Sleep comes easy here..I have been known to sleep frozen in positions mid-activity..so any day the almighty administration spares us the torture of sitting through lectures (which are getting quite fun, btw..I shall elaborate on them in another post)..is Holi, Eid, Diwali and Christmas to boot, for us deprived souls!
Cut to yesterday night..couldn't sleep before 4:45 AM as usual..some arbit internet surfing after grappling with a Corp Fin project for three hours and finally, the eyes cannot stay open any longer..I hit the sack..but wait, there's a subtle difference..I have decided to wake up early..inspite of there being no 'compelling logic' to do so!
Will I be able to do it? It is no minimum feat..ordinarily, I cannot wake up without somebody calling me up..I sleep like the dead, when I do sleep..nobody is gonna wake me up tomorrow, everybody wants to sleep till late..the alarm? Haah!! The alarm does not get 'footage' from me anymore..
With that thought in mind, I go to sleep..
Zoom to today..Miracle of miracles!! The alarm did manage to wake me up!! 7:30 AM..awesome!! I wake up..I am happy, excited, the world seems like a beautiful place..I go down for breakfast..on the way, wake one of my friends up and drag him down to breakfast too..u see, breakfast is one of the best things about IIM Bangalore..
I have the most leisurely breakfast..peppered with stimulating conversation :) I head out for a walk and appreciate the morning hour..dewy flowers, cloudy skies, cycles, mini vans etc making a bee line for the mess to deliver the day's supplies..some professors and their wives on their daily morning walks..heavenly!
Most of all, I savor the feeling that I have the entire day before me..there are quite a few commitments..but the thought of having 'stolen' so much time for myself, is putting me on an unbelievable high..
After breakfast, I easily spent one of the happiest hours of my life here at IIM Bangalore..I cranked up the music..tuned up my vocal cords and guess wat? Never mind, you will never be able to guess.."I cleaned my room"!! I dusted the mattresses, broke the cobwebs, put up some more pictures on the walls, did jhaadoo and stopped short of pochha ;)
With my room shining spick and span..my dil went hmmmm..and I decided then and there, no more late mornings for me..
Early to bed naa sahi..at least early to rise..hopefully it will make me half as healthy, wealthy and wise ;)
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
BGS
I have come here to learn. This is not hypocrisy and I will not say that marks donot matter. I feel as good as the next person when I do well and conversely as lousy when I donot (which btw, happens more often)! But that is not why I am here.
I have always believed in the larger picture..and marks donot really have a place there..sure, in 10th and 12th, they were all-important, in order to get someplace one wanted to (and then too, one would definitely have the edge if one learned along with getting good grades, which I mostly did not)..but now that I have got where I wanted to (an MBA for me is just a practical manifestation of what I wanted to do all along..interact with brilliant minds, learn from them, have the best teachers and peer group, get a platform to go out there and achieve all that I want to and learn, learn, learn!)..there is much more to it..
This post is about one of the most enjoyable leactures I had the fortune of attending in my first term..BGS..Business, Government and Society..this was enjoyable because of two reasons..firstly the course content..this course is all about interpreting and analyzing past events - like cultural and economic revolutions, wars, change in governments, changes in policies of nations, how they affect the common man, how various events down history have changed the course of nations - some people would say..a truly 'globe' subject (btw, globe in the IIM B context means something totally abstract)..but I would say - it was heavenly!! To actually go to a place and listen to stuff about the second world war, its implications, the political landscape of India just after independance and how it transformed down the ages..triggers one to think, explore..question..and the second reason..was the professor..
He was an outlier alright..a man with a great presence..a somewhat intimidating presence initially..loud booming voice, long snowy hair, but most of all, no pretensions at civility for the sake of it..he would tell you point blank that your reasoning had 'no compelling logic' and that 'you people are going to become clones of each other in some time'..he would race around the room, challenging us to refute him and once we did, he would brazenly tell us that he was not interested in 'opinions', but only in 'insights'..we have had great debates in his lectures..and outside his lectures..he was in some ways very head strong in his views and if someone differed from him, he would give a patient hearing (the opinions Vs insights thing was just an initial ploy to make us think and not come up with mere platitudes, he started to really listen to us pretty soon into the course), but after hearing, he would mostly not agree with whatever we were saying..but I have often felt that his reasonings were more or less right, he is extremely well-read and has a wealth of experience behind him..there has to be a valid reason for him feeling a certain way..he has given me new perspective on a lot of things and I might not agree with him on all counts, but at least, he listened to me and he made me think..
The only course where we had to analyze the differences between India and China, from an investor's point of view and submit a graded assignment on the same..I loved it!! I loved doing the analysis, I learned so much..I actually, myself, sat and wrote a 15 page report on India and China..without using the fascinating 'Ctrl Cs\Ctrl Vs'!! I was so proud of my report, although maybe some years from now, it shall seem infantile to me..it was something I put my heart and soul into!
He was a compassionate soul, although that aspect of him was difficult to detect, through all the rebukes, his curt remarks, his contrary opinions, he really did care..he took us seriously, our concerns, our nervousness before exams, our welfare..he wasn't just teaching a course, he was actually trying to improve us, to impart some of his experience, his wisdom to us..he gave us certain gems from time to time..
He had his shortcomings too, ofcourse, I do not know whether he stuck to the course outline as dictated by the course requirement, I do not know what we are going to be tested upon in our final exams..but these are small prices to pay, I think..
To all the people out there who are willing to open their minds to perspectives, to abstracts, to the areas between the whites and the blacks..people who are raring to explore.. to go beyond the boundaries of societal conventions - in mind, body and spirit..
Life is all about evolution..if you are the same at 40 what you are at 20, you have wasted 20 years of your life..and a CGPA of 3.9 is not the bullet point that you can put on the resume of your life..
I have always believed in the larger picture..and marks donot really have a place there..sure, in 10th and 12th, they were all-important, in order to get someplace one wanted to (and then too, one would definitely have the edge if one learned along with getting good grades, which I mostly did not)..but now that I have got where I wanted to (an MBA for me is just a practical manifestation of what I wanted to do all along..interact with brilliant minds, learn from them, have the best teachers and peer group, get a platform to go out there and achieve all that I want to and learn, learn, learn!)..there is much more to it..
This post is about one of the most enjoyable leactures I had the fortune of attending in my first term..BGS..Business, Government and Society..this was enjoyable because of two reasons..firstly the course content..this course is all about interpreting and analyzing past events - like cultural and economic revolutions, wars, change in governments, changes in policies of nations, how they affect the common man, how various events down history have changed the course of nations - some people would say..a truly 'globe' subject (btw, globe in the IIM B context means something totally abstract)..but I would say - it was heavenly!! To actually go to a place and listen to stuff about the second world war, its implications, the political landscape of India just after independance and how it transformed down the ages..triggers one to think, explore..question..and the second reason..was the professor..
He was an outlier alright..a man with a great presence..a somewhat intimidating presence initially..loud booming voice, long snowy hair, but most of all, no pretensions at civility for the sake of it..he would tell you point blank that your reasoning had 'no compelling logic' and that 'you people are going to become clones of each other in some time'..he would race around the room, challenging us to refute him and once we did, he would brazenly tell us that he was not interested in 'opinions', but only in 'insights'..we have had great debates in his lectures..and outside his lectures..he was in some ways very head strong in his views and if someone differed from him, he would give a patient hearing (the opinions Vs insights thing was just an initial ploy to make us think and not come up with mere platitudes, he started to really listen to us pretty soon into the course), but after hearing, he would mostly not agree with whatever we were saying..but I have often felt that his reasonings were more or less right, he is extremely well-read and has a wealth of experience behind him..there has to be a valid reason for him feeling a certain way..he has given me new perspective on a lot of things and I might not agree with him on all counts, but at least, he listened to me and he made me think..
The only course where we had to analyze the differences between India and China, from an investor's point of view and submit a graded assignment on the same..I loved it!! I loved doing the analysis, I learned so much..I actually, myself, sat and wrote a 15 page report on India and China..without using the fascinating 'Ctrl Cs\Ctrl Vs'!! I was so proud of my report, although maybe some years from now, it shall seem infantile to me..it was something I put my heart and soul into!
He was a compassionate soul, although that aspect of him was difficult to detect, through all the rebukes, his curt remarks, his contrary opinions, he really did care..he took us seriously, our concerns, our nervousness before exams, our welfare..he wasn't just teaching a course, he was actually trying to improve us, to impart some of his experience, his wisdom to us..he gave us certain gems from time to time..
He had his shortcomings too, ofcourse, I do not know whether he stuck to the course outline as dictated by the course requirement, I do not know what we are going to be tested upon in our final exams..but these are small prices to pay, I think..
To all the people out there who are willing to open their minds to perspectives, to abstracts, to the areas between the whites and the blacks..people who are raring to explore.. to go beyond the boundaries of societal conventions - in mind, body and spirit..
Life is all about evolution..if you are the same at 40 what you are at 20, you have wasted 20 years of your life..and a CGPA of 3.9 is not the bullet point that you can put on the resume of your life..
Monday, September 11, 2006
Life..
It has been quite some time since I blogged..I have come a long way, life as I knew it has changed completely..
I have been at IIM Bangalore for more than a couple of months..I have learnt a lot of things and unlearnt some things..it's anybody's guess which was more difficult..
The life here is unbelievable..the pressure exists because people exist who can take it..I will not trivialize it by talking about it..we all know about the spate of quizzes and tests etc..
The people..now that's key..so many talented, intelligent, complicated people bottled up at such close quarters..people who have it all, and nobody will be surprised to see them transform into super-successful hot-shots some years down the line..the differentiating factor is that we all know each other, we can all tell you what a person's strengths are, where he lacks, and where he pretends to lack..
Short-term has a whole different meaning..life in a B school is like a microcosm of life outside..a nebula, dense and concentrated..a miniature capsule of life..it has every emotion - doubt, fear, envy, greed, hunger, agony, ecstasy, love, hate, passion, indifference..all within an area of 12 hostel blocks..
