IIM I Experience - Better late than never

Addiction to any activity was one of the weakness I had put in all my IIM forms...and to prove myself honest I have been playing fifa06 for the past 2 weeks without any break...So little wonder I couldnt post nething...but as the title suggests...better late than never..

So here goes...

The story begins from my exit from the IIMC interview....after which I had thought I had seen them all....Indore was never on a very high rank on my priority scale...So just relaxed...Despite being very sure that they were going to ask technical questions...made no efforts to do ne study whtsoever...here is the result...(So this is a reminder to all those kids who dont take studies seriously...this could happen to u too...)

Date:26th March 2006

The centre was at Vashi....Had no issues reaching there thanks to the IMS guys who had taken the pain to post the map of the place....

GD was a case study....a pretty long one....most parts of the case made no sense whtsoever(It was fun to read though...the writer might be of an engineering background too...Lots of free time to write all tht stuff)...It was pretty chilled...8 people...I started the GD...made some points(good or bad I dont know...points nevertheless)...but whateva..structured the GD in between....and according to me did enuff so that I didnt get kicked off just due to my GD...Had to write a summary too..Thanks to Jayants tips I knew tht I had to be quick while writing the summary...so managed to get done with tht too..

Now they were callin people in random order...Kind of stupid as u dont know when ur turn will come(When u got to go....u got to go...)And its worse when u are the 7th one to be called of the 8 in the group...more so cos...By the time your turn comes...there is hardly anyone nearby to listen to ur exponentially worsening jokes...

So after a wait of 3 Hrs my turn finally does come...The panel was the same as tht of the GD...2 guys in their early or mid 30s...A mucchad(MP) and a bald fair(BG) guy

MP: Long wait outside haan...
Me: Thats the beauty of IIM interviews...we can make friends from all over the country

BG: What were u ppl discussin
Me: General stuff...like jokes(Was abt to tell him abt all the swearing tht was being dished out abt Indore but....somehow my control is growing per day)

MP: Why fluctuatin marks
Me: Answered(wahi gissa pitta jawab)

And from here the techie(or was it!) begins

MP: Wht is the difference between IT and Comps
Me: IT more towards communication but Mumbai Univ missed the trick...nearly have the same syllab but for some swappin in the elective and compulsory subjects..

MP: Wht is Information Theory in Info theory and Coding(tht was a subj for us...which I had scored big time in)
Me: fundas on info and data ...abt uncertainity and all

MP: Not impressed by that answer....Who does the coding in Info Theory and coding(ITC)?
Me: WHAT(well dont read too much into tht line...I havent been able to figure out wht he wanted till now!)

MP: Who does the coding in ITC..
Me(after a bit more of whats) :I mean coding we do..implemetation by machine in case of codes like Huffman

MP(shakes his head): u have heard of coding in Mobiles
Me: We used J2ME in coll to code

MP: Was wht u wrote a code?
Me: yeah!(we compiled and ran it....wht else could it be)
MP: No(Again shakes his head)

MP:So u dont know ITC...wht else do u know...okie tell me the types of data structures
Me:arrays,stacks,queues,linkedlist
MP(after a bit of defns): how do u define the size of an array..(this leadin eventually to)..Wht s a 32 bit computer
Me(trying to recollect...Only god knows why I m trying for an IT engg certi): I think it is the number of bits tht can be processed at a given time...the data bus capacity or something
MP(shakes his head in utter disbelief...):NO

MP:okie leave that tell me u know of algos used for data structures
Me:U mean to say like sorting

MP:yeah...do diff data structures need different algos?
Me: (again thinkin)I guess it obviously should

Now MP had had enuff...he says nothing and just pushes my form and certis to BG

BG: So u were the GS?wht all did u organise
Me: Yeah...went on for sometime(Was happy finally someone asked this!)

BG: name some woman grandmasters
Me: Koneru Humpy I know...but dont follow chess as much..I play well(if there was one more interview i could as well made a tape)

BG:U watch football..English Spanish League??Who won the Leagues
Me(Now thts straight into my territory):Chelsea-English, Barca-Spanish

BG: name the order of english league last season...which finally lead to name some star players in Man U
Me: Named the entire squad and pointed out tht I m really passionate abt the club and feel every player is a star in the club!

