I didn't lift mine..that was a completely alien topic for me. I continued with my preoccupation.

" Theja, What about u ? "
" No sir "
" Why not ? "
" Not Interested "
" Why so ? "
" I want to stay in technical field. Not interested in Management "
( C'mon, I have enough things to worry about other than silly cats. )
" Hmm...But u should take the exam. It's good to crack it. "

I know, I know. It is good to crack it, But I don't want to. Because I know I can't !!
People are specially made for IIMs, aren't they ? I am not one of them.

Nearly 20 months back

I just enrolled for CATapult 05 batch in IMS, Pune. Walking along the MG road( Every city has one, doesn't it ? ), I sstarted recollecting the names of the B-Schools the counsellor had mentioned. IIMs, MDI, SJM, SPJIMR, NITIE ...it went on. Hmm..could I get into any one of them. No, not the IIMs .. I knew they were Mile High. Any other institute in the Top 10 would do..no no Top 15 would do.

Just 7 months back

I was looking at my mock CAT results on the website. 99%. Hmm...a definite improvement. Still there were months to go, to perfect my skills, to crack it. Yes, I can crack it !! Haven't I seen enough success in my academic life. Maybe I have what it takes. All I need is self-belief and a little more effort.

The D-Day

I came out of my centre. It was hot and I was sweating a lot. I knew I was hungry and tired. But nothing was bothering me. I didn't want to eat. Calls started coming in..No, I didn't want to speak to anyone. I felt useless, I felt helpless, above all I felt hopeless..

I ruined the only test I had put in my heart and soul for. I messed it up. I knew I could have excelled, but I simply screwed it up. I flunked, and I flunked very badly.

Was it the end of the world ? No no, It wasn't depression. Or maybe it was.

On the New Year Eve

The IIM calls are out !! So what, I am not going to get any. Anyway, for sake of formality, Let me take a look.

IIM A - Sorry
IIM C - Sorry
IIM L - Sorry

It hurt. I wasn't expecting any calls, but when a plain 'Sorry' is slammed on your face, it hurts. It hurts every time as worse as the first time.

I had enough. I closed the websites and started looking into the bugs..

My cell phone rang. It was my friend who took CAT with me. Hmm..maybe he wants to share his woes too. I answered the call and he said that I was selected for IIM B GD/PI. Hey, that was unbelievable. I checked out myself and there it was...5th April !!

A few days before the interview

I had calls from NITIE and IITB. I was euphoric. Well, all I wanted was an admission into a Top 15 institute. And there I got !! I started wallowing in the success. Totally, I forgot the upcoming GD/PI.

My only concern was to select the institute to join : NITIE or IITB ? I called up my friends who are about to complete their MBAs. And asked them as to which Institute will get me the profile of my dreams : Strategy Consultant. The answer: None. I was told that companies like McKinsey and BCG visit only A,B,C.

That implies that even after my MBA, I couldn't get a profile of my choice. I still have to compromise. Only way out is to get thru IIMB. Hmm..So the fight is not over yet.

Pulled myself together and started preparing for the Ultimate Encounter. It was tough to concentrate on different things at a time. It was tiring. But, Anything for IIMB !!

Last week, same day

I could hear my heart beat. I was just walking out of the campus. Completed my GD/PI by then.

How did it go ? I didn't know. But a small ray of hope. Maybe I could make it !!

I looked back at the building from the auto. Could I ever come back ? I didn't know If I would come back, but knew fully well that I was worthy enough to. People are not made for IIMs, they are human beings. As normal as me.

Today

I was right, IIMers are normal people like me.

Nevertheless, It feels Nice to be considered 'creme de la creme' !!

Inspiring !!

2006-04-12T01:31:00.000-07:00

" It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause ; who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievements; and who , at the worst, if he fails , at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. "

- Theodore Roosevelt

The Tough Decision : It's IIT Bombay !!

2006-04-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

" B-Schools are like Girl Friends. Once you get selected in that cherished institute of yours, the place of your dreams, It suddenly loses its charm and seems very normal. Your heart laments for those you have lost or those others which you start feeling would have been better. "

- A wise MBA aspirant.

For the past coupla weeks, my thoughts have been swinging like a pendulum over the powai lake. I have been deeply confused as to what to choose between the two almost similar institutes. My managerial skills have been put to test throughout the selection process, but I never thought that my decision taking abilities would be put to a much severe test after the selection.

I read each and everything that is remotely connected to either of the two institutes. I scoured the Net for any tiny bit of information that would help me in making an informed choice. I spoke to the students of these institutes and other B-Schools, to the Counsellors at coaching institutes, other MBA aspirants and all others those who could impart some gaan. I examined placements, course, batchsize, infrastructure and all other parameters that could make a difference during the MBA course.

And I was lost. Different perspectives, different preferences and different rankings...but I couldn't come up with any single strong reason to prefer either of them over the other. After much deliberation, I concluded that whatever be my decision, It couldn't be wrong. It will not have any significant impact on my career.

So, as I feared, It has finally come down to a toss!!

Then I made up my mind, It's SJM SOM, IIT Bombay. The reasons if you ask me, are that it provides better oppurtunities to learn, the brand name of IIT, smaller batch size and hence more choice when it comes to placements.

I know, these are not convincing enough. My real motivation has to be something more concrete!! So after a little deep diving and soul searching, I found that maybe I didn't want to risk 70K in NITIE, in case I get thru IIMB. Since there aren't any other strong differences between the two, why not go for IITB, after the IIM results are out. I could save some BIG bucks, If at all I make to IIMB. Though the chances are bleak, there wouldn't be any guilty conscience if it happens..

So, that's it, End of the Story. Matter settled !! I am going to the Only Place to 'B' - whether it is IIM or IIT :-)

Menace of the Mobile Phones

2006-04-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

This post is a tribute to all those poor souls, who by sheer bad luck (No, not carelessness) have carried their mobiles to those much awaited interviews and screwed them up.

Imagine how you would feel when your mobile rings, playing that fancy ring tone of yours, while you are passionately explaining your long term career goals to the panel. It sucks big time, right ?