People hide, but are also ironically open about their feelings..people are super-competitive, and sometimes also go out of their way to help you..there are all kinds, and opinions about them change in an inkling..
I have learnt that I am nothing, I have unlearnt that I donot need anybody..I have learnt the true meaning of being down but not out - never out..I have learnt that I have it..inspite of the bad grades, the self-doubts and fears..I have confidence..these two years are going to teach me a lot..and I donot mean Quant and FinAcc..the girl who walks out of these grey walls is going to be very different from the girl who had stepped in..that fateful day in June..I have already vanquished some of my 'inner demons'..I feel like a better person already..
I have re-invented myself..the crux has evolved, not changed, but the outer layer has taken on dimensions that were not there before..any change is welcome..evolution is always good..
On the whole, the experience has been fantabulous and interesting beyond imagination and nothing could even come close..the best of times..the worst of times..
Thursday, June 15, 2006
MOVIES MASTI MAGIC..
I have recently been watching a lot of movies..somehow they have been coming my way..a volvo trip resulted in me begging for some Aspirin since I was subjected to three back-to-back movies..which included a couple by Emraan H..so you can imagine ;)
I watched Shabd sometime back on TV..and simultaneously 'Sex and the City' was also on..so I was flipping channels..and it made me think..
Shabd..has this couple..Sanjay D and Aishwarya R..henceforth referred to as SD and AR..SD is a writer and recently he has been suffering some blocks..AR is a professor in a college..
Since SD is going thru a phase where he is feeling creatively challenged..he tries probing his wife's life for ideas..and he questions her about her beliefs, her joys, her sorrows..her dreams, etc..It turns out that AR is happy and quite content with the life she has..she considers herself to be a very ordinary girl and has no great expectations of life..she has never done anything that she should not have and is not aware of any longing to do anything beyond the ordinary and mundane..she follows conventions..she believes that accepting even a 'Rose' from any man other than her husband (in the context of her being a college prof, 'Rose Day' is being referred to, I guess) is wrong and she believes herself to be completely in love with him..
Cut to 'Sex and the City'..Carrie is unhappy because the man she has been dating..somebody she is very attracted to..someone with who she has great chemistry and compatibilty etc..is not that good in bed..in fact..she describes her first sexual experience with him as 'Silent'..she is extremely disturbed by that fact and wants to work at it..make it better..spice it up..etc etc..normal 'Sex n the City' talk ensues and she does adopt some measures to heat up the action a lil ;)
What made me think was..here is AR..she is obviously not very liberated..she is living with the notion that she has the best life..and she does not want to know any better..the fact remains that she is happy..and there's Carrie..modern woman to the T..very aware of her personal needs, desires and unapologetic about them..but again we cannot escape the fact that she is unhappy..
So my point is..do we expect too much outta life and is that why we are mostly unhappy?
I have recently been watching a lot of movies..somehow they have been coming my way..a volvo trip resulted in me begging for some Aspirin since I was subjected to three back-to-back movies..which included a couple by Emraan H..so you can imagine ;)
I watched Shabd sometime back on TV..and simultaneously 'Sex and the City' was also on..so I was flipping channels..and it made me think..
Shabd..has this couple..Sanjay D and Aishwarya R..henceforth referred to as SD and AR..SD is a writer and recently he has been suffering some blocks..AR is a professor in a college..
Since SD is going thru a phase where he is feeling creatively challenged..he tries probing his wife's life for ideas..and he questions her about her beliefs, her joys, her sorrows..her dreams, etc..It turns out that AR is happy and quite content with the life she has..she considers herself to be a very ordinary girl and has no great expectations of life..she has never done anything that she should not have and is not aware of any longing to do anything beyond the ordinary and mundane..she follows conventions..she believes that accepting even a 'Rose' from any man other than her husband (in the context of her being a college prof, 'Rose Day' is being referred to, I guess) is wrong and she believes herself to be completely in love with him..
Cut to 'Sex and the City'..Carrie is unhappy because the man she has been dating..somebody she is very attracted to..someone with who she has great chemistry and compatibilty etc..is not that good in bed..in fact..she describes her first sexual experience with him as 'Silent'..she is extremely disturbed by that fact and wants to work at it..make it better..spice it up..etc etc..normal 'Sex n the City' talk ensues and she does adopt some measures to heat up the action a lil ;)
What made me think was..here is AR..she is obviously not very liberated..she is living with the notion that she has the best life..and she does not want to know any better..the fact remains that she is happy..and there's Carrie..modern woman to the T..very aware of her personal needs, desires and unapologetic about them..but again we cannot escape the fact that she is unhappy..
So my point is..do we expect too much outta life and is that why we are mostly unhappy?
Sunday, June 11, 2006
RANDOM MUSINGS OF A LUNATIC
People Part..
Yes..it's the rule of life..people meet and people part..I am very very good at picking up from where we had left..not all that good at never letting go tho..
I like it when a new life starts and everything's new..right from the smell in the air to the local language..the people u really care about never really leave..they might not be around in the same way or with the same frequency..but they are very much there..
I want to keep moving for the rest of my life..I don't think much of settling down..I want to keep seeing new places and meeting new people..The thot of there being some sorta routine in my life is not a pleasant one..
But I have to do that someday? That is what people, and let's face it, my common sense tells me..and lately I have realized that even the thot of some permanency in life need not be such a bad thing..one can keep exploring, growing, learning till the day one dies, in the consistent presence of some like-minded people..who give one the space to realize these dreams and vanquish one's inner demons..
But I have made this promise to myself..I will not settle down till when I absolutely want to myself..I do not believe in compromise...life is too short for that kinda stuff..
I do not blame my parents for being worried sometimes..because I have given them some indication..but they will understand, I am sure..and this is not some genocide I am talking about..it's just about living life my own way..and that's not too much to ask..is it?
People Part..
Yes..it's the rule of life..people meet and people part..I am very very good at picking up from where we had left..not all that good at never letting go tho..
I like it when a new life starts and everything's new..right from the smell in the air to the local language..the people u really care about never really leave..they might not be around in the same way or with the same frequency..but they are very much there..
I want to keep moving for the rest of my life..I don't think much of settling down..I want to keep seeing new places and meeting new people..The thot of there being some sorta routine in my life is not a pleasant one..
But I have to do that someday? That is what people, and let's face it, my common sense tells me..and lately I have realized that even the thot of some permanency in life need not be such a bad thing..one can keep exploring, growing, learning till the day one dies, in the consistent presence of some like-minded people..who give one the space to realize these dreams and vanquish one's inner demons..
But I have made this promise to myself..I will not settle down till when I absolutely want to myself..I do not believe in compromise...life is too short for that kinda stuff..
I do not blame my parents for being worried sometimes..because I have given them some indication..but they will understand, I am sure..and this is not some genocide I am talking about..it's just about living life my own way..and that's not too much to ask..is it?
Saturday, June 10, 2006
A CONTRADICTION
So I am at home now..Infy is done and over with..N I miss office..
I miss the sense of having someplace to go to..and not just any place..a place where some people pay some other people 26.5 dollars for my presence!! LOL!!
I miss the campus and the cubicle, but u know..most of all..I miss the people..some which were part of my life just on the fringes..the people who I met on the bus but nowhere else..the people who sat somewhere around me and exchanged some sporadic smiles with me..the people I met in the washroom from time to time and had those all-too-famous washroom conversations with..the people I met in the canteen at the same time that I used to have lunch..and u get the drift..I miss that life..
But like most other things in life..I miss it because it was there for just the perfect duration of time..and I am glad it's over..
So I am at home now..Infy is done and over with..N I miss office..
I miss the sense of having someplace to go to..and not just any place..a place where some people pay some other people 26.5 dollars for my presence!! LOL!!
I miss the campus and the cubicle, but u know..most of all..I miss the people..some which were part of my life just on the fringes..the people who I met on the bus but nowhere else..the people who sat somewhere around me and exchanged some sporadic smiles with me..the people I met in the washroom from time to time and had those all-too-famous washroom conversations with..the people I met in the canteen at the same time that I used to have lunch..and u get the drift..I miss that life..
But like most other things in life..I miss it because it was there for just the perfect duration of time..and I am glad it's over..
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Cntd..
So there I was waiting outside the Interview room..everybody who came out said that the panelists were very chilled out..not bad..I could do with some chillin ;)
Just before me, there was this guy who had been quite aggressive in the GD..wen he came out, he gave a somewhat different report, he said that the panelists had completely grilled him and this, believe me, is something like what they asked him:
Panelist: Do you have a girlfriend?
Guy: No, sir..
Panelist: I don't wonder why, since you don't let the girls talk!!
LOL!! That guy was a not so happy!! Anyway, I was next..so in I went..
The three men asked me to sit down..let me describe them..one was a complete rock-star..he has long hair..wasn't young..but looked like the kinds who loves to have fun..the second was this man from the industry..pretty jovial and kind looking..typical bengali dude..and the third loked a lil strict..
I was asked about my work, and then my career goals..the man from the industry asked me whether I would be able to balance my home and my career..I started to asnwer..but I was interrupted by the Rock-Star dude(henceforth referred to as RS)..below is an extract from the conversation:
RS: Hey, I have noticed that you only ask the girls this question, huh? Why is that man?
Ind-guy(IG): No no, nothing like that..
RS: The previous girl also you asked the same question! And you don't ask the any of the boys this question! Why the bias?
IG: It's like this, I have seen a lot of divorces happening in my company because of women being so career oriented that they do not have enuff time for their families..tat is y..
N so on it went..those guys were chatting with each other bindaas..
The third guy, who looked a lil strict was asking me lotsa techie questions, some of which I could not answer..I would have been able to, had I given it some more thought..but I suppose, I got a lil flustered..
But one of the questions he asked me, got the RS guy to tell him:
RS: Hey, what man, you asking her such questions! How will she know? This was way before her time!! She's too young to know this!! LOL!!
They asked me a lot of general knowledge questions, some of which I could answer and some I could not..they were basically very conversational..they enquired about how I was planning to get back to Pune..how I was planning to fund my MBA..what my CAT score was..etc..