They look at each other after a few more generic football questions like the whereabouts of beckham and all and then they tell me I can go...so an interview spanning 10 min..thts all

The impression they would have undoubtedly made would have been techie zero..not so bad in Extras....

According to an IIMC senior...also an Alumni of Somaiya...have told me the results shuld be out by 15th April.....

So tht was tht.....The journey reaches a destination....No more me joining politics questions..no more techie stuff...No more stress or gyaan on me not having girlfriends(Though that gyaan has seriously started to haunt me)!!!

But whatever said....This has been a really educative experience...I get in or not is immaterial(just bein too theatrical....it really does matter)...Only that which matters is the thrill involved...which makes it an experience to savour

The purpose...The intent of God

Fridays have been quite special over the last year....Its our project day, the day when we are acquainted to the real world....the day when we are supposed to use our "technical excellence" for the good of the corporate world(yeah right!!)...but I dream about a career in management...and as they say...u pick the best staff and relax! I have got without doubt, two of the best partners for my project in whole of IT department (so far at least ;-))...one of them a computer wizard and another the department topper(and both...best of my buddies)!

My job on Fridays is to go to TIFR, which is like one and half hours from my place and once I am there, just relax.....So on such a "trip" to TIFR today, whilst I was trying to somehow divert my attention from the stinky man sitting next to me, I happened to read the list of the top 50 powerful people in India, presented in India Today...which brought me back to the question that has been haunting me all through the past two years!

'What do I really want to do in life?'

Money has never motivated me too much...Yeah I m a big miser(at least as far as giving treats are concerned!!) but have never really been motivated to make a lot money...fame yeah, like it....like to be important...But more than nething else I would love to stand in front of a mirror and say that, that is some work you have done!

I usually have found reasons for everything......but the one fundamental question seems to miss an answer.....The reason for existence...As much as i think, the question becomes all the more impossible to answer...So i move on to the next question...Why am I born in India? What is my purpose.....

As the Oracle in the Matrix says : " We are all here to do...wht we are all here to do"

So what am i here to do? I believe I m indebted to my nation in more ways than one...and I wont let her down....I wont show my back on her and say tht " iss desh ka kuch nahi hoga"....

I wasn't actually impressed by Rang De Basanti for the way of going about changing stuff but yeah the line " Zindagi jeene ke do hi thareekein hothein hain..EK...Jo ho raha hain hone do...Bardash karthein jaon....ya phir...zhimmedhari utao usse badlne ki!!" comes from a very simlar school of thought as compared to mine....

I have always believed......In life...every problem has two halves and no more...the problem itself and the solution...if you are not part of the solution then u are part of the problem too......

I dont know how...I dont know when....But I am sure that I wont die feeling bad that I couldnt do what I could have done for the nation where I was born......

I know there are many like me.....I know there are many who also dream big for our country....u might be one of them...but unless u are ready to put ur leg into the filth and clean it...the dirt will remain.....

The Day of the Seminar

There are days when you get really frustrated when a wierd fat guy keeps on blabbering about the same fact for 2 hrs after your last lecture but today wasnt such a day....It was fun actually when a so called "linguistic guru" was enlightening us about the advantages of learning a foreign language...This, i feel is the best method to remove the frustrations of all the really taxed engineering students....I bet, the next time he is asked to do this job, he would stay far away from Somaiya!

Actually this guy and one more were from TCS and were kind of brain washing people about the greatness of Rome oops...TCS! If this is how all the profs in TCS are...then only god can save us(Yeah that is where I got placed along with 70 of my colleagues)....I think I shuld be takin Indore interview more seriously then;-)

Speaking about Indore seems like those guys are really asking too many questions on acads....Well, since I have made up my mind about no more studying for the GDPIs, it would be really interesting to see how my interview would go!

I think I had leave it at that....Delicious food awaits me.....Ghar ka Khana....Ohh to think I had be missing this in 3 months feels horrible....Maaaaa!!!

Another Drowsy Day

Life in engineering is about to come to its final destination and I want to relish every moment of it....But that said..am kind of happy that life is taking a move on too...yeah bites me big time that these are the last few months when I can spend time with all my buddies who mean a lot to me but kind of happy that this whole engineering curriculum is going to finish...writing long assignments which gives me as much knowledge as watching India play football(??-what sense did tht make...dont ask me!)....attendance woes(not getting into tht too much!!)....those drat printouts(I dont know which Einstein came up with tht idea)...kind of freaks me out and am kind of happy tht it is coming to an end...