Well, I have experienced this highly embarrassing situation during my IIFT interview !! The end result, I was chucked out. Though I know that my cell phone was not the only reason, I found great comfort in crediting the full blame for my failure on my cell phone.

I thought that I was the only fool on Earth. But recently, I have found some others expressing similar experiences and felt relieved. There are enough people out there who forgot that their mobile has a Silence Button. So, after all, that was a human error.

One of them narrates :

" My mobile beeped with the message received tone. First in the GD while the Professor was giving some introductory talk. Then I switched it off and asked to be excused. Then when we came out later after gd, I turned it on to message ppl. But later just forget to switch it OFF. So in the interview it beeped once again. I took it out and switched it off again. "

And another shares his woes :

" My mobile rang during my XLRI Interview this year... similar bad luck... what to say !! In my case I literally screwed up my answer to 'Tell me about yourself' because of this. "

So all of you slogging day in and day out to crack that all-important interview, keep this in mind.

Your Mobile could ruin Everything !!

IIMB GD/PI : The Final Showdown

2006-04-06T06:01:00.000-07:00

Date : 5th April
Place : Bangalore

"The Last GD/PI of the season. My only chance to enter the IIMs. "

I have been reciting these words for the last couple of weeks. Hoping for my Guardian Angel to listen to them. With a CAT percentile of just 97.25 %, I need all the blessings to convert this call.

This time my strong profile is not going to come to my rescue. It has done its part. In fact, IIMB has given its calls after careful sifting of people with good profiles. So, It's just my performance in the GD/PI that is going to matter. Pretty scary thought !!

The Venue :

I read somewhere that the first time a person enters an IIM, he/she feels humbled by the magnificence of the Institute. Very true indeed !! The serene premises of IIM Bangalore, filled me with a variety of emotions : awe, inspiration and intimidation.

I checked out my name in the list and proceeded to the allotted classroom, M-23.

The Batch :

Our batch is supposed to have 6 members, and I was the last on the list. This always happens to me. I was the last person during IITB and NITIE interviews too. The problem is that I will have to wait outside the door for my turn, like a batsman sitting in his pads, with a bat, waiting for the next wicket to fall. But then I converted both NITIE and IITB. Will the magic work one more time ? Hmmm, Getting Senti..No, I was getting nervous.

I got on to the first floor and there were three others waiting. After a brief interaction, I found that each of them has at least 2 yrs. workex. There was one BLACKI, one BLICK and the other a solitary B( Join the Club !! ). A few minutes later, the 5th person walked in and he had more or less similar profile. The 6th person didn't turn up. Apparently, he decided to skip IIMB( Thanks a ton, dude ).

The Panel :

The panel had two professors. Both looked cool. Both were wearing casuals( Believe me, T-shirts !! ). One of them was smoking pipe.

The Process :

Case Study :

10 min Preparation and 15 min discussion.

The case was a tussle between a professor at a premier Institute and a preferred recruiter of the institute. The recruiter says that 80% of the students are unemployable as they do not have the practical knowledge. The professor feels that since his students have been doing well in R&D divisions of major companies, maybe the job profiles offered by the recruiter are not good enough for his students. So, what could be done ?

Pretty good discussion. Determined to initiate, I started the GD highlighting the difference in the mindset and was cut in the middle by others. It was not a very clean start. Later, I pitched in 4-5 times and ensured that I got enough bandwidth. In fact, due the small number, there wasn't a fight for air time.

A decent performance as an Individual as well as a Group.

Summary :

15 minutes were given for the summary. Oops!! I forgot my watch :( ( Those who know me wouldn't be surprised ). Hence, I couldn't keep track of time. And the consequence, the paper was snatched away before I could complete the last line. No idea how much my forgetfulness had cost me.

Interview :

The interview started with the most irritating of the questions : Why did you leave TCS for Oracle ? And the usual blah..blah..blah

Then the other professor took charge. All the questions asked by him were on my workex.
1. What did u learn in Oracle ?
2. Tell us about your product ?
3. Challenges faced during development
4. Market potential for the product
5. Future prospects
6. Alternative designs

The problem I face with these kind of general questions, is that I tend to answer in a circumlocutory manner. Though I consciously tried to reply straight to the point, I did digress a lot of times. What can I do ? Old habits die hard.

After about 10-15 mins, the professor indicated the other to continue.

Then, the discussion moved on to my career goals. I meticulously and sincerely tried to explain my Business Plan. I don't know how much the panel was convinced. They don't show their feelings, Do they ? And they exercise great control over their body language.

And then came my hobbies. He asked me about my latest book. And I replied, " Jack Welch's Straight from the Gut." He asked me why Welch liked India. Stammered something about Outsourcing, Cost cutting etc. He wasn't convinced. Then he asked about some centre Welch had opened in Bangalore. No idea. Big Blooper :(

Then the professor explained that his role was to test me on General Stuff and continued with the following Questions :
1. About the fact that 70% of telugus flee the country once they graduate.
2. The unfulfilled promise by Congress Government, the so called free power for farmers.
3. The problem of Naxalism and the possible solutions.
4. The recent controversy over the proposed Uranium Mine near Krishna River

I had become more open by the time, and in a hurry to answer these questions, I had inadvertently shown my bias. They must have felt that I was opinionated. Again, I wore my weakness on my sleeve.

After an eerie silence, I was told that I could leave.

The Verdict :

I have no idea how it went... or the kind of impression I made on the panel. There were moments of approval, but there were a lot of bloopers too.

Well, I am keeping my fingers, hands, arms and legs crossed !!

Googlism!!

2006-04-06T01:58:00.000-07:00

Recently I came across a site called Googlism while reading a blog. No, no I don't think it is an official google site. But It claims to tell us what Google.com thinks of us, our friends or anything!