The conversation was just flowing..there was no structure..and I was getting the feeling that something was not quite right, as in, that they were just pulling my leg by being so friendly!! :)
Anyway..so it ended..I did not know what to think..Aldo,they had been very nice..I did not have the feeling that I had done well..There were just a couple of questions that I had answered to my satisfaction, the remaining were, frankly speaking, not upto the mark..for example, when they asked me about the first Nobel Laureate from India, all I could think of was Sir C.V Raman..the answer was Rabindranath Tagore and then they went on to ask me about how many Indians had won the Nobel prize, and Amartya Sen did not come to mind!! There were some more of these things..so all in all, I was not 'firing on all cylinders' that day!!
The day had been quite a series of ups and down..I lived quite a lot in that one day..and like life..it was not all good but one hell of an experience!! :D
P.S: I did not make it to C..probably because of my GD, or the interview, or the fact that my Quant percentile was some 92.xx and I have heard that is less as far as C is concerned..it probably was a combination of all of these..
So there I was waiting outside the Interview room..everybody who came out said that the panelists were very chilled out..not bad..I could do with some chillin ;)
Just before me, there was this guy who had been quite aggressive in the GD..wen he came out, he gave a somewhat different report, he said that the panelists had completely grilled him and this, believe me, is something like what they asked him:
Panelist: Do you have a girlfriend?
Guy: No, sir..
Panelist: I don't wonder why, since you don't let the girls talk!!
LOL!! That guy was a not so happy!! Anyway, I was next..so in I went..
The three men asked me to sit down..let me describe them..one was a complete rock-star..he has long hair..wasn't young..but looked like the kinds who loves to have fun..the second was this man from the industry..pretty jovial and kind looking..typical bengali dude..and the third loked a lil strict..
I was asked about my work, and then my career goals..the man from the industry asked me whether I would be able to balance my home and my career..I started to asnwer..but I was interrupted by the Rock-Star dude(henceforth referred to as RS)..below is an extract from the conversation:
RS: Hey, I have noticed that you only ask the girls this question, huh? Why is that man?
Ind-guy(IG): No no, nothing like that..
RS: The previous girl also you asked the same question! And you don't ask the any of the boys this question! Why the bias?
IG: It's like this, I have seen a lot of divorces happening in my company because of women being so career oriented that they do not have enuff time for their families..tat is y..
N so on it went..those guys were chatting with each other bindaas..
The third guy, who looked a lil strict was asking me lotsa techie questions, some of which I could not answer..I would have been able to, had I given it some more thought..but I suppose, I got a lil flustered..
But one of the questions he asked me, got the RS guy to tell him:
RS: Hey, what man, you asking her such questions! How will she know? This was way before her time!! She's too young to know this!! LOL!!
They asked me a lot of general knowledge questions, some of which I could answer and some I could not..they were basically very conversational..they enquired about how I was planning to get back to Pune..how I was planning to fund my MBA..what my CAT score was..etc..
The conversation was just flowing..there was no structure..and I was getting the feeling that something was not quite right, as in, that they were just pulling my leg by being so friendly!! :)
Anyway..so it ended..I did not know what to think..Aldo,they had been very nice..I did not have the feeling that I had done well..There were just a couple of questions that I had answered to my satisfaction, the remaining were, frankly speaking, not upto the mark..for example, when they asked me about the first Nobel Laureate from India, all I could think of was Sir C.V Raman..the answer was Rabindranath Tagore and then they went on to ask me about how many Indians had won the Nobel prize, and Amartya Sen did not come to mind!! There were some more of these things..so all in all, I was not 'firing on all cylinders' that day!!
The day had been quite a series of ups and down..I lived quite a lot in that one day..and like life..it was not all good but one hell of an experience!! :D
P.S: I did not make it to C..probably because of my GD, or the interview, or the fact that my Quant percentile was some 92.xx and I have heard that is less as far as C is concerned..it probably was a combination of all of these..
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Let us continue!!
After Lucknow, it was IIM C...it was on the 13th of March..aldo, I am not superstitous by nature, I do not like the number 13 too much:) Still, that I suppose, was the last thing on mind that day!
The interview was again at 2..at DCC (Dadar Catering College)..I followed my usual routine of waking up at 8, reading newspaper, getting together documents, forms, etc..
I reached the place well in time..and met a few people I knew..
Was called in for the GD..and lo and behold ;) There were 11 people in my group which included three girls..now 11 people is not such a good idea..
N I was a teeny bit nervous coz it was Calcutta!
There were three people on the Panel..two professors and one from the Industry..they came and called out our names..then gave us the GD topic..
It was..'Only the tax-paying population of the country should be allowed to vote'..I quickly jotted down some points..and waited for them to throw the GD open..
I usually do not compose what I will say or how I will say it..I just sort of make a general list of points and then decide to play it by ear..can't say it's the best possible tactic..a lot of people who compose some sort of a cracker opening statement or something will obviously have an edge..but somehow, I can never think of a 'cracker' opening statement! I always bank on good soft skills..a fair amount of knowledge..sans the facts and figures (I have always been terrible at remembering the exact numbers)..and listening skills..
So I was sitting there and waiting for the GD to start, thinking, yeah, it will be cool, we will have a nice discussion, like all the other GDs I have been in..I couldn't have been more wrong!!
The guy signalled for us to start and immediately to my left..the girl sitting shot forth with her opening..she had a nice loud voice..the kind that carries..and she was sounding like she was not gonna take any kinda interruption too well..and she verily demonstrated that..none of the guys could also cut her in..she was just too good, for the time that she spoke..which was not all that much..but I knew she had made a good impression..
The other guys caught on..they jumped into the fray with equal energy..loud voices..vehement opinions..frenzied gestures..et al..
Poor old me just kept trying to break into the GD..but evertime I would open my mouth..someone would start speaking..in the beginning..I refrained from cutting in..as is my policy..which I have already mentioned earlier..after a while, it dawned on me, beta..abhi nahi bola, toh kabhi nahi bol paoge..yeh log aasaani se chupp nahi hone waale :) So I tried to cut in..I tried some 5 times..could manage to cut in some couple of times :D
It was as close to the proverbial 'fish-market' as it could have got ;)
The third girl was extremely soft spoken..she realized very early that she is not going to get a chance to break in, she had probably faced a similar situation before..so she, instead, did a very smart thing..she noted down everything..coz people who do not speak much are usually asked to summarize!
Well, we were all asked to summarize, but it was in ascending order of peoples' talking-time..so she was the first one to be asked to speak..I was the second :) I do not even remember what I reeled off..I should have planned it out better..should have given that thought instead of sitting and getting agitated about not being able to get enough air-time :)
So you see, the GD sucked! :)
But hold your horses, there was more to come!
After the GD got over, we all trooped out and sat and spoke with each other, discussing it and stuff..the interviews started..a couple of people came out and told us that the panel was extremely chilled out and that they were almost conversing with the candidates..
I realized that my turn would come a lot later since I was the 'last but one' person, out of a group of eleven..and that would mean waiting till around 6 o clock..
At around 3:30, I happened to glance at the form of one of the people sitting there and a shiver went down my spine..I saw it stamped..I inquired..did we have to get the form attested? Turns out we did!
O my god!! I had an interview in some time and my form, which was supposed to be attested and stamped by a 'gazetted' officer, was nowhere near being that!
Where would I find a gazetted officer (G.O) at such short notice?
I debated for approximately 10 seconds about whether to come clean in front of the panelists, but then decided against it..already my GD hadnt gone well..I didn't need them to know what a grade 'A' ass I was too! :)
I decided to dig out some G.O from somewhere..there had to be one in Dadar!!
I thanked my lucky starts that my interview was so late and ran out of DCC..I went to one of the nearest paan shops and asked a customer standing there, whether he knew of a G.O somewhere in the locality..he told me about the BMC ward office..
Gleam of hope!! It also struck me that my Junior College - Ruparel was some little distance away and if nothing else worked, I would try getting it signed by my college principal (aldo I had never met him/her in my entire life, did not even know where he/she sat, or whether he would be around that day..but it was an alternative)..
I caught a cab (the situation reminds me of Taxi no 11, coz it was a race against time that I was running and the cab played a pretty important part :D)..so I caught the cab and asked him to take me to the ward office..once I reached there, I went in and inquired from some people about a G.O, any G.O! They told me that there wldnt be any G.Os there and I could perhaps try in some other office nearby..I nevertheless, asked a couple more officers and they told me the same thing..so I took off for the other Samiti office..I don't remember what its name was..but it was on the ground floor of the same building..
So there I went..the lady I asked directed me to another man in the same office..I went flying to that man's cubicle and I was told that he would not be coming in that day! I related my predicament to some people outside his cube and one of the ladies told me to try at the office of the Janshakti Congress Samiti (or something similar) along the road!! She even gave me the name of the G.O there..
I ran out and asked my cabbie to take me a lil further..I jumped out of the cab when I located the office and went in..there was this room where a man was sitting playing with a cat..I asked him about the G.O that the woman had told me about..he turned out to be very helpful..he told me to sit down and calmly informed me that the man in demand had gone home to have lunch!!
O man!! How many more hurdles!! :) On being asked when he would be back, this guy told me that I could go to his house and get my stuff attested!! He lived nearby, apparently! He gave me his home number and I called him up..he asked me to tapko at his house..
So I gathered some seals and left, after taking directions of course..me and my cabbie found the place..I found his apartment and rang the bell..this woman opened..the man in question made an appearance..he was extremely helpful..he took some 10 minutes though getting his pens and seals ready..and I was getting very impatient..but finally, it got done..
I had the all-important ATTESTED interview form with me..I thanked him profusely..he was very nice about it..and left!
To the cabbie: 'Back to DCC!!' :D
I reached back and I cldnt help feeling that I had handled it pretty well:) It was just around 4:30 and I still had some four people to go before me..moreover, I was extremely happy and grateful to all the people who had helped me get it done..