Even the result patterns are quite amusing when u come to look at it.....there would be 30 people in a line all getting in the high 70's in a particular subject and then after a certain number the transistion is such that the rest score in the 40 to 50 ranges....and sometimes you find the calibre of the students in the second group is more than the first.....A clear case of the first 30 papers going to a man with a beautiful and not too possessive wife whereas the next bundle going to a person who gets whipped each day (with stick,rods,hockeysticks,knifes,hand grenades...whtever comes in the path) by his wife........Yeah I am cribbing because again I scored badly this sem and am too egoistic to put the blame on myself!!!

Dont know...feeling a bit low today...maybe the 3 day break was too relaxing and the brain is refrainin to move from that state

Yeah so before I spread more of this negative air...I might just sign off for now and come laterz.......!!!

GD tips

Sorry about these long posts....but there is a navigation index to the left of ur screen which will help you to go to the article u desire!

A very rich friend of mine asked me to give him some GD tips....An engineering student that I am (having no work...sitting lukka...waiting for someone to give me a few assignments to copy!) got to the job of writing about my "expert" ideas on GDs....Yeah tried to make it a little professional...Hope it helps someone in their pursuit...But read the disclaimer before proceeding....but honestly have tried to cover in what i feel is essential in GDs and the fact that this comes after a lot of GD sessions practice increases its credibility.(In Short take the pain to read please)

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Disclaimer: This is a totally partisan opinion only based on my perception of how a person should perform in a GD

GD Tips:
The essence of the GD is to contribute in a group with your own points or by complimenting or adding value to other’s views

So let’s understand the 4 most essential things that need to be displayed as far as a GD is concerned (copyrights to IMS)
Speaking ability
Thinking ability
Listening ability
Content (Knowledge)

So throughout the GD you need to be displaying these skills and if you are able to do so then your job is done!

So lets get into the type of GD s that can be put before us (IMS taught me 4 but I take the liberty of making it 3!)

Factual (normal & controversial): These are the topics that are more to do with current affairs or things that actually mean something in today’s scenario. So being updated on the current happenings is a big plus as far as such topics are concerned. The content of what you speak is looked more into in such GD s. e.g. Situation of Women in Contemporary India
Abstract: Here your innovativeness is checked. You are given a topic such as ‘Red’ and you have to make various interpretations of the topic. Every point that you make should have a structure of introduction, body and conclusion. The good aspect of Abstract topics is that no one can be wrong as it is purely based on interpretations. The only factor hence is the relevance! Now when we are given the topic of Red we can link it to communism, bloodshed in Kargil, bird culling to prevent bird flu, even maybe to my pretty drawing teacher for all you know
Case Study: This is considered as the leveler among all GD experts because it brings all the participants of the group on the same page as no one would have read any article that might help them sail past this one smoothly. You are given a pseudo case and you are asked to discuss from the point of view of someone in the case about how will you proceed in such a scenario. Structure becomes of utmost importance in such a scenario. Will get to the structure a tag bit later!

So these were the types of GD topics in brief!

Now that we have a brief idea about what to expect generally in a GD, lets get into some individual basics.
Dressing: For guys: Formal Shirts and trousers, a tie would be preferred, blazer according to comfort
For gals: Anything that looks formal. Please do a google on formal for girls and you may get sufficient combinations.

Body Language:
Erect posture always. “Show that you have a spine” as quoted by one of my profs. Use Hand gestures while making a point (don’t be conscious about it, it does come naturally). And maintain eye contact with everyone while making a point as also while listening to someone.