Curious, I tried out and ended up with bullshit...loads of it !!
And for those of you who are still curious, this was the outcome :

Theja is a scientist and a professional who lived in germany for 14 years and since 1991 in australia
( No way...I never left India. But wouldn't complain about the professional thing )

Theja is the mirror image of the islamic extremists
( lol..Replace mirror with opposite )

Theja is setting up a new teleconference studio in wattala and is planning to offer free studio time for saadhu samaja
( Where the hell is this wattala..and what saadhu samaja !! )

Theja is an idiot here you go
( Well, No comments. )

Theja is a site about christianity
( Again, Have you ever heard of a christian with this name ? )

Theja is worthy of worship
( Is it ? Congrats on your enlightenment )

Theja is absolutely right with the comments to rikbe and bill
( Yeah..Definitely I must have been right )

Theja is on all these boards?
( Pretty sure I am )

Theja is hell bent in tying the nuptial knot with sanjith
( Sanjith or Sanjitha ? FYI, I am not gay. )

Have you come till here ? I guess u have an appetite for Nonsense. Try the site yourself ;)

Which Specialization ?!!

2006-03-28T06:40:00.000-08:00

Recently while shovelling for info on Career Paths for various MBA specializations, I have come across this Simple Test to find out which specialization suits a person better.

Answered the 49 Questions, and here is the result :

Your scores for the four areas of specialization are as follows

HR: 25
Finance: 26
Sales And Marketing: 29
Systems And Operations: 29

Hmm.. Cool, Right ?

XLRI Result : Bruised but not Killed

2006-03-27T06:45:00.000-08:00

Waitlisted at 78 :(

The first WaitList of the season. And it completes the portofolio : 3 Converts, 1 Kick and 1 Waitlisted.

I did not have a good interview, still I thought my score of 99.54% and my Profile would take me thru. I was really looking forward to XL Result to help me sort out the Dilemma. But unfortunately, I am ditched again!!

Last year the waitlist has moved upto 68. Can it pull off another 10 this year ? Fat Chance :(

So, It is between NITIE and IITB now. And perhaps, by chance, IIMB ?!!

Rendezvous with the Red tape

2006-03-25T04:30:00.000-08:00

Recently I required a Police Clearence Certificate(PCC). And upon inquiry, I found that it can be obtained from the Passport Office. I knew I was in for some real trouble.

Passport Office is one of the worst manifestations of Indian Bureaucracy. Long Queues, exorbitant delays, annoying clerks, irritating middlemen and bundles & bundles of paper work. This is one govt. department where the working days are few and working hours even shorter.

Generally, PCC is issued within two days if the passport holder resides within the territory of the passport office. No verification, No checks. But for the Outstation candidates, there is a longwinding process, as long as that of the new passport issue. Ignorant of this funda, I had applied as an out station candidate and ended up in a maze of procedures, documents and bull shit.

It started innocously one fine morning, when I woke up early and made it to the passport office by 8.30 AM. The clerk filled a few forms and asked me to get the Residence Proof. Ooops!! Plodded back home, went to the bank, and after an hour's wait, finally got my Bank Statement. The next day, after a long, boring wait again at the passport office, submitted the application. I was told that I would get my passport and PCC by post in 15 days. (Hmm..that's better. No more visits to this place.)

7 days Later, Checked the status on the Net. Police report awaited.

10 days Later, Police report awaited.

15 days..No change.

Don't I know how long it takes for the central govt. officials to move the file from table to table !! So, decided to wait.

20 Days passed, and I got a call on my mobile from the Head Constable of Passport Enquiry. About time! I met him at my Apts.
" Now, where is your residence proof ?"
" Submitted at Passport Office "
" Then go and ask him for the PCC. I will not do the Enquiry. "
This guy started shouting.

After going thru the documents, He signed the report and asked me for his 'FEE'. For all those who are not familar with this word 'FEE', It is nothing but a formal and blatant way of asking for a bribe. A bribe to just do his duty. Even though all the documents are perfect, all the requirements fulfilled, these guys need some moolah to move the files around.

What If I refuse ? Hmm..Let me narrate an incident. Earlier, in the passport office, I met a guy pasting his photos on a passport application and striked a converstation with him. He told me that he had applied for the passport 2 months back and the police verification had gone well too. But finally, he refused to pay bribe to the Constable and the result, the Police Report was Negative. So, He had to start all over again.

Moral of the Story: Bribe Now, or repent at leisure !!

Day 24, I found a letter at my doorstep. A notice from the passport office asking me to submit the Police Report within 8 days barring which my file would be closed. PANIC !! I called up the Constable and found out that he would submit the report that weekend. His officer would take his own time in approving it and sending it to the Passport Office. Even after eating half my wallet, these guys aren't getting the work done. If the file takes more than 8 days to move to the passport office, My Application would be closed.

Day 27, Went to the commissioner's office to see to that my file is moved. I went by 9.30 AM, the time when the office is supposed to open. The Concerned Officer walked in at 12.00PM. I should have known the punctuality of Govt. Empoloyees !! After a bit of 'persuasion', the file moved.

Day 35, Not Yet Received my PCC. Fed up, I cancelled the Application the next day and collected my Passport from the Passport Office.

35 days ... for a simple PCC. And that too, returned without service. This is the state of our New India !!

Hmm.. a long post. But couldn't resist from depicting the Dirty Face of Indian Bureaucracy in Detail.

IITB Result : The Dilemma Begins

2006-03-23T05:02:00.000-08:00

IITB has congratulated me too !! I'm IN

IITB GD/PI has been the best so far, and I have been banking on it. It was my only ray of hope, in those days of despair, when IIFT chucked me out and my XLRI, NITIE GD/PI didn't go well.
With the pleasent surprise from NITIE, the equations changed. Now, Which institute shud I choose ?

Both are similar when it comes to class diversity ( rather the lack of it, bcoz both take only engineers ), both have good placements, both have reputation in Systems Specialization, great Infrastructure and a poor Sex Ratio. Looking at the differences...

Going by the rankings, NITIE has been ranked higher all the previous years. But IITB is improving a lot these days and is gradually making it to the top leagues.

Going by the Curriculum, IITB scores. Its course is more diverse and covers a range of topics. NITIE has only a few electives. And the number of papers covered by NITIE is lower bcoz of its 4 month Industrial Project. Though a lil more Industrial Exposure ( and stipend ;) ) is appreciated, Summer Project does the job effectively enough that wasting 4 more months in Industry, esp. when we have a lifetime to explore the practicalities of Mgmt., is not such a good idea. I would prefer a few more class room courses than that.