So there I was, outside the interview room, exhausted but very happy, adrenaline rush can do wonders sometimes..
to be contd..
After Lucknow, it was IIM C...it was on the 13th of March..aldo, I am not superstitous by nature, I do not like the number 13 too much:) Still, that I suppose, was the last thing on mind that day!
The interview was again at 2..at DCC (Dadar Catering College)..I followed my usual routine of waking up at 8, reading newspaper, getting together documents, forms, etc..
I reached the place well in time..and met a few people I knew..
Was called in for the GD..and lo and behold ;) There were 11 people in my group which included three girls..now 11 people is not such a good idea..
N I was a teeny bit nervous coz it was Calcutta!
There were three people on the Panel..two professors and one from the Industry..they came and called out our names..then gave us the GD topic..
It was..'Only the tax-paying population of the country should be allowed to vote'..I quickly jotted down some points..and waited for them to throw the GD open..
I usually do not compose what I will say or how I will say it..I just sort of make a general list of points and then decide to play it by ear..can't say it's the best possible tactic..a lot of people who compose some sort of a cracker opening statement or something will obviously have an edge..but somehow, I can never think of a 'cracker' opening statement! I always bank on good soft skills..a fair amount of knowledge..sans the facts and figures (I have always been terrible at remembering the exact numbers)..and listening skills..
So I was sitting there and waiting for the GD to start, thinking, yeah, it will be cool, we will have a nice discussion, like all the other GDs I have been in..I couldn't have been more wrong!!
The guy signalled for us to start and immediately to my left..the girl sitting shot forth with her opening..she had a nice loud voice..the kind that carries..and she was sounding like she was not gonna take any kinda interruption too well..and she verily demonstrated that..none of the guys could also cut her in..she was just too good, for the time that she spoke..which was not all that much..but I knew she had made a good impression..
The other guys caught on..they jumped into the fray with equal energy..loud voices..vehement opinions..frenzied gestures..et al..
Poor old me just kept trying to break into the GD..but evertime I would open my mouth..someone would start speaking..in the beginning..I refrained from cutting in..as is my policy..which I have already mentioned earlier..after a while, it dawned on me, beta..abhi nahi bola, toh kabhi nahi bol paoge..yeh log aasaani se chupp nahi hone waale :) So I tried to cut in..I tried some 5 times..could manage to cut in some couple of times :D
It was as close to the proverbial 'fish-market' as it could have got ;)
The third girl was extremely soft spoken..she realized very early that she is not going to get a chance to break in, she had probably faced a similar situation before..so she, instead, did a very smart thing..she noted down everything..coz people who do not speak much are usually asked to summarize!
Well, we were all asked to summarize, but it was in ascending order of peoples' talking-time..so she was the first one to be asked to speak..I was the second :) I do not even remember what I reeled off..I should have planned it out better..should have given that thought instead of sitting and getting agitated about not being able to get enough air-time :)
So you see, the GD sucked! :)
But hold your horses, there was more to come!
After the GD got over, we all trooped out and sat and spoke with each other, discussing it and stuff..the interviews started..a couple of people came out and told us that the panel was extremely chilled out and that they were almost conversing with the candidates..
I realized that my turn would come a lot later since I was the 'last but one' person, out of a group of eleven..and that would mean waiting till around 6 o clock..
At around 3:30, I happened to glance at the form of one of the people sitting there and a shiver went down my spine..I saw it stamped..I inquired..did we have to get the form attested? Turns out we did!
O my god!! I had an interview in some time and my form, which was supposed to be attested and stamped by a 'gazetted' officer, was nowhere near being that!
Where would I find a gazetted officer (G.O) at such short notice?
I debated for approximately 10 seconds about whether to come clean in front of the panelists, but then decided against it..already my GD hadnt gone well..I didn't need them to know what a grade 'A' ass I was too! :)
I decided to dig out some G.O from somewhere..there had to be one in Dadar!!
I thanked my lucky starts that my interview was so late and ran out of DCC..I went to one of the nearest paan shops and asked a customer standing there, whether he knew of a G.O somewhere in the locality..he told me about the BMC ward office..
Gleam of hope!! It also struck me that my Junior College - Ruparel was some little distance away and if nothing else worked, I would try getting it signed by my college principal (aldo I had never met him/her in my entire life, did not even know where he/she sat, or whether he would be around that day..but it was an alternative)..
I caught a cab (the situation reminds me of Taxi no 11, coz it was a race against time that I was running and the cab played a pretty important part :D)..so I caught the cab and asked him to take me to the ward office..once I reached there, I went in and inquired from some people about a G.O, any G.O! They told me that there wldnt be any G.Os there and I could perhaps try in some other office nearby..I nevertheless, asked a couple more officers and they told me the same thing..so I took off for the other Samiti office..I don't remember what its name was..but it was on the ground floor of the same building..
So there I went..the lady I asked directed me to another man in the same office..I went flying to that man's cubicle and I was told that he would not be coming in that day! I related my predicament to some people outside his cube and one of the ladies told me to try at the office of the Janshakti Congress Samiti (or something similar) along the road!! She even gave me the name of the G.O there..
I ran out and asked my cabbie to take me a lil further..I jumped out of the cab when I located the office and went in..there was this room where a man was sitting playing with a cat..I asked him about the G.O that the woman had told me about..he turned out to be very helpful..he told me to sit down and calmly informed me that the man in demand had gone home to have lunch!!
O man!! How many more hurdles!! :) On being asked when he would be back, this guy told me that I could go to his house and get my stuff attested!! He lived nearby, apparently! He gave me his home number and I called him up..he asked me to tapko at his house..
So I gathered some seals and left, after taking directions of course..me and my cabbie found the place..I found his apartment and rang the bell..this woman opened..the man in question made an appearance..he was extremely helpful..he took some 10 minutes though getting his pens and seals ready..and I was getting very impatient..but finally, it got done..
I had the all-important ATTESTED interview form with me..I thanked him profusely..he was very nice about it..and left!
To the cabbie: 'Back to DCC!!' :D
I reached back and I cldnt help feeling that I had handled it pretty well:) It was just around 4:30 and I still had some four people to go before me..moreover, I was extremely happy and grateful to all the people who had helped me get it done..
So there I was, outside the interview room, exhausted but very happy, adrenaline rush can do wonders sometimes..
THE SUSH AURA
There is something about Sushmita Sen that I really like.
Everytime I come across any of her interviews, I am struck by how well that woman talks! She projects such a 'strong-woman' aura that I am, frankly, very inspired at the end of all my encounters with her..
She lives her life the way she wants to..with supreme confidence and fearlessness..and that is the most desirable quality a woman, or anyone for that matter, can ever have..
Kudos to her..
There is something about Sushmita Sen that I really like.
Everytime I come across any of her interviews, I am struck by how well that woman talks! She projects such a 'strong-woman' aura that I am, frankly, very inspired at the end of all my encounters with her..
She lives her life the way she wants to..with supreme confidence and fearlessness..and that is the most desirable quality a woman, or anyone for that matter, can ever have..
Kudos to her..
Monday, May 22, 2006
HIGHWAY TO HELL!!
We are all in the grip of this whole reservations thing..I recently read an interview that Arjun Singh had with Karan Thapar..and it makes my blood boil.
This guy A.S knows absolutely nothing..he is unaware or so he pretends, of some very basic information, that as HRD Minister, should have been at his fingertips..for example, he does not know the percentage of OBCs in our population..and the worst thing is that he does not care..the one line that he keeps throwing is 'The Parliament is infallible'!
He has no idea what reforms, measures are going to be taken to ensure that the general population does not suffer, all he says is 'There are ways, which are being examined..I am not free to talk about them'!
It is an absolute farce..we all know that India, progress, reforms are the last things on his mind..all the greedy old buzzard wants is power, money and looks like he is going to get away with it..
Even after all the protesting that we did..such a wave of sentiment against this policy..these people get away with it.
He categorically denies that there is any logic in ensuring that the people who have got reservations once, don't pass it on to their children..he out-n-out rejects all the figures that are presented to him..his excuse 'The kind of figures that have been brought out, in my perception, do not reflect the realities. Realities are something much more'..
Makes me think, are we a nation of impotent people?
We are all in the grip of this whole reservations thing..I recently read an interview that Arjun Singh had with Karan Thapar..and it makes my blood boil.
This guy A.S knows absolutely nothing..he is unaware or so he pretends, of some very basic information, that as HRD Minister, should have been at his fingertips..for example, he does not know the percentage of OBCs in our population..and the worst thing is that he does not care..the one line that he keeps throwing is 'The Parliament is infallible'!
He has no idea what reforms, measures are going to be taken to ensure that the general population does not suffer, all he says is 'There are ways, which are being examined..I am not free to talk about them'!
It is an absolute farce..we all know that India, progress, reforms are the last things on his mind..all the greedy old buzzard wants is power, money and looks like he is going to get away with it..
Even after all the protesting that we did..such a wave of sentiment against this policy..these people get away with it.
He categorically denies that there is any logic in ensuring that the people who have got reservations once, don't pass it on to their children..he out-n-out rejects all the figures that are presented to him..his excuse 'The kind of figures that have been brought out, in my perception, do not reflect the realities. Realities are something much more'..
Makes me think, are we a nation of impotent people?
Monday, May 15, 2006
Before I move on to my next tryst, on Public Demand, here is a brief account of my preparation for the interviews:
I will start from when I came to know that I had calls..
I started attending those IMS workshops..there was this person called Raj Iyer there, most of the IMS students will know him..he is an IIM C alumnus and has done a lot of stuff..service, entreprenuership and is currently into counselling B-school aspirants..I am sure there are other things he does/has done that I don't know about..btw, this is not an advertisement for IMS!! :)
So this man along with some other staff, plus the workshop that I have talked about earlier, gave us some fundas about GDs and PIs..very basic stuff..but stuff that was important..
More importantly, these sessions gave us a lot of interaction and hands-on experience of being in GDs and with people that you didn't know..the group was different for every GD, and so, was excellent practice!