Voice Modulation: Be clear and loud (Really helps a lot (personal experience))

Now lets take a scenario:

You have a GD call and this is possibly the first time you are participating in a competitive GD (let alone the ones we did in college for the PCM thing).
You go in and you are given this position to sit or you are let randomly in (seldom happens) and you are asked to occupy a seat. In the latter case, if possible, always select the one in the center, where the accessibility to the group is very strong. But in most cases you have to adjust to wherever you are asked to sit!
You may have to take your own chit of paper or they might provide you with one (you have to confirm on that front as it varies from GD to GD again). Then when everybody settles down, the topic is read out to you and depending on the topic you are given time to note down your points. Time here is immaterial as the time for you is exactly the time for your group members.
Some Tips while noting down the points:

Only note down the essential point and how it leads to another point and so on, do not try and write the entire line as in an essay

Try and think of points which might not strike others as such points wont be exhausted so quickly by the group for this a method taught to us by IMS can be used called as perspective thinking. List down all the stakeholders like government, people, terrorists etc and think how can you tilt the GD to these perspectives

Always try and relate the topic to your favourite topic and mention it in a way that seems very relevant e.g. My favourite topic is Manchester United (the football club). If the topic is about Brand Marketing or something, I had say the way Beckham became a brand in those days and generated income to both himself and the brand name for the club for which he played or something to that effect.


Now the GD begins:
As they say starting a GD is a high risk, high gain situation! If you start a GD then you should be able to generally define all the terms involved and suggest a possible course that the GD should take. Failing at that would be considered as a major setback as it sets a bad impression about yourself in the group as well as in the judging panel.
Okay someone started, you may see that your point was spoken about but you feel that you could improve on the content then wait for the time he gradually mellows down and hit on the opportunity to make the desired point.

Usually all the GD ’s have their crests (loud periods) and their troughs (comparatively quieter times). It’s advisable to make a point in the troughs and be part of the controlling an inflammatory condition team in case of a loud situation.

Points are given to your leadership abilities too. At this point I had like to mention that leadership is not traffic regulating that we usually find in most of our college GD ’s when a smart guy regulates who should be speaking and who should not. Leadership is displayed by your courage to bring out new points and also to encourage nice points raised by people in the group.

Now as I said before, every GD varies from the other and so does individuals in the GD.
Lets consider a case where a smart guy plays the role of a moderator and says it would be best to speak one at a time in a single defined order like a queue. You have two options now 1. To follow it 2. To find a better method to one proposed. But these things do come naturally and with practice.

Some Tips for making your points:
As I said before, wait for those troughs.
Be courteous when you are cutting someone.
Be loud to get into the GD but then slow down and think every word you speak (if you can do that)
*Make complete points (think of the reason why you are bringing in this point and speak till you make the group clear about the emphasis of the point)
Make friends in the group by approving of someone’s point so that they might return the favour and approve yours.

I might have missed on a few points, which I will update later.

After the GD you may be asked to conclude summarize or add your own point. Note the stark contrast between the three. Conclusion is what the group inclined to! Summarize is what the group discussed whereas add your own point is the opportunity given to you to add your own point in an otherwise noisy GD.

This was just the theoretical side to the story, in practice however it purely depends on your group and your performance.

Wish you the very Best
Take Care

Cheers,Rajiv Nair

IIMC Stress Surely

This is something you have to read(every sadist would absolutely love this!)....IIMC is supposed to have all chill general interviews!
One girl was asked "How are you going to go home?" and the discussion revolved around tht for 5 min......Now listen to my story....



GD: "Only tax Payers should be given the right to vote"

A semi fish market....11 ppl.....my number was 9th and there were girls on 8 10 and 11...
I entered the GD 3-4 times(I REITERATE only 3 or 4 times) ...Started with the reason for paying taxes and votin....entered next statin tht if it was meant to attack people evading taxes then how much do such people care to vote anyway! also pointed out that if govt represented the tax payers more then enforcement of tax payin laws would be followed more strictly!

DB Level 8/10

PI:
Bein 9th in the group was pathetic but used this to make friends again...and was gabbin away to glory till my turn came!

I enter the room(and the drama begins!!!)

Panel 1 again ...consistin of P1 with a french beard and cap, P3, I believe was a prof from Cal and P2 was Mr.Hajre(My dads boss at SCI....!!!!!!)