Coming to the Networking, NITIE has a bigger batch strength and better chances to meet and group with different people. It even brings diversity in terms of placements. Different companies visit the campus coz of the numbers.

Now, the degree awarded: IITB offers Master of Mgmt. ( M.Mgmt ) where as NITIE offers PGDIM ( PG Diploma in Industrial Mgmt. ). I definitely prefer a Masters. I read in an article that PGDIM is not recognized as a PG degree in US colleges. But IIMs award a PG Diploma too, and its authenticity has never been questioned !!

And Finally, NITIE is a full fledged B-School, whereas IITB, though a seperate School, is still a part of the IIT setup.

So which of these do I wanna join ? Well, Both of them.
Since that is not possible, I just hope that XLRI/IIMB would show me the way !!!

IITD Result : Another Feather in the Cap

2006-03-22T05:04:00.000-08:00

IITD Result is out today and another Convert :)

After NITIE Admit, this has little impact on my plans. Initially, I wasn't planning to apply for IIT Delhi. But after CAT Debacle, I decided to have as many failsafe options as possible. However, my visit to IITD for the GD/PI has changed my perception.

They have got awesome campus and cool hostels( I can't say the same about their mess ). Their curriculum, academic credentials of their professors and Infrastructure impressed me a lot. Above all I liked their GD/PI process. Well organized, cool and student-driven. Last year placements were good too. So, IITD became a choice, rather than a compromise.

But now that I have got better options, I will have to disappoint IITD.
DMS, I will miss you :(

Miss India 2006

2006-03-20T02:21:00.000-08:00

The three most beautiful women (?) of India have been declared. After months of shortlisting, voting and ramp-walking, finally, the show is over. And here are the winners : Neha kapur, Natasha Suri and Amruta Patki.

I generally am not interested in beauty pageants. Not that I am not interested in pretty girls, but I believe that the real pretty stuff is out there in the crowd rather than on the stage. With a few exceptions like Ash, Not many winners have made it really BIG in the aftermath. But after the chronic bombardment of BMMI ( Banunga mein Miss India ) promos on TV, I got curious. So, I took a look at the winners yesterday once the results were out and gosh !! My earlier opinion has been revalidated.

I sense a steady decline in the TRPs ( Television Rating Points ) for the Miss India Show. Maybe people got over the initial furore generated a decade back when Aishwarya and Sushmita were crowned Miss World and Miss Universe. Maybe bcoz no more crowns came in the way of Indians. Or simply, people just found some better pastimes !!

Look at the photos of the past Miss Universe winners. Hope Neha wud make it to the list !!

NITIE Result : The First Break Thru

2006-03-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

Hurraaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.. I got thru NITIE.

Such a relief. And after such a long wait.. After IIFT debacle, I would have turned real paranoid, if I hadn't made it thru NITIE. Now..It's time to cool off and freak out.

The way my NITIE GD/PI took place, I didn't have any expectations. Apparently, my Guardian Angel has decided that it is high time that I come out of the lean patch I have been going thru these days !

With the BIG One looming large, the Marathon is not over yet. I still have to concentrate on IIMB!! Meanwhile, a lil drum beating wouldn't hurt ;)

NITIE GD/PI : Stressed Out !

2006-03-12T02:15:00.000-08:00

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 ...

The Sorting Hat : It's Harry Potter Time Again !!

2006-03-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

Recently, while browsing the Harry Potter fan sites, I came across a quiz. This Quiz is supposed to work like the old sorting hat in of Potter Books. After answering the 20 odd Questions on the site, this is the house I was sorted into :

Congratulations on making it to Ravenclaw!

Do you want to know which house you belong to ? Find here

XLRI PI : Dull, Boring and Lousy

2006-03-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

[ Disclaimer : This Post may not make sense to a casual reader. But if you are one of those MBA aspirants prowling for some info. on the GD/PI process, go ahead, u will find enough. ]

Sometimes, weather in Hyderabad gets Crazy. As Crazy as ME.

Amidst these days of scorching sun, it suddenly started to rain. And I ended up with severe cold and a sore throat. Impatient and late, I took an auto to the railway station. By the time I reached the platform, the train was about to start. Huffing and Puffing, I got in, clambered onto my berth and thus began the soon-to-be-hopeless journey.

I spent the next morning at my friend's place and relaxed well. I got ready in the afternoon, took an auto again and reached the venue 30 minutes early. Now, XLRI does not conduct GDs. ( Good Decision, I always felt that GD is a waste of time `coz a single guy can create chaos with due diligence ). So they give the exact time slot for the PI and hence XLRI process is the shortest of all the B-Schools'. One hardly spends an hour in the process against the B-School average of half day( Many times it goes on the whole day ).

Exactly at the given time, I was called in. Let me the give the transcript of the interview this time.

------------
Legend :

P1,P2,P3 - The Panel Members
Me - Moi, Myself
() - My Body Language
[] - My Inner Voice
{} - Perceived Panel Reactions

--

Me : Good Evening Sirs.
P2 : A very good evening, please take your seat.
Me : Thanks.

[ These profs look like they just had a heavy lunch. Curse my Luck, I had to get the post-lunch slot :( ]

P3 : Tell us about Urself and Why you want to join XLRI.
[ Aaargh..Such a Boring Start ]
Me : ( With a confident smile like that in the Close-Up Ads ) I come from so and so place in Andhra Pradesh. I have done my graduation ..blah blah.. and working with ... blah blah...I need MBA to gain holistic knowledge of business functions..another blah blah.

{ P1 looking trying to concentrate on my file and P2 totally disinterested. P3 listening intently }

P3 : So, you have started in a village. What is the growth rate of your village ?
[ Huh..Village and Growth Rate !! Don't you know how rural India is faring ]
Me : It is not growing at the expected rate `coz of its proximity with two other mini-cities...

P3 : You are working in Hyderabad and recently sth interesting happened there !!
Me : Yes sir, the Fab City.
{ P2 going thru my Certificates Now }

P3 : Now, Convince your chief minister to establish the Fab City in your Village instead of Hyderabad.
[ Now What ?? How the heck am I gonna sell it ?? ]
Me : ( With the best earnest-and-serious-looking expression that I could manage ) started with Infrastructure, Land cost, water supply and rambled on and on and on..[ I really tried hard to sell and I have overdone it. I blabbered for ages and was talking utter nonsense. I really shud have cut the crap. Damn ME.]