As far as reading up goes, I have always been aware of current affairs..I do not think being aware of each and every detail about every bit of news is what is important. Also it is not important to have knowledge like 'GDPs of every country in Asia' or the 'Length, breadth, population, staple diet etc' of every country in India..you get the drift..all this is data, not information, and definitely not knowledge! All this information can be brought to you at the click of a mouse, why do you need managers for it!! :D (Some people are of the opinion, that managers, as they exist today, are wholly unnecessary..but let's hold that for now)!
What one does need is the ability to form opinions about most things that are going on..the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff..N we all know, considering all the news channels that are 'a dime a dozen', that there is A LOT of chaff!!
So I did some intelligent reading up, magazines like Business World, India Today, The Week, The Economic Times, etc..anything of interest that I could find basically..I also did a lot of reading up Online..
A couple of workshops I attended cleared out my fundas of Finance, the Budget (not that I am a pundit now, far from it, but it got me started)..so I then followed up on that..took an interest in the Budget for the first time ever..learnt to actually think and read up on and about stuff like the 'nucleur deal', how it will help us (btw, I think this nucleur deal is just a whole lot of hog-wash..we have better sources of alternative energy, more financially viable and less dangerous, also more freely available..some people are of the same opinion..ull can read up on stuff like the benefits of nucleur energy etc online..an eye-opener')!
I did a lot of introspection..in fact, there was no other choice I had, considering that the forms had such disgusting questions:) Forced me to think about myself with a vengeance like never before!
Engineering subjects! Yeah, I was really apprehensive about this one, I didn't remember anything from those days..me decided to pick up a few subjects, some that I liked and might be asked about, some of my core subjects, etc and do some minimal brushing up..
So I picked up the TVV (Television and Video) textbook (Gulati for all those who earned their stripes as telecom engineers too)..and read the first chapter..I was satisfied with that much..aldo in the interview, they might ask me some stuff that even Gulati might have a tuff time answering;)..I was satisfied that I knew some basic stuff about the subject..they cannot expect me to know more than that after two years after it's been mugged and regurgitated;)
I read a lil bit of OFC..again first chapter and that's where it stopped because I could not locate any other books:) I went through my Final Year project though, such as it was!
So that was it, my preparation for the GDs and PIs..all in all, I can safely say that those were good times!
I will start from when I came to know that I had calls..
I started attending those IMS workshops..there was this person called Raj Iyer there, most of the IMS students will know him..he is an IIM C alumnus and has done a lot of stuff..service, entreprenuership and is currently into counselling B-school aspirants..I am sure there are other things he does/has done that I don't know about..btw, this is not an advertisement for IMS!! :)
So this man along with some other staff, plus the workshop that I have talked about earlier, gave us some fundas about GDs and PIs..very basic stuff..but stuff that was important..
More importantly, these sessions gave us a lot of interaction and hands-on experience of being in GDs and with people that you didn't know..the group was different for every GD, and so, was excellent practice!
As far as reading up goes, I have always been aware of current affairs..I do not think being aware of each and every detail about every bit of news is what is important. Also it is not important to have knowledge like 'GDPs of every country in Asia' or the 'Length, breadth, population, staple diet etc' of every country in India..you get the drift..all this is data, not information, and definitely not knowledge! All this information can be brought to you at the click of a mouse, why do you need managers for it!! :D (Some people are of the opinion, that managers, as they exist today, are wholly unnecessary..but let's hold that for now)!
What one does need is the ability to form opinions about most things that are going on..the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff..N we all know, considering all the news channels that are 'a dime a dozen', that there is A LOT of chaff!!
So I did some intelligent reading up, magazines like Business World, India Today, The Week, The Economic Times, etc..anything of interest that I could find basically..I also did a lot of reading up Online..
A couple of workshops I attended cleared out my fundas of Finance, the Budget (not that I am a pundit now, far from it, but it got me started)..so I then followed up on that..took an interest in the Budget for the first time ever..learnt to actually think and read up on and about stuff like the 'nucleur deal', how it will help us (btw, I think this nucleur deal is just a whole lot of hog-wash..we have better sources of alternative energy, more financially viable and less dangerous, also more freely available..some people are of the same opinion..ull can read up on stuff like the benefits of nucleur energy etc online..an eye-opener')!
I did a lot of introspection..in fact, there was no other choice I had, considering that the forms had such disgusting questions:) Forced me to think about myself with a vengeance like never before!
Engineering subjects! Yeah, I was really apprehensive about this one, I didn't remember anything from those days..me decided to pick up a few subjects, some that I liked and might be asked about, some of my core subjects, etc and do some minimal brushing up..
So I picked up the TVV (Television and Video) textbook (Gulati for all those who earned their stripes as telecom engineers too)..and read the first chapter..I was satisfied with that much..aldo in the interview, they might ask me some stuff that even Gulati might have a tuff time answering;)..I was satisfied that I knew some basic stuff about the subject..they cannot expect me to know more than that after two years after it's been mugged and regurgitated;)
I read a lil bit of OFC..again first chapter and that's where it stopped because I could not locate any other books:) I went through my Final Year project though, such as it was!
So that was it, my preparation for the GDs and PIs..all in all, I can safely say that those were good times!
Friday, May 05, 2006
Time we got on with the interviews..At this rate, I will never finish and my audience (such as it is) will be deprived of my pearls of wisdom ;)
Stop #3: Lucknow!
This was on the 11th of March..again at Dadar Catering College. I arrived there nice and early for the 2 o' clock thing..I met a girl I knew from IMS..it was her first interview, she was kinda nervous..I was as cool as ever..LOL!
There was this other dame from Tata Motors who upon learning that I was working in Infy, proclaimed that the reason so many Infy people get calls is because Infy dsnt give enuff work to us!:) I beg to differ..I think its simple mathematics..there are more of us of this age-group in Infy than other companies..so it stands to reason that more of us get calls..see, simple! :)
I was actually quite relaxed for this interview, it was the afternoon, I had woken up at a comfortable time and read all the newspapers possible and still had lots of time left to just chill..
So anyway, we were called in for the GD..we had some 8-9 people in our group..the panel consisted of one man and one stern-looking woman!
They asked us to first write an essay on the GD topic and then discuss it..sheets were given to us..the topic was 'Peace and Harmony cannot exist without the threat of violence'! Wow! Never really given that any thought!
It took me five seconds to decide which side of the arguement to be on..some stuff like 'No good without evil..they are two sides of the same coin..' etc floated into my head..I got down to write..
The discussion turned out to be great..so many points of view came up! Threat of violence in the context of national harmony, communal tensions, international relations..people brought up instances from history..the world wars, the subsequent cold war..most of us seemed to agree with the fact that 'Peace and harmony could not exist without the threat of non-violence'..there were a few who were trying to argue otherwise..the discussion did get a little loud at some points, but there was this guy who had this extremely pleasant and conciliatory attitude..he always somehow managed to soothen some of the tempers which got a bit ruffled with his sound points and friendly attitude..
My contribution to the GD was strictly ok..I delivered well, my tone was good, people were agreeing with me, I was listening and building up..but I felt that I sorely lacked content..I did not come up with too many innovative interesting points of view:) The 'body language and soft skills' part of it was bang-on..
Anyway..later outide we got talking..the girl from TM and the friendly guy..it turned out the FG had already had a year at Symbi and was looking for a change, we were discussing his answer to the inevitable question 'Why do u want to change'..and he said that aldo the placements at Symbi were excellent, the teaching was not upto the mark and he needed more..good fun, meeting such people..
I was called in for the interview - third methinks..the lady looked extremely strict! I sat down..the man asked me some stuff abt my work..the lady asked me something about the different delivery mechanisms of communication:) I was like on fire! I spoke at length about the different ways in which signals can be communicated and she then asked me about the advs/disadvs..Ha!! I bombarded her with information about signal strength and power and repeatability and bandwidth and what-not..it was pretty clear that she was not following all of it..but it seemd to have taken the wind outta her sails for some time:)
But she had an ace up her sleeve..she told me 'Yes, you know the technology, now tell us about a way in which you will use this technology to change the lives of people, say, the people in the villages of India'! I thought for a second, some recent article I had read swam into my mind..and I started talking about how broadband should be taken to the villages..how teachers should make use of the Internet, how the kids should be taught to use it and how it would also help the craftsmen, the farmers and the labourers, blah blah..she cut me short there with
She: 'Have you ever been to a village?'
Me: 'Not really, but I have been to places almost like..'
Cut short again..
She: 'Do you even know how they live? They do not have water, food, etc..and you say that setting up a computer in each village is going to solve all their problems?'
Me: 'Err..yeah, ur right..'
She: 'Come up with a plan, using your technology, how will you change the lives of these people?'
Me: 'Can I take some time to think?'
She: 'Sure, take as much time as you want.'
I thought very hard for some 10 seconds..then slowly an idea started to form itself..
I started to speak about setting up a system in which the villagers could take their grievances to a body of people who would be responsible for a group of villages, the villagers would contact them for whatever problems they might have, a road, a school, new teachers, more wells, or to provide feedback..basically, to get the whole country wired in this manner so that every village has some accountable body to go to..and their finances, the administration, the communication between them, could all be managed by technology..
Now when I think back, my answer was not extremely revolutionary or anything..but it seemed to go down well..the lady relaxed visibily..from a tigress all out to devour me, she became this cute kittenish thing ;) LOL!
The man, who looked extremely good-natured, told me that such a system had been tried out in Andhra P and had probably succeeded..they both seemed happy with me!! They asked me some other chindi questions which I answered to my satisfaction..
After that, the lady asked me to name the first Prez of India..methinks she didnt expect me to know..coz she looked like she was at a loss for words when I answered correctly!! Then she went on to ask me to name all the presidents of India in the correct order! I did not know..N frankly speaking, I had a feeling that I was already through and they were looking for some closure..
Aside: I strongly believe that an interview never gets over until and unless the interviewee says: 'I DO NOT KNOW'! LOL!!
Thus ended my third interview..I was very happy with this one..I knew somehow that I would get through and I did..