Me(while coming in): Good Evening!
P1(doesnt even respond to tht): What the hell do u think u were doing when u were not allowing those girls to speak

Me(still standin) : Ohh was I one of the reasons why the girls couldnt speak.....I didnt realise I cut any of them
P1: You didnt even realise!!!!(seems amazed)

P2:Take a seat(yeah...courtesy!)
P1:Tell me how does your girlfriend stand u...u dont give them any room to speak?
Me: Sir I do not have a girlfriend
P2: Maybe thts y u do not have a girlfriend!!!!!!!
(honestly yaar.....I was a very nice boy in the GD...just 3 enteries as I said and out of which 2wice when there was kind of a trough...yeah was a bit loud else I wont have been heard!)

P1: If I tell u that u did cut...how would u say ur GD was?
Me: Then bad sir as even they were part of the group and their inputs were as valuable as any others

P1(had enuff of this): ye Tell me about yourself
Me: Sir what aspect of me do u want to know

P2:(sounding frustrated) Anything man!
Me: started with achievements as GS Chess math olymp etc...

P1(cuts me): about ur family first
Me: Dad works for SCI..Mom a housewife

P2(tries not to ask...but couldnt help it!!): he is in managerial side or the ship?
Me: Sir I think u know him...M Venugopalan..Head of IT dept...

P2: ya ya(and evades tht completely....yeah they had decided on takin my case and this couldnt be a hinderant).

P1(looks at my form and sees the long term goal as national development): what the hell were u thinkin when u put something like this.....do u think tht will fetch u some brownie points??
Me: Absolutely not sir...Even while I was writing tht I knew tht this was very generic but this is wht I really want to do and hence i followed my heart and wrote tht

P1: How and wht way are you planning to contri
Me: As i said i havent decided the exact path....but might even end up with me optin for politics(I know i shuldnt have...but kya karein..they got it out from me)!

P1: How do u propose of doing tht after an MBA(smirks all around!)
Me: though it might look really abstract and quite idealistic still i believe after I join a company I will try and build my political contacts while climbing up the corporate ladder and then switch over..

P1:some more grillin...but I refused to budge...but kinda made me realise I had not given fultoo thought on it!
P1(after I hit some fundas): Do u really think tht we believe u....U look like a person who stays late in the night and thinks wht can i do for the nation?
Me: Though not always, I do do that sometimes

P2: Sometimes u might have to pay a bribe to climb the ladder...willl u do it?
Me: Absolutely not sir...I havent bowed down below my ethics till now and it wont happen..ever! I can illustrate using my GS examples

P2: dont give me alibis...only if u are not sure u give alibis
Me: OK
(Finally ....politics ends for the time being!)

P3(yeah where have u been?): Ur dad works in SCI right...tell me abt (@#*&^) mission
Me(ya u were better keepin quite):No idea sir
P3: u know abt Adams Brigde??wht is it?
Me: No (????? I think they misunderstood...My dad works there not me!!)

P2: U said U play chess...who is the most controversial player?
Me: In wht sense
P2: he was the champion gave it away or something
Me: Dont know sir....I m a good player...Played at univ level but dont actually follow chess
P2: U heard of Bobby Fischer
Me: No Sir
P1 then grilled me on Univ level and he said tht I had stated tht i represented the univ!!!
Me: I didnt sir....I said I represented my college at the Univ level!

P3: what else do u know so tht we can ask u on tht(made it seem like it was my last opiton)
Me: sir...(shrug) Cricket football....(I knew they were going to screw me in nething I said so didnt really matter)
P1: ways of gettin out in cricket!
Me: mentioned everything including timed out,handling the ball...but missed on LBW
P1: U didnt say LBW did u? did he??(looks at the other panel...and they nod as if tht was punishable!)
P2: Football haan...wht rank is India in World football
Me: Though cant give the exact rank...can tell u its real bad! Actually I follow premiership more
P2:What else is football called and where?
Me: Soccer in USA
P2: Wht is football there?
Me: Very similar to Rugby...known as NFL
P1: Its not known as NFL
Me: Yeah NFL is the league!
P2: Who was Indian Footballer of the millenium?
Me: Guess it should be between Bhaichung Bhutia and I M Vijayan but dont know for sure(millenium was a bit far fetched, wasnt it!!)!
P1: Which were the interviews u attended(this is the common question!)
Me:AKL till now
P1: How was A?
Me: good....then explained how it went in some detail
P1:How do u compare ur A with C?
Me: I had rather say tht I felt better then after the interview than I might feel after this one
P1: Dont take too much of worry...Go home and relax after this..watch TV etc
P2:Wht else do u do in free time
Me: Spoke abt soliloquy and whisteling to music