P3 : Now How would u convince the Company ?
Me : Tonnes of Trash again...but this time I was wiser and stopped sooner.

{ P3 was totally unconvinced and looked like he was done with me. P2 was taking a brisk walk around the room. P1 took over }

P1 : What are the backward states in India....
Me : Bihar
P1 : Wait, Let me complete
[ Cool, man, why are you rushing..and these profs are from BIHAR..U IDIOT ]

P1 : And among these which three can be developed using technology and good management ?
Me : Can I think for a moment sir ( Put up an expression as If I was thinking hard, but in fact, I cudn't think of anything )
Me : Sir, Jharkhand can be developed leveraging its mineral resources, Meghalaya by developing Tourism and Tea sir and Uttaranchal [ Look at the selection, I cudn't think of any other ] by starting power projects as it has many rivers and hills, sir.
[ And now u stop saying sir all the time as if u were a call centre operative ]

P1 : What is the state of govt. in Uttaranchal.
Me : No idea sir..[ Didn't u mention that it is very stable in your above answer?? ]

P1 : What are sources of Power in India ?
Me : Crude Oil
{ P1-3, 'Is it?' kind of a surprised expression }
[ SHIT, What happened to you ]
Me : Sorry sir, it's hydel, coal and nuclear

P1 : What are their shares ?
Me : ( With a stupid embarrassed smile ) No idea.

P1 : Which Organization controls the thermal power generation ?
Me : ( With lotza Confidence ) NTPC
{ Silence. No one was speaking. }
[ Now What?? Did I Screw up again ]
Me : ( In a damage-control mode ) I dunno If there is an apex bosy but NTPC does take care of thermal power generation.

P1 : OK, Now tell me the important events that took place in AP over the last Five Years ?
Me :
1. Hitech City [ Said Cyber Towers First and noting their blank faces, rephrased it ]
2. Draught and Fall of TDP Govt.
3. TRS and its preposterous demands for a seperate state
4. Sania Mirza
5. Fab City { P3 cut me here }

P3 : Now Fab City has come to your village, right ?
Me : ( With an awkward smile ) Sir, frankly speaking it is not possible.
P2 : But didn't u say it is better in terms of Infrastructure ?
Me : Frankly speaking, there isn't any infrastructure in my village
{ An evil grin from P3 }

P2 : OK, Whatz ur rank in your class ?
Me : [ Finally .. ] University Second sir.
P2 : Hmm...Please sign the paper and you can leave.
P3 : Please send in Aarti [ Agarwal?? ;) ]

I signed and ran out.

------------

Phew.. Now those who have persisted, and read till here, would have understood how lousy the interview went. Having scored 99.54% in XAT, I had put my bets on XL, but now, Fat Chance :(

BodhiTree.. Ho gaya mera GMD.

P.S: BodhiTree is a band of XLRI Students. GMD( Gaand mein Dandaa ) is their most popular song. No Wonder..

What "My" Face Says

2006-03-01T22:30:00.000-08:00

Recently while browsing casually, I came across a website that claims to tell me what people think of on looking at my face. Well, after a few simple questions describing my eyes, eyebrows and face, this is what the site tell me:

At first glance, people see you as confident and determined.
Overall, your true self is moody and dynamic.
With friends, you seem logical, detached, and a bit manipulative.
In love, you seem mysterious and interesting.
In stressful situations, you seem selfish and moody.

Hmm..How true is it ?? Friends, you tell me.

IIFT Result: The Expected Debacle

2006-03-01T01:08:00.000-08:00

IIFT Results are out..and as expected I didn't get thru. Strangely I felt relieved. As a wise man has put it, "The fear of disaster is more dreadful than the disaster itself."

I knew during my interview itself that I goofed it up. But ironically, only one person in our group made it to the final list. Some of the others were very confident then. Anyways, the Kolkata Campus List is not out and maybe they are on it. I did not even apply for IIFT,Kolkata and so it's time to forget IIFT.

One of my options is down, only Five left. But No Worries..I need Just ONE !!

IITB GD/PI: A Different Experience

2006-02-28T04:39:00.000-08:00

[ Disclaimer : This Post may not make sense to a casual reader. But if you are one of those MBA aspirants prowling for some info. on the GD/PI process, go ahead, u will find enough. ]

Last time when I visited Mumbai, it was on a cool November evening. Even then, I got a clue as to how hot and humid Mumbai climate might turn to be in the summer. Two years being a long time, I forgot the observation. But when I stepped out into the Dadar Rly. Station for my IITB GD/PI, I felt it. The sweat that couldn't be contained even by a double spray of Deo, the heat on the head and the hot breeze on the face .. Gosh! Summer has already arrived in Mumbai.

I could rant on and on on Mumbai, But I shouldn't Digress..

Coming to my GD/PI, mine being the afternoon slot, I had plenty of time to rest and laze around. And then when I was dressing up( gearing up ) for the GD/PI, my roommate walked in with an exasperated expression on his face. He completed his GD/PI that morning and obviously he had screwed it up. 'WIERD', he said and sat down. After cooling off, I tried to find out what exactly was weird. He narrated his PI to me esp. those Questions which he considered ( and I thoroughly agreed ) were weird. To cut short the long story, the questions were not the typical MBA ones: No why MBA ?. No Tech or Acads or Workex related ones. The Questions were biased towards maths and stats, co-ordinate geometry to be precise. And there were some GK questions like Women CMs of India, Tax slabs etc. I knew then, that it would be an altogether different ball game this time.

At 12:45 PM, the process started with a presentation on SJMSOM and a small photostory on SOMites. Certificate Verification followed and then our GD followed.

GD was actually a HR case study. A classical case of labour union problems. A very old and boring case I would say. Though there weren't many fresh perspectives, everyone got a chance to put forward their ideas. Due to lack of overtly aggressive guys, we had a pretty cool GD. Barring a few, everyone else should have scored the same points.