I have always been good at academics..have done moderately well at vivas..but all of that is no big deal..anybody who studies and is moderately intelligent can do it..but these interviews have taught me much more than that..the fact that I can handle questions - answers to which I have never thought of before..that I can keep a cool head and make some sense has instilled a lot of confidence..
I am sure there are many out there who have this kinda confidence already, they have it through their daily interactions with people and with superiors and stuff..not me, my learning curve has been vertical as far as these interviews are concerned :)
Stop #3: Lucknow!
This was on the 11th of March..again at Dadar Catering College. I arrived there nice and early for the 2 o' clock thing..I met a girl I knew from IMS..it was her first interview, she was kinda nervous..I was as cool as ever..LOL!
There was this other dame from Tata Motors who upon learning that I was working in Infy, proclaimed that the reason so many Infy people get calls is because Infy dsnt give enuff work to us!:) I beg to differ..I think its simple mathematics..there are more of us of this age-group in Infy than other companies..so it stands to reason that more of us get calls..see, simple! :)
I was actually quite relaxed for this interview, it was the afternoon, I had woken up at a comfortable time and read all the newspapers possible and still had lots of time left to just chill..
So anyway, we were called in for the GD..we had some 8-9 people in our group..the panel consisted of one man and one stern-looking woman!
They asked us to first write an essay on the GD topic and then discuss it..sheets were given to us..the topic was 'Peace and Harmony cannot exist without the threat of violence'! Wow! Never really given that any thought!
It took me five seconds to decide which side of the arguement to be on..some stuff like 'No good without evil..they are two sides of the same coin..' etc floated into my head..I got down to write..
The discussion turned out to be great..so many points of view came up! Threat of violence in the context of national harmony, communal tensions, international relations..people brought up instances from history..the world wars, the subsequent cold war..most of us seemed to agree with the fact that 'Peace and harmony could not exist without the threat of non-violence'..there were a few who were trying to argue otherwise..the discussion did get a little loud at some points, but there was this guy who had this extremely pleasant and conciliatory attitude..he always somehow managed to soothen some of the tempers which got a bit ruffled with his sound points and friendly attitude..
My contribution to the GD was strictly ok..I delivered well, my tone was good, people were agreeing with me, I was listening and building up..but I felt that I sorely lacked content..I did not come up with too many innovative interesting points of view:) The 'body language and soft skills' part of it was bang-on..
Anyway..later outide we got talking..the girl from TM and the friendly guy..it turned out the FG had already had a year at Symbi and was looking for a change, we were discussing his answer to the inevitable question 'Why do u want to change'..and he said that aldo the placements at Symbi were excellent, the teaching was not upto the mark and he needed more..good fun, meeting such people..
I was called in for the interview - third methinks..the lady looked extremely strict! I sat down..the man asked me some stuff abt my work..the lady asked me something about the different delivery mechanisms of communication:) I was like on fire! I spoke at length about the different ways in which signals can be communicated and she then asked me about the advs/disadvs..Ha!! I bombarded her with information about signal strength and power and repeatability and bandwidth and what-not..it was pretty clear that she was not following all of it..but it seemd to have taken the wind outta her sails for some time:)
But she had an ace up her sleeve..she told me 'Yes, you know the technology, now tell us about a way in which you will use this technology to change the lives of people, say, the people in the villages of India'! I thought for a second, some recent article I had read swam into my mind..and I started talking about how broadband should be taken to the villages..how teachers should make use of the Internet, how the kids should be taught to use it and how it would also help the craftsmen, the farmers and the labourers, blah blah..she cut me short there with
She: 'Have you ever been to a village?'
Me: 'Not really, but I have been to places almost like..'
Cut short again..
She: 'Do you even know how they live? They do not have water, food, etc..and you say that setting up a computer in each village is going to solve all their problems?'
Me: 'Err..yeah, ur right..'
She: 'Come up with a plan, using your technology, how will you change the lives of these people?'
Me: 'Can I take some time to think?'
She: 'Sure, take as much time as you want.'
I thought very hard for some 10 seconds..then slowly an idea started to form itself..
I started to speak about setting up a system in which the villagers could take their grievances to a body of people who would be responsible for a group of villages, the villagers would contact them for whatever problems they might have, a road, a school, new teachers, more wells, or to provide feedback..basically, to get the whole country wired in this manner so that every village has some accountable body to go to..and their finances, the administration, the communication between them, could all be managed by technology..
Now when I think back, my answer was not extremely revolutionary or anything..but it seemed to go down well..the lady relaxed visibily..from a tigress all out to devour me, she became this cute kittenish thing ;) LOL!
The man, who looked extremely good-natured, told me that such a system had been tried out in Andhra P and had probably succeeded..they both seemed happy with me!! They asked me some other chindi questions which I answered to my satisfaction..
After that, the lady asked me to name the first Prez of India..methinks she didnt expect me to know..coz she looked like she was at a loss for words when I answered correctly!! Then she went on to ask me to name all the presidents of India in the correct order! I did not know..N frankly speaking, I had a feeling that I was already through and they were looking for some closure..
Aside: I strongly believe that an interview never gets over until and unless the interviewee says: 'I DO NOT KNOW'! LOL!!
Thus ended my third interview..I was very happy with this one..I knew somehow that I would get through and I did..
I have always been good at academics..have done moderately well at vivas..but all of that is no big deal..anybody who studies and is moderately intelligent can do it..but these interviews have taught me much more than that..the fact that I can handle questions - answers to which I have never thought of before..that I can keep a cool head and make some sense has instilled a lot of confidence..
I am sure there are many out there who have this kinda confidence already, they have it through their daily interactions with people and with superiors and stuff..not me, my learning curve has been vertical as far as these interviews are concerned :)
Friday, April 28, 2006
Let's do a bit of a flashback today..recently saw Kill Bill 2, so am in some sort of a 'Quentin Tarantino-ish' mood;) Aldo, talking about myself in the same breath as him is almost blasphemous..if his movies are anything to go by, the guy's a friggin' genious!!
So, we zoom past the last few months, to the time that the CAT results had just come out..IMS announced some workshop in Mumbai..two days, from sunrise to after sunset..rigorous rounds of GDs and PIs..
There was junta there from all over the West-Zone..MBA aspirants crawling all over Wellingkar's like ants! :) Must have been close to 400 people!
Well, the first day was all GDs, the second some seminars and a couple of PIs..the GDs were to be of different types..Factual, Abstract, Controversial and Case Study!
We all know what Factual and Controversial is, a lil bit of gyaan about the other two-
Abstract - Here, the sky is the limit! You can be asked to discuss anything on earth..most of the times they give you an extremely esoteric sounding statement and throw the GD open..
Some examples:
# Pink pajamas at the Red Fort!
# Golden boys and girls, like chimney sweepers must eventually come to dust..
# . - yeah, tats right! A Dot, fullstop, purnaviraam..now discuss that!
# Which first - Chicken or egg?
So, you see, this sort of a GD usually had people racking their brains to come up with the craziest stuff..stretch your imagination to its break-point and somehow connect the most abstract thing to stuff like 'India's ecomony, GDP growth, China, Nucluer power, fuel' etc! No kidding!! People used to come up with these fundoo comparisions!
GD # 1 - I had this 'altercation' with some guy..he wasnt letting me talk..almost told him to shut it:) Then the whole thing went into this huge mess..I started laughing coz I just cldnt understand why people were in such a hurry to talk!
Feedback - 'Had I been on the panel, I would have asked Shreya to leave immediately'..btw, the 'Panel' were these IIM students who had taken out the time to come and criticize us..they were doing a pretty good job too, methinks;)
GD # 2 - This was controversial - in the feedback, I was told that I should learn to listen to the other people, to quote - 'from your attitude, it seemed like you were treating the others just as mannequins, try to listen to them and remember they are people too!' Gawd!! Wat-ever!
GD # 3 - Abstract - I was told that nothing I had said had made any sort of impression on them. The panel could, in fact, while giving their feedback, not recall anything that I had said!! There goes my 'Love me, hate me, but can't ignore me' excuse out of the window! LOL!
GD # 4 - The Case Study - Here I was in my element;) I did it all right. The thing was ur typical 'fish-market', but I managed to get my stuff across and finally this - something that shone out like a beacon over the muck that the day had been - 'If I had to choose one person from this group, it would be the lady there'! :) No prizes for guessing who the 'lady' was! :)
The second day was even worse!
We were asked to fill up a couple of forms..stuff like strengths and weaknesses, career goals, etc, ur regular pre-interview form..based on these forms, the panelists would conduct a mock-PI for us..these forms were to be filled up by us in all sincerity and taken to the Interviews! Me, being the smart-ass that I always aim to be, treated the form like some piece of shit..I filled them lying in bed at 1 o' clock at night (to be fair, inevitable circumstances had led to me being extremely tired and not in the mood to fill out forms)..so I did a very lousy job..my thinking was that they (the panelists) would discuss the form with us, like IMS staff usually do, and not model the whole thing on a real PI, down to the whole stress-test thing! My mistake, it was supposed to be a MOCK-PI!!
So, you can guess that my interviews sucked! They tore me apart, both times, I was told that I was arrogant and did not listen and my answers on the form were not very convincing..and all this was coming from my badly filled out forms. .It seems they had formed an unfavorable opinion of me by just glancing at the forms..and I cannot blame them..some of my sentences were not even complete!
So, all in all, I had a terrible time! And I must have been one of the few people to have had it so rough, as mostly everybody else came out with decent feedbacks..
But at the end of it all, I knew 'What not to do' ;)
That is when I did some more introspection and realized that there was no point in trying too hard at the GDs..just listen and follow the flow of the conversation..as for PIs..the golden rule here would be - FILL up the damn sodding form well..like your life depended on it!
So, we zoom past the last few months, to the time that the CAT results had just come out..IMS announced some workshop in Mumbai..two days, from sunrise to after sunset..rigorous rounds of GDs and PIs..
There was junta there from all over the West-Zone..MBA aspirants crawling all over Wellingkar's like ants! :) Must have been close to 400 people!