Somehow the discussion shifted from tht to ...if i could change somethin in my interview wht could it be?
Me: I would still write national development but will give more thought to it ..strategy wise

P2: U said abt doing things acc to heart...Now if u like a girl but know the problems tht might arise wht would u do?By heart or By Brain?
Me: The fact tht I dont ahve any girlfriends suggest that i work with my Brains...I believe in commitments and unless I am absolutely certain tht relation can b stable I wont proceed;-)

After a little more of general talk they say tht I can leave

And as I was leaving the room....... " We hope to be seeing ur endeavours after 2 years" or something to that effect.....I dont want to be readin too much into tht line.. but cant just ignore tht 2 year funda......(but as the IIMC student told me laterz could be just a flase alarm...so dont get too sure!)

According to me the interview was good as i didnt crack down and the final comment was a bit pleasing....But whatever the result...I get in or I do not...this was an experience to savour!
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One more thing tht i realised after i sent this mail....
I was asked whether I ahve ne questions or not to which I had replied that I have been in contact with an IIMC student who keeps informin abt things and activities there.....I was asked whether I was told abt the fishing tht took place there.....I said he failed to mention tht...apparently there was no fishing that was allowed in campus(there are damn 7 lakes inside the campus).......So was trying to test me there too....Rigorous...if thts an understatement!

IIML GDPI...Stress or was it?

After the peace in Ahm and Kozhi, I was beginnin to believe that the procedure wasnt so stressful afterall! Well, I thought too soon!

IIM L:
Reached there again 1 hr early and mostly knew everybody...had 4 ppl who were in the Ahm group with the same panel that I had!

GD Topic: Not being absolutely certain is one of the most essential things in rationality

Again competitive group......4 or 5 enteries...
Started of with uncertainity leads to doubts which leads to questions(why) which leads to discoveries...illustrated nicely
then abt decisions of managers being optimization blah blah
If people think rationally then no riots condition(blind faith as someone pointed out)
and some very generic points

Overall pretty ok!

PI:
Two gentlemen...one middleaged(P1) and one slightly older(P2)

P1: How did u like the topic and the GD
Me: yeah nice...but later turned into just illustrations of the same point

P2: Tell me about yourself(lookin least interested)
Me: Normal stuff....spoke abt being the GS of my coll and all

P2 : You shuld be trying to become a political leader(again!!!!!!)
Me: Yeah havent ruled out tht option...want to do somthin for the nation

P2: Wht are teh skills tht a manager and a politician need in common
Me: Most important is analysis skills...also ablity to deliver good motivating speeches

P2: spoke abt Vajpayee being a good speaker and not being able to gather so much of votes and all and also on how Lalu and Mulayam are good leaders
Me: cant blame it on Vajpaye totally(anti incumbency) and as far as Lalu and Mulayam go they understand the mindset of people

P2: U didnt mention tht skill
Me: Analysis includes tht too...that is analysing the people ideology

P1:Went in detail on my acads...complained over my termwork marks being more than theory
Me: I said percentile wise both of them would be on a similar scale...just tht theory papers...have long answers and u usually dont get so high marks
P1: Even in management u have such subjects...wht would u do then

P2(before I could answer): How are inflation rates calculated?
Me: According to me..
P2:(cuts me) Not according to u....there is a standard method followed..can u say tht with total clarity
Me: OK sir...I wont speculate then

P2: How do interest rates go down
Me: Said as fiscal deficit increases...market liquidity increases...people have more money...invest more in banks....banks dont require so much of money they want people to take loans so interest rate goes down
(they seem unsatisfied!)

P1 :How were u selected as the GS...election or selection
Me :Selection..blah blah

P1 :But they didnt have any procedures for identifyin abt ur speech makin abilities?
Me: I think they figured out from the interview abt my oratary capacity...I m quite good with elocutions etc

Both of them say "That would be all Rajiv"
I say Thank You and leave
So I still dont know whether it was stress or were they purely unhappy by my answers
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If it was stress...I did pretty ok else I am a gonner

IIMK GDPI

After the heroics of Ahmedabad.....took a nice time out with my beloved college festival of Symphony...Had the honour of being the General Secretary last year and organising the festival...so this time it was sit back and enjoy...And it gave me gr8 joy to see the council I had selected(boasting am I not ;-)) to work so dedicatedly despite the regulations that the university has imposed on us!