Then the PIs started. Being the 12th person in our panel, I had another 3 hours to laze around. And now, being the last person also has its advantages. One gets a chance to guage the expectations of the panel from the initial feedback. The first person came and left without talking. The second person came with another just-outta-hell kind of expression. And his feedback, again the same single word:'WEIRD'. Lotza GK questions, a few math and few workex related questions. Well, my GK stinks and my Math sucks...so I left it to my guardian angel to take care of me and patiently awaited my turn.

At 5:45 PM, taking a deep breath, I entered the room. After wishing the panel a Good Day( hoping the day would end Good too !! ), I tried to draw thier attention to my SOP, so as to steer them to a discussion on my career goals. See..MBA aspirants generally mug up answers to the typical career-related questions and hence find little difficulty in answering them. Perhaps, the panel knows this too, they didn't fall for my trick.

"What is Theory of Computation and Explain Its Significance in Computer Science ?" -- was the first question. Hmm... After dusting my three-year old memory shelves, finally gave a vague answer. Then followed a volley of questions on PPP, GDP, rupee appreciation, imports and other economy related questions. I was answering in a cool manner and everything seemed to be going fine..

Then came the googly: "How do you find the inverse of a 3x4 Matrix?". I started recollecting my secondary school math. Although, I suspected that the question was tricky ( Does it really have an inverse ?!!) .. I started explaining about how I would come up with a 4x3 matrix. After a bit of cross-questioning by the prof., I finally acknowledged that only square matrices have inverses :( . Basics, boss, Basics.

With a condescending look, he asked me why I was not able to come to that answer sooner. I accepted that I was rustic in Maths and that coding has nothing to do with Maths. He looked surprised and asked me again if coding and maths are not at all related. I firmly maintained my stand. I had been in S/W field for almost 2 years, but with a few exceptions, never had I strained my brain even a little .. I dunno if it was positive or negative, point was taken.

OK..then onwards questions moved to more generic ERP stuff. And in between, there was another interesting question. "Given 6 refrigerators from 6 different companies, how would you decide on which to select ?". After struggling for a few minutes I got it this time : Weighted Average of Different Parameters. Well, a simple answer.. afterall B-Schools select their students that way!! And then the last Question: "What are the states in North East India ?". Well, took some time again, and came up with the correct number of states: Seven. But I missed Tripura and added Sikkim. Finally, with a thank you, it ended.

Whether I had done well or not can be decided only on the D-Day : 30th March. But overall a different experience. It wasn't like the stereotypic MBA interview. It was more like a Job/PG interview. All objective Questions, a very cool panel, supportive not stressing out...A memorable experience.

SJM SOM... sure ROCKS!!!

Bird Flu: The new face of Terror.

2006-02-24T00:10:00.000-08:00

It seems Darwin's Theory of Evolution is not limited to human beings. It is applicable to disease carrying micro-organisms too. As man grows stronger with vaccines and medicines, Nature finds a way to attack back.

Small Pox had been eliminated. AIDS has become a cliche. Even clinical trials are in progress for HIV Vaccine. SARS had a brief but frightening spell in between. And now arrives the new death machine - The Avian Flu.

As the cartoon( courtesy : 6 Faces ) depicts, Avian Flu has become the new face of terror. Last time, when it struck in 2004, the effect on human life was insignifant. But in 1918-19, the Spanish pandemic has killed about 50 million people. So the threat is real and very near.

Looking at the basic details : Avian Flu is an Influenza-like fever caused by virus esp. in the foul birds. It spreads through bird droppings, meat and eggs. The current virus strain is called H5N1. Through birds it can affect human beings and could spread very rapidly. Currently, the flu is mild in human beings but scientists fear that the virus may transform itself into a deadly Human Flu. If that happens, It could make the 1918 pandemic look minor.

So, How to prevent it? Turn Vegeterian. I am an Eggiterian, Hence the chances of infection are much less than the Non-vegeterians. And for strict Non-vegeterians who couldn't survive without meat, cook in healthy conditions and be very careful next time you go to the poultry shop to pick up your chicken.

Now that the Health Department has been woken up from its stupor, I hope it wouldn't be much long before the disease is contained.

Calling all Telugu Fans ..

2006-02-21T23:11:00.000-08:00

Are you from Andhra Pradesh? Are you an ardent fan of Telugu Language ?
Then have you heard about wikipedia in telugu ? No, then you should be thanking me for this post.

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia where anyone can go and find information about almost every topic. This is not a corporate encyclopedia like the Britannica, but a free-for-all encyclopedia. So who compiles the information ? It's we. We can add/edit/append information about topics we know about and share our knowledge with others. Drop by drop we build the ocean.

The orginal wikipedia, which was started by Jimmy Wales can be read here . Thousands of articles can be found here. Inspired, Our telugu community has started a wikipedia in telugu: Telugu Wikipedia. This gives information in telugu about telugu society and culture. In addition to the exclusive information on our state and culture, it covers a broad range of topics like history, science, politics to name a few.

If you are a novice seeking information on telugu culture, go and exlplore the telugu wikipedia. If you are a stalwart who knows enough about telugu culture, contribute and share your knowledge with our community.

Telugu wikipedia is an Encyclopedia written by telugu people for telugu people about telugu people. Let's contribute to this sea of knowledge. Even if it's a drop, It makes a difference.

P.S: I have posted this inspired by chaduvari blog. Take a look at it.

Google Blog Search

2006-02-20T01:42:00.000-08:00

Recently came across this through a link on a friend's blog.
With Blogs gaining popularity as media.. Google has already come up with a search facility.

Google Blog Search

The latest from google. The UI is as simple as the Google Search..Only difference is that this Search is limited to the Blogs. It is still in the Beta Version. But the results are cool.

I will have to say that google is 'Nokia of IT'. Nokia is known for its unrelenting focus on Innovation. The fact is reflected in the numerous numero uno mobile phones it has brought into the market. By the time people get used to the existing models, Nokia comes up with a new one. It is the same with Google. Always, in the front, leading the markets with its highly Innovative and Creative Products.

But the common key strength of all Google products is the Simplicity. They don't have any fancy stuff, just light-weight UI that is fast. Google focusses more on the core requirements rather than on the extravagant paraphernalia. Its results are always faster, though the features are fewer.