Well, the first day was all GDs, the second some seminars and a couple of PIs..the GDs were to be of different types..Factual, Abstract, Controversial and Case Study!
We all know what Factual and Controversial is, a lil bit of gyaan about the other two-
Abstract - Here, the sky is the limit! You can be asked to discuss anything on earth..most of the times they give you an extremely esoteric sounding statement and throw the GD open..
Some examples:
# Pink pajamas at the Red Fort!
# Golden boys and girls, like chimney sweepers must eventually come to dust..
# . - yeah, tats right! A Dot, fullstop, purnaviraam..now discuss that!
# Which first - Chicken or egg?
So, you see, this sort of a GD usually had people racking their brains to come up with the craziest stuff..stretch your imagination to its break-point and somehow connect the most abstract thing to stuff like 'India's ecomony, GDP growth, China, Nucluer power, fuel' etc! No kidding!! People used to come up with these fundoo comparisions!
Case Study - Here they give us a situation. .Could be related to business, ethics, relationships, whatever..but the main characters are in the throes of some major dilemmas! They have to make some difficult choices or think of a way to extricate themselves from whatever jam they have landed in..be it, a CEO of an organisation and his employees shirking work, or a doctor who has to make a choice bteween his career and ethics! Can turn out to be miniature masala potboilers at times;)
I was given terrible feedback for three out of four of those GDs..GD # 1 - I had this 'altercation' with some guy..he wasnt letting me talk..almost told him to shut it:) Then the whole thing went into this huge mess..I started laughing coz I just cldnt understand why people were in such a hurry to talk!
Feedback - 'Had I been on the panel, I would have asked Shreya to leave immediately'..btw, the 'Panel' were these IIM students who had taken out the time to come and criticize us..they were doing a pretty good job too, methinks;)
GD # 2 - This was controversial - in the feedback, I was told that I should learn to listen to the other people, to quote - 'from your attitude, it seemed like you were treating the others just as mannequins, try to listen to them and remember they are people too!' Gawd!! Wat-ever!
GD # 3 - Abstract - I was told that nothing I had said had made any sort of impression on them. The panel could, in fact, while giving their feedback, not recall anything that I had said!! There goes my 'Love me, hate me, but can't ignore me' excuse out of the window! LOL!
GD # 4 - The Case Study - Here I was in my element;) I did it all right. The thing was ur typical 'fish-market', but I managed to get my stuff across and finally this - something that shone out like a beacon over the muck that the day had been - 'If I had to choose one person from this group, it would be the lady there'! :) No prizes for guessing who the 'lady' was! :)
The second day was even worse!
We were asked to fill up a couple of forms..stuff like strengths and weaknesses, career goals, etc, ur regular pre-interview form..based on these forms, the panelists would conduct a mock-PI for us..these forms were to be filled up by us in all sincerity and taken to the Interviews! Me, being the smart-ass that I always aim to be, treated the form like some piece of shit..I filled them lying in bed at 1 o' clock at night (to be fair, inevitable circumstances had led to me being extremely tired and not in the mood to fill out forms)..so I did a very lousy job..my thinking was that they (the panelists) would discuss the form with us, like IMS staff usually do, and not model the whole thing on a real PI, down to the whole stress-test thing! My mistake, it was supposed to be a MOCK-PI!!
So, you can guess that my interviews sucked! They tore me apart, both times, I was told that I was arrogant and did not listen and my answers on the form were not very convincing..and all this was coming from my badly filled out forms. .It seems they had formed an unfavorable opinion of me by just glancing at the forms..and I cannot blame them..some of my sentences were not even complete!
So, all in all, I had a terrible time! And I must have been one of the few people to have had it so rough, as mostly everybody else came out with decent feedbacks..
But at the end of it all, I knew 'What not to do' ;)
That is when I did some more introspection and realized that there was no point in trying too hard at the GDs..just listen and follow the flow of the conversation..as for PIs..the golden rule here would be - FILL up the damn sodding form well..like your life depended on it!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
So let's continue..
Stop # 2: SP Jain
This was one of the most exhaustive interviews I had..The pressure was comparitively less, so I kind of really enjoyed the first stage..yeah, there were two stages of interviews..
Let me begin at the beginning..
It was a warm sunny day on the 25th of February:) I reached SPJ at around 7:45 in the morning, the process was supposed to start at 8..We were made to sit in an auditorium.. and as people trickled in, the audi got packed..I knew a lot of people here too..met an old JC friend..these interviews turned out to be proper 'adda' spots man!
My group was called in pretty early..I had seven people in my group..one other Somaiya-ite and one other Infoscion apart from me included! LOL! We were escorted by this guy who told us that our panel was pretty chilled out and we need not get nervous..
So in we went.."Into the jaws of death, rode the.."
Okk, I am done dramatizing..so in we went..our panel had two men..plus the guy who had escorted us in! Yes! The students even sit on the panel at SPJ!
We sat down, did our introductions..
Stop # 2: SP Jain
This was one of the most exhaustive interviews I had..The pressure was comparitively less, so I kind of really enjoyed the first stage..yeah, there were two stages of interviews..
Let me begin at the beginning..
It was a warm sunny day on the 25th of February:) I reached SPJ at around 7:45 in the morning, the process was supposed to start at 8..We were made to sit in an auditorium.. and as people trickled in, the audi got packed..I knew a lot of people here too..met an old JC friend..these interviews turned out to be proper 'adda' spots man!
One interesting thing about the composition of people here: There were quite a few non-engineers..of course, engineers were in the majority, but there were more non-engineers here than I have heard of, or met at other interviews..
There is this thing about SPJ, I have it from reliable sources that most things are student-managed..so you would be managing the finances of the institute, or be a part of the administration, or helping out with the recruitment, depending on whatever your interests might be..
So we had these three-four students managing stuff like getting you to register, calling out your names for the interviews, announcing whether you got through the first round or not..escorting you to the interview panels even!
My group was called in pretty early..I had seven people in my group..one other Somaiya-ite and one other Infoscion apart from me included! LOL! We were escorted by this guy who told us that our panel was pretty chilled out and we need not get nervous..
So in we went.."Into the jaws of death, rode the.."
Okk, I am done dramatizing..so in we went..our panel had two men..plus the guy who had escorted us in! Yes! The students even sit on the panel at SPJ!
We sat down, did our introductions..
Hey btw, did I happen to mention that the world, especially India had just come out of hibernation the day I had my interview?! By which I mean, that the Railway Budget had come out and three long pending and extremely important court cases had been resolved just the day before! We were busy lapping up the newspapers outside in the audi knowing fully well that Lalu's 'Gareeb Raths' would be the hot topic of discussion!
N we weren't disappointed..the interview lasted for over an hour and all sorts of topics under the sun were discussed..The Railway Budget in great detail..mostly the professor on the panel wanted us to think about why the Railway Budget was creating such a furore, considering that due to cheaper air-fares, the Railways seemed to be going out of style! We spoke about how there was still a huge customer base for the railways..esp to and from places which do not have airports, blah blah..
Then the tone shifted to values, ethics, what is wrong in the world of today, the India of today, corruption, taxes, the role of parents in shaping their children into succesful and ethical people, the role of schools, the BRIC report, how many years it would take for India to achieve what it wants to, the IT sector, qualities a good manager should have.. etcetra..O man, as you can see..it was a very interesting interview!
I was told later on by a fellow 'participant' (Long back when the CAT results had just come out, somebody had compared the entire GD-PI process to a 'Reality Show'!) that I had got super passionate and was extremely assertive during the interview..mind you, he did not say 'aggressive'! :)
Well, my take on the interview (you are your best judge..most of the times, we all know how well or badly we've done..it's only that we do not want to admit it..even to ourselves sometimes)..so my take on this interview was - I had done well..somehow, I managed to get in at all the right times, and the views that I had come out with had seemed to go down pretty well..
We came out and were made to sit for some time before we were told our results..I had got through the first round..the second round was to start after a break of a couple of hours..I went to lunch in a nearby restaurant with some friends I had met there..
The second round started..I was in the first group to be called!! There were 6 people in my group..we were taken to this auditorium and made to sit outside it for sometime..we got acquainted..two non-engineers..the rest all engineers-working..three out of them in Software..
We were called inside then..the audi was this huge dark place..like a movie theatre..hardly any lights were on..the interviewers were sitting in the front row seats..there were some four of them..and a couple of students besides..we were taken to the stage where chairs had been put for us..these chairs were covered with white cloth..and the spotlight was turned on, pointing, you guessed it right, on us..
The reason why I have described this whole thing in such (excrutiating?) detail is because I want the reader to get an idea of the apprehension we were feeling..the whole thing looked like we were being set up for some 'tamaashaa':)
The introductions were again done..we were made to speak a bit about ourselves..I hate this part..I never know what to include..how much to leave out..what aspects to touch upon..I said some stuff about my schooling, college..extremely superficial stuff..some people spoke about their strengths and weaknesses, beliefs..that made me feel that I could have done a much better job..
After that, they started a GD..The topic was ' India's stand on Iran'..It was a good GD..I made good contributions..one of the guys held some very anti-american views..his comments sparked another GD..they asked us to talk about 'America using arm-twisting measures to meet their economic ends'..I was terrible in this GD..I hardly made any contributions! Left a bad taste in my mouth!
Then they started asking individual questions..I was asked just one question..what values has Infosys imparted to you! I started in a somewhat shaky manner..but once I got into the flow..I must have sounded like a Miss Universe contestant..making a huge deal of the values, professional ethics and the importance of customer satisfaction and delight that I have learnt from Infosys! LOL!
They seemed to lose interest in my answer by the time I finished!:) I was extremely disheartened by that..considering that they asked some other people a lot of questions..grilled them no end and received (what seemed to me) satisfactory answers..I was feeling quite miserable at being asked just one question!
Thus ended the second stage also..while walking out from that place..I did not think I would get through..
But I did..
We had been told that the first interview also carried some weightage..it was not just an elimination round..so you see, that must have sailed me through..because the second one was nothing to write home about!