So all in all didnt do any preperation as far as Kozhi was concerned...Was banking heavily on me being a Malu and questions bein based on Kerala....But this is how events turned out.......


It was in Mumbai....Reached there at 12 50...and made a pool of new friends! The GD started only by 2 30!!

GD Experience:-
There was no table this time...and no additional paper either...so get ur own paper..There were again 10 members in the GD n the panel consisted of 2 middleaged profs!

Topic : Indian Economy should integrate with South and South East Asia and not with China!(I am allergic to factual topics)

Had again a competitive group...mostly all of them had good work ex!
I made some 5 or 6 enteries....spoke fine but hardly had any gr8 points...I introduced points like...role of politics and China against Indian entry inot the security council!...Infosys plannin to setup offices at indonesia and its adv....Idea of trying to list Indian shares in the global market...The fear of them competitin with us in our core areas etc etc
Overall it was nice....but again like Ahm competitive... many hardly got a chance to speak...dB level ;- 6/10 again..

PI Experience:
I was number 1 for the PI...Hurray...no waits this time...

I go in and am asked to sit on a seat a little away from the table which had a pen and paper ready for me...I pull the chair to the table and they ask me whether i m feelin uncomfortable with so much of leg space...I said it would be quite uncomfortable to write from tht distance...They say they will notify me when I will have to do some writin...I shrug(No Issues : Have it ur way!) and pull the chair bac to its original position

No technical questions this time

Had spoken abt some ideological thingie during the GD...so question starts from there!
Discussion moves on from India China to Cold War tht existed to both the world wars, Hitlers emergence to the top...It stops when they ask me the opposition party to Hitler's Nazi(??)
Goes on to Maths...
Asks me wht is GP and write down an equation....
he then aks me the summation of an infinite series of GP...I write both of them....asks me how do I arrive at the answer!
I ask him can I use Mathematical Induction! He says yes!! I solve it(by equatin RHS and LHS) and then he realises tht he has been tricked...asks me to derive the formula..I take 'a' out and say the remainin is the formula of 1/(1-x)...he says derive tth...(Chance!!)
Then goes on to my strenghts and weakness(yeah baby!) asks me to illustrate...Now tht brought me onto my home turf...had 2 or 3 illustrations for everything(He might have wished he had never asked)...

Then he suggested tht i would do good if i enter politics...I said tht is indeed my long term ambition and cited some examples of how R.R.Patil is doin a great job as the home minister and how well he has implemented the operation cleanup!
They smile and say goodbye
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So all in all, I think I should make it...but u know...u just cant predict!

IIMA GDPI Experience

I didnt want to get to this so early...but knowing my friends they would already be swearing at me for taking so long to come to the topic...

So here goes...

IIM A.....The dream college....U say IIMA nd people look up at U! Redundant hey...okie :(


I had my centre as IIM A...Went there with Jayant (a pal from coll)who had his GDPI at the same time....reached the place by 12 45...most of the ppl there had familiar faces,ppl who had attended the achievers! Passed time by gabbin with newfound friends..... At 1 45 there was an attendance call taken..and groups announced....I knew Jayant n Saurav in my group...but we didnt make ne strategies as such! We were called in at 1 55 and were asked to sit acc to a predecided format....It was an oval shaped conference table....10 ppl in a group...judges sittin behind us....3 of them.....2 middleaged and 1 slightly older...
we had 3 sheets in front of us...one with the case turned upside down and 2 blank sheets...At exactly 2 we were asked to start reading the case....it was a 5+20 min GD....start when told types....and then finally 5 min to write a summary...
Every group at Ahm had case studies...I wont explain mine...was quite normal.....but group was quite competitive....but managed to sneak in quite a few points...But it was a semi fish market....could scale this GD as 6/10 on the dB scale....
A few lessons learnt....
Though the group might digress from the actual motive...try and stick to wht is required by the case
Try and generate friends in the GD....helps quite a bit...unknowingly u give them and they give u space to express views...and more audacious the friend the better ;-)