But, in some cases, I felt that some necessary features were left out. Look at Google Talk. I prefer Yahoo Messenger to Google Talk, bcoz the latter is too simple. It is excellent for Voice Chat. But It doesn't have emoticons, BUZZ and above all the facility to login in invisible mode. Maybe we can expect them in the later versions.

Unreal Tournament : Frag 'em all

2006-02-18T09:20:00.001-08:00

Started playing a new PC game : Unreal Tournament. Though years have passed since its release, didn't get a chance to play till now. Arena games are worth the money only when played on LAN and I didn't get access to LAN till now. So, Gaming Fraternity, do excuse my delay at realizing a wonderful game.

For those who are not aware, UT is a First Person Shooter(FPS) arena game. Several players play in a map, and the objective is to kill as many other players as possible. Each kill is known as a frag. The person who frags the preset number of times faster is the Champion.

So, this weekend, in order to utilize the 100 mbps bandwidth of our office LAN, I have joined my fellow gamers( and colleagues) in this DeathMatch tournament. Initially, I felt it was similar to Quake 3. I tried playing Quake thrice, once every time a new version was released, but each time I had given up in less than two days. Now Quake did connect with most of the arena fans, but still the bouncers and transporters have ruined the gameplay. The shooting was more of luck with people jumping around and vanishing..So I quit that game. But UT is more decent. Of course translocators, lifts and other fancy stuff of Quake is present here too, but it does not interfere with the gameplay. And graphics are much better than Quake's.

Within a coupla games I loved it. I decided to complete the single player scenarios too.So, created my character and started fragging.Here is my avatar - Infernus.

UT has a variety of characters to choose avatars from; You can be a Soldier or a Rogue, Alien or a Robot, Machine or an Animal and for those insatiable funkies there are some hybrid versions too ;-)

I selected this character coz he looked quite decent.
But still, decency doesn't stop him from fragging..

IIT Delhi GD/PI: A Mixed Bag

2006-02-13T06:49:00.000-08:00

[ Disclaimer : This Post may not make sense to a casual reader. But if you are one of those MBA aspirants prowling for some info. on the GD/PI process, go ahead, u will find enough. ]

Completed my IIT Delhi GD/PI too.. the second in the series.

I reached IIT Delhi the day before itself( Not bcoz I was anxious, but the air deccan flight got resheduled ). IIT Delhi was a HUGE Campus. It was a MiniCity in itself. One can easily get lost. Anyway things went fine and I ended up in my accomodation. Delhi was very cold, touching 4-5 C in early hours. Thank God, I took my Jerkin or else I wouldn't have survived to survive the interview.

Plodding along the dusty road, I reached the venue just in time. A presentation was going on about IIT Delhi. A cool one...these guys do know how to market their institute. One thing i liked about the seniors there is their sense of humour and helping attitude. There were some alumni too, and they were very keen on taking any questions we had on the course.

Then, 12 of us were sent for the group discussion. It was a conference hall with participants sitting on either side of a long table in the middle. The professor gave us the topic: "Should IIMs be privatised?". I was ruminating about the ideas when the chaos started. The people were very keen on putting forward their points that they have successfully ended up creating a fish market, where no one was heard. All along the 10 min GD, at least 3 persons were speaking at any given instance. I tried to make a few entries, but failed miserably. Three person with loud voice, agressively used their lung power to consume as much airtime as possible. And nothing much was discussed or decided upon.In fact, nothing much was heard.

The Group failed and I failed even miserably. Then we all came out and sat down waiting for the Interviews to begin. One of the guys who shouted the most and devoured almost all the allotted time, started complaining that people did not allow him to speak. And I had to resist a strong urge to punch him in the stomach.

And then I was called for the interview. No cell this time and No interests in tourism. I went in confidently and wished the three persons sitting there. The panel has three persons: 2 industry experts and 1 professor. Each one of them looked very professional.

The Interview started with "Why should we take you?" and went along very well along the lines of my career goals, work experience, problems in the industry, extra-curriculars. The persons looked like no-nonsense guys and cut me short every time I tried to blabber. They wanted precise answers and I feel that I have done well in giving them.

Overall, a very bad GD and a good PI.

Hopes on you, DMS !!

IIFT: My First GD/PI and First Screw-up

2006-02-13T05:26:00.000-08:00

[ Disclaimer : This Post may not make sense to a casual reader. But if you are one of those MBA aspirants prowling for some info. on the GD/PI process, go ahead, u will find enough. ]

My IIFT GD/PI, the first one of this season took place in hyderabad. Started off well with a good Essay and a decent GD but ended up flat on my face with a shoddy performance in PI.

Let me recount the events leading to the tragedy..

Reached the venue on time. Punctuality has never been my virtue, but my new Snooze Alarm did make up for that. There were 12 people in my batch. Half of them freshers and the others with workex. Everyone looked cool.

We were seated in form of a circle. A very good arrangement for GD.

After fiddling for a few moments, the essay topic was announced. "Is Cricket losing its popularity in India?". Hmm...good one. I think everyone agreed on this issue. Launched into the topic stating the reasons behind the losing popularity. Completed it well in time before the paper was snatched.

Then started the GD. "Should dress code be implemented in schools and colleges".Two minutes for each one expressing his/her views and 36 mins for open discussion, with each person moderating for 3 mins. I was the first person and talked about dress code reducing class distinctions, inspiring pride and encouraging a feeling of oneness. And then others continued. There was a consensus on implementing dress code in schools. But there was a divide on whether the favour should be extended to colleges. Somehow in the middle of the discussion, the group digressed and started discussing more interesting things like the 'Western Influence on Indian Youth". Overall, a well-organized GD.

Then started the Personal Interviews. Again I was the first person to go in. The panel has 3 men. One of them was seriously going through my essays. One person looked very relaxed and highly disinterested. The third person took most of my interview. It started of with the most cliched Interview Openers: Tell us about Yourself ?. Boring Question...But I droned on for a few mins.