But overall on a personal level...did fine(acc to me!)...
I had like to thank Nimish(he was my GD prof from IMS) here....His groomin helped big time....till now at least! Also thank u Sonali(she too was Nimesh's partner)....Had my body language under check...except for once ;-)

PI EXPERIENCE

Now my number was 7.....so my turn came only at 5 in the evening....The wait for the PI can be quite unnerving.....but again met some friends and gabbed to kill time!
I entered the room and faced the same 3 Profs......As soon as I entered they asked me the score(just eager to know the score of the cricket match..nothing else)...
Questions tht were asked:(answers marked with a cross I didnt know)
Abt Info Technology...
Bubble and Quick sorts
Sort Complexity
Binary Sort (X)
Normalization
reasons for it
deeper into it (X)
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now the second prof takes over....says maths olympiad haan!
Questions
Integration- uv formula
Eigen vector(partial X)
North Eastern states in India
its capitals(I said I know most of the capitals though I may not be able to link wht is for wht!)

Prime Minister selection procedure
Head of the Government(?? I said President is like the Chairman and PrimeMin is like the CEO!)
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Then saw my chess certis...
Sicilian Defence
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then other sports:- cricket
How do u bowl(This was fun!)
Leg spinner
Googly
Offbreak
Doosra
Yorker

Then they thanked me and I thanked them too...they asked me to take a toffee and leave! Pretty chill hey!

I might have missed some questions here and there....but somewht the complete story!

Some other interestng questions asked to other ppl

Differential calculus(Sums)....many were asked this!
Laplace transforms...reasons y u use it
Hawk Eye in cricket("Technical" workin)
Poverty Line defn
Wht is Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe?
Number of them in the country and a graph representin ...
Laws of Thermodynamics
Newtons Laws of motion
Religion talks....most ancient religion
Google Issue

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Now this was an article written a day after the interview.......
Was very happy then abt the smoothness with which my GDPI was executed...
Laterz realised that it was gud for everyone...so by no means am i surely in...
I also learnt that people who I had thought of being appreciative of my enteries in the GD actually thought I spoke a lot.....well quite true but wht the hell!!!

Introduction

This is for people who like the complete story

I am an engineering student from K.J. Somaiya, Mumbai who was lucky enough to have CAT(Common Admission Test...I hope tht I have got tht right) exam date and birthdate on the same date.....and received 5 IIM calls for GDPI...missed on Banglore.....
Had my Ahmedabad on 19th Feb, my Kozhi on 25th Feb, Lucknow on 10th March, Calcutta on 12th(PGDCM ATM) and 13thMarch(GDPI for both)....

And have my Indore on 26th...

I was a student of IMS coaching.....And for all the people aspiring it was real gud!(I hope I get paid for the marketing I m doing for IMS!!).....Will try and pop in a few tips for atleast cracking CAT(though I m totally aware tht I m not confident enuff to say tht I can crack it again next time...but advice is always free) but tht later!

What I had done after all the interviews was that I had made a detailed account of the interview and sent it to the Achievers group(yeah IMS had tht too...) and also to some friends....tht brings me to one purpose of setting up this blog
I just have to direct people here....no more fwdin tht mail to so many emailIDs....Also kinda increases the hit rate of the blog(ego satisfaction)...

Okie the real start....

Yeah just had to start with tht...kind of a bible to all the Matrix fans

As far as the purpose of the blog goes....ur guess is as good as mine....but hope something creative comes out of it!
Must confess there is some inspiration drawn from Hitler's Mein Kampf...If Hitler can make an autobiography so can I !!

Considerin my in-born lazy qualities, I dont know if this blog will have more than 10 articles posted but have generated a liking to writing of late.....

Neways hope its a journey tht lasts for sometime so that I can come back and retrospect on "those" days.

The Beginning

I know you are out there.......
I can feel you now......
I know that you are afraid.....
you are afraid of us!
you are afraid of change....
I dont know the future....
I didnt come here to tell you how this is going to end....
I came here to tell you how it is going to begin......

I am going to show these people what you dont want them to see....
I am going to show them a world.....without you....
A world without rules and control....
A world without borders or boundaries.....
A world where ANYTHING is possible....

Where we go from there is a choice I leave to YOU!



-Almighty