Then went on to Why MBA? Another routine question. But while delivering my mugged up routine answer, something new happened. The Incorrigible Idiot that I was, I left my cell phone ON and the music started all of a sudden. Gosh..I knew I blew it up. The person meticulously going through my essays till then looked up with what-the-hell-is-that expression. With a thoroughly embarrassed expression, I apologised and switched it OFF. I dunno how much impact this has on the panel, but then onwards the questions were even less intent and the panel looked very disinterested.

After a few Questions Comparing IIMB and XLRI with IIFT, the person going through my essays looked up and asked if I were interested in travelling around. Hitherto he has not been looking at me barring the curious glance when my cell rang. He asked me to explain the significance of charminar. STUMPED.. It really was a bolt from the blue. I said that I had no idea. He asked about Golconda Fort. I said that I did not visit. At this point, the panel suddenly became very vibrant and started Quizzing me( Screwing me) with questions on Hyderabad and Nawabs. And finally ended the torture with a Question on Budha's Statue in Hussain Sagar. Well, I dunno it either and that was the final nail in my coffin.

I came out of the interview room, totally disgusted with myself. There is little hope on IIFT now. Better prepare well for the other interviews.And I am not going to carry my damn cell phone to an interview again.

P.S : On my return flight from delhi to hyderabad, two days after the interview, I had browsed through the InFlight Magazine of SpiceJet. Alas, there it was, a special edition on Hyderabad Nawabs and the archeological structures built by them. And then it striked to me : The panel has flown from delhi to Hyderbad for the Interviews. And unfortunately, they used SpiceJet...

My First Flight

2006-02-13T05:04:00.000-08:00

At last I have travelled by air. As a kid, how many times had I run out into the open yard on hearing that high pitch sound of the plane !! And how many times had I peeped at the those flights standing in the airport for a closer look !! And finally when I did board, I did fly thrice and with three operators : Air sahara( Hasn't it been renamed Jet Airways yet ?), Air Deccan and finally the cool SpiceJet. And by coincidence, it was the same Airbus A320 model all three times.

The take-off and landing was the best part of it. The sound and the riding-a-giant-wheel effect gives the real kicks. The view of the city, with the miniscule houses and narrow-lane-like highways, was awesome. Flying in the night or at dawn, one can experience the thrill of seeing thousands of lights below. And about the rest of the journey, it was as ordinary as sitting in a volvo bus.

And among the three carriers, though the service of Air Sahara is good, I would say SpiceJet is real Value for Money. Next time, I am gonna try Kingfisher ;)

Looking Back at 2005

2006-02-03T04:51:00.000-08:00

This post has been delayed by at least a month. Many things cropped up in January crying for my attention that I couldn't help ..

Though well past 2005.. I feel it is good to have a record of the last year.

2005 has been a mixed bag for me..not as great as 2004 but still not too bad.But over the years the even-numbered years proved better to me than the odd-numbered ones.That raises my hopes on 2006.

Well, let me recollect 2005 now :

1. Began this year roaming along pune JM road with a bunch of colleagues
The night was cold, but the crowd was cool.
2. Moved to Oracle in mid-jan
Believe me, the first job hop is not exactly fun.
3. Settled down in hyderabad.
No more rotis...and i can have a go at my favourite mirchi bajjis again ;))
4. Watched my first 3D movie in IMAX
Polar Express is a must see.
5. A harsh summer and then the torrential rains..
Let's see how cold the winter gets.
6. Potter 6 published.
I have become a big fan of Rowling's.
7. We delivered the second version of our product.
Work had been very hectic till then..
8. The CATastrophe - My ultimate Fiasco
But my current punchline - "Do or Die Trying"
9. Hurray! IIFT GD/PI call
You can't imagine the relief ..
10. Started coming to office on Bike
Shifting the gears used to be an ordeal..but now I am pretty comfortable.

Many days filled with fun, and many others filled with anxiety.Made some new friends, met some old ones and lost a few too ..But writing this mail has been an eye-opener.I could hardly list 10 things(of course i skipped a few silly details!!) for the whole year.If life goes at this pace, then i think i will be having fewer memories in coming years.

"We become so busy in life, that we almost forget living."
Very true, but then, that's life.

The Sixth Potter Book

2005-10-04T04:36:00.000-07:00

After a very long wait, finally completed the 'Half-Blood Prince'.And I will have to agree that it was a bit disappointing.

This one, unlike its predecessors, doesn't seem to have a strong central plot.It more or less looks like the 'Biography of Voldy'.Except Harry and Dumbledore(Of course Snape too), no one else does anything much in here.Ron and Hermione busy trying to cope with their adolescence, are completely left out of the main plot.By the way, romances galore and in an attempt to spice up matters amidst all the dark events, Rowling has really overcooked ...

Deaths galore too culminating in one final blow, deeath of dumbledore(Hope I haven't spolied surprise for anyone who hasn't read the book till now). But this might be the central mystery of the book.Did dumbledore really die ? Was Snape really Evil ? These questions are raising a fierce debate in all the discussion forums. Maybe dumbledore's death was a farce, a part of the grand plan cleverly contrived by Snape and Dumbledore to get better of Voldemort. Who knows ..Have to wait for the final book.

Anyway some of the things I liked or disliked in this book :

What surprised me the most:The unexpected couples..Rowling introduced quite a good number of pairs.The Horcruxes..they remind me of the old indian folk stories i have read in my childhood.And finally the transformation of Harry from being a gentle and affable kid to a strong and revengeful young man.Suddenly, his shyness has vanished and he shows more bravery.He was not as emotional as he was in HP5 when sirius died.

What I hated:Death of Dumbledore.A very pathetic death i would say.I have always loved this character for his apparent omniscience and the knack getting out of tight spots.And after all the things he has done(He is supposed to be the only wizard Voldemort has ever feared..) he ended up weakened in a futile attempt, disarmed by sixteen year old and simply finished off like he were some common muggle by the person he trusted the most (and the character i hated the most).Ron and Hermione doesn't seem to have any role in the plot too.

What I loved:The 'Biography' of Voldemort.This book almost covers the whole plot.And definitely, the last has to be a action packed and more serious as the final one-on-one battle between voldemort and Harry is on cards.But maybe we will miss Hogwarts and Quidditch!!

Anyway, it was overall a good read. And now waiting for the screen version of the 'Goblet of Fire'....