So, here we are, at the end of another interview..
At this point, I was thinking that no matter what happens..I would take a lot back from these interviews..the whole process got me started on a lot of subjects which I had not known much about before..like finance, economy, the budget, how it affects us..it made me think about a lot of aspects about myself that I had not thought about before..and it brought me in contact with a lot of people..brilliant people, people who knew so much more than I knew..
So, I knew that this whole 'Reality Show' would be a great learning experience!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Here we are..I am finally ready to unleash my thoughts upon the public..don't really know how ready they are for it though!
So do I really have those many thoughts? ;)
Okk, serious now..below follows an account of all my GD PIs..will help some, entertain some and the remaining are most welcome to give it a miss!
So here goes!
Stop # 1 - Kozhikode:
It was on the 21st of Feb (Ohh man, I am gonna remember these dates for the rest of my life! A friend of mine always refers to them as 'trysts'! )..so it was the 21st of Feb and I had parked myself just across the road from Dadar Catering College, where most of these trysts take place; by which I mean that I was staying with relatives just opposite DCC..
The thing was to begin at 9:30 in the morning..I slept early..woke up early..read the newpaper..got my documents in order and chal diye..zindagi ko gale se lagaane ;)
I reached there..small stuffy waiting room..a couple of people I knew..the ubiquitous Somaiya person..and the equally omni-present Infoscion! After making small talk for some minutes..I realized that I did not have my Degree certificate with me!! O man..meri toh haalat kharab ho gayi:) But fortunately the guys sitting out there collecting those documents turned out to be quite flexible and accepted my final year marksheets instead..Phew!
In some time, a couple of guys came out of two adjoining doors (we were to be divided into two panels..of about 10 each..could have been 9..not too sure)..and started to call out our names..we went inside the rooms and sat..
There were two men..at the time, I don't remember taking a very good look at them..I was too busy getting my posture and body language correct ;) LOL!
They handed out slips of paper to us..the topic for the GD..something about whether we believed in the Malthusian law that population itself is not the problem, but lack of proper distribution of resources, organisation etc is what we should be looking at..something to that effect..
We started..the GD was quite peaceful..there were three girls in my group, including myself..we all got enough oppurtunities to speak..
ASIDE: My entire preparation for the GD..apart from reading up some stuff, had been to tell myself repeatedly that it is NOT a DOG-EAT-DOG jungle out there..but just another discussion..this put things slightly in perspective and prevented me from getting all hyper about not being amongst the first two-three to speak..I was never in much of a hurry to speak..a modest and low-key approach was what I was gunning for..
So the GD was quite decent..and we all trooped out..
Now the wait for the Interview..I fortunately did not have to wait too long..I was called in second..
Now somehow..I was not scared or anything, I was just excited..so in I went..
ASIDE: My entire preparation for the interviews had been, but of course, the reading up..but mainly the introspection..I did not want to lie, fool or pull stunts..I wanted to be sincere and honest..as far as possible..and when I went in, I knew I had all the answers that really mattered..
The two men - one was a darkish man..with a luxuriant moustache and the other a very amiable looking and grandfatherly guy..I sat down (after duly remembering to ask 'May I sit down please'! Gawd! )..and the first question that was thrown at me - 'What is the difference between Fourier and Laplace'!!
Holy shit!! Fourier and Laplace! Laplace and Fourier!! Now we all know how much dedication and sincerity had gone into doing all those soporific DSP experiments back in college..I hope I have the sympathies of the junta reading this when I say I could not remember one single thing about either Fourier or Laplace!!
So anyway..I smiled and said 'I do not remember much about Fourier or Laplace but let me just think'! Guy A smiled..he was actually the one asking all the techie questions..he tried to prod me - 'Tell me which is done when'..I thought..I drew a blank..I then went on to say..'I know how to do it, but I cannot tell you why it is done!'..they both smiled very knowingly, and I was like 'Shreya, yeh kyaa bol diyaa!'..then they asked me 'Have you heard of this term called Entropy?' Now I had but could not recall where..So I told them just that..they said 'What about Information Theory? You remember that?' I sort of did, but not exactly! I remembered there was this theorem called Shannon's Theorem but beyond that the memory refused to jog..
So do I really have those many thoughts? ;)
Okk, serious now..below follows an account of all my GD PIs..will help some, entertain some and the remaining are most welcome to give it a miss!
So here goes!
Stop # 1 - Kozhikode:
It was on the 21st of Feb (Ohh man, I am gonna remember these dates for the rest of my life! A friend of mine always refers to them as 'trysts'! )..so it was the 21st of Feb and I had parked myself just across the road from Dadar Catering College, where most of these trysts take place; by which I mean that I was staying with relatives just opposite DCC..
The thing was to begin at 9:30 in the morning..I slept early..woke up early..read the newpaper..got my documents in order and chal diye..zindagi ko gale se lagaane ;)
I reached there..small stuffy waiting room..a couple of people I knew..the ubiquitous Somaiya person..and the equally omni-present Infoscion! After making small talk for some minutes..I realized that I did not have my Degree certificate with me!! O man..meri toh haalat kharab ho gayi:) But fortunately the guys sitting out there collecting those documents turned out to be quite flexible and accepted my final year marksheets instead..Phew!
In some time, a couple of guys came out of two adjoining doors (we were to be divided into two panels..of about 10 each..could have been 9..not too sure)..and started to call out our names..we went inside the rooms and sat..
There were two men..at the time, I don't remember taking a very good look at them..I was too busy getting my posture and body language correct ;) LOL!
They handed out slips of paper to us..the topic for the GD..something about whether we believed in the Malthusian law that population itself is not the problem, but lack of proper distribution of resources, organisation etc is what we should be looking at..something to that effect..
We started..the GD was quite peaceful..there were three girls in my group, including myself..we all got enough oppurtunities to speak..
ASIDE: My entire preparation for the GD..apart from reading up some stuff, had been to tell myself repeatedly that it is NOT a DOG-EAT-DOG jungle out there..but just another discussion..this put things slightly in perspective and prevented me from getting all hyper about not being amongst the first two-three to speak..I was never in much of a hurry to speak..a modest and low-key approach was what I was gunning for..
So the GD was quite decent..and we all trooped out..
Now the wait for the Interview..I fortunately did not have to wait too long..I was called in second..
Now somehow..I was not scared or anything, I was just excited..so in I went..
ASIDE: My entire preparation for the interviews had been, but of course, the reading up..but mainly the introspection..I did not want to lie, fool or pull stunts..I wanted to be sincere and honest..as far as possible..and when I went in, I knew I had all the answers that really mattered..
The two men - one was a darkish man..with a luxuriant moustache and the other a very amiable looking and grandfatherly guy..I sat down (after duly remembering to ask 'May I sit down please'! Gawd! )..and the first question that was thrown at me - 'What is the difference between Fourier and Laplace'!!
Holy shit!! Fourier and Laplace! Laplace and Fourier!! Now we all know how much dedication and sincerity had gone into doing all those soporific DSP experiments back in college..I hope I have the sympathies of the junta reading this when I say I could not remember one single thing about either Fourier or Laplace!!
So anyway..I smiled and said 'I do not remember much about Fourier or Laplace but let me just think'! Guy A smiled..he was actually the one asking all the techie questions..he tried to prod me - 'Tell me which is done when'..I thought..I drew a blank..I then went on to say..'I know how to do it, but I cannot tell you why it is done!'..they both smiled very knowingly, and I was like 'Shreya, yeh kyaa bol diyaa!'..then they asked me 'Have you heard of this term called Entropy?' Now I had but could not recall where..So I told them just that..they said 'What about Information Theory? You remember that?' I sort of did, but not exactly! I remembered there was this theorem called Shannon's Theorem but beyond that the memory refused to jog..
It was back to the smile then..
After this, things got a little better..they asked me about my work..and I waxed eloquent on that..they tried to slip in a couple of trick questions there too..Guy A seemed to know quite some stuff..
Then they asked me about Infosys..whether I knew anything about the fracas between NRN and D Gowda, what my stand on it was..blah blah..
Then to some general knowledge Qs..I made a couple of blunders here..the IT sector's share in the GDP-me said-not sure..they said-guess..me said-err..17?! They burst out laughing! Me laughed too! Later on, to my chagrin, I learnt it was somewhere around 4.5%!!
But anyway..life goes on..next stop..they asked me to talk about Globalisation for two minutes! Two minutes!! O man! I could have gone on endlessly on Globalisation! So I spoke..I managed to put in some interesting trivia..they seemed happy..I have realized that when the interviewers are happy with you, they sort of look at you with a dazed expression..sort of like, hmm..so she knew that one..hmm..we had not expected that! LOL!
Ohh..did I forget to mention that food was flying fast and furious all this while? There were these attendents bringing in all sorts of stuff at regular intervals from all directions! Dadar Catering College yaar!
They asked me a couple of things from my form..something about weaknesses..I gave a convincing answer..I mean, sounded good to me..so must have been!
Okk..so after that..since my form said something about me wanting to be an entrepreneur (who doesn't in these interviews!)..they asked me to name some women entreprenuers..I did..Kiran M Shaw, Sulajja Motwani, Anu Aga..they came back with - 'Most of the women have inherited their empires from their husbands or fathers. So do you think that women in India cannot make good entrepreneurs!!'
Bas!! Mere andar ki garmi jaag utthi..I got somewhat passionate about how women earlier had not probably been self-made because of differing circumstances, and the environment, oppurtunities, but today's woman definitely has it in her to do all that she wants to do, I gave the example of the Lijjat Papad woman..they asked me whether I would be the next one and me said ' Yes sir, I definitely want to be' with what I thought was a 'steely glint' in my eye and a determined thump of the fist! LOL!
Well, I must have done something right, because I got through! :)
All in all, the tone of the interview was very relaxed..they made me feel comfortable, they seemed like real nice people:)..even when I made mistakes, they seemed to laugh indulgingly..so after it got over, although I was painfully aware of all the mistakes I had made, I had a good feeling about it..I was happy with what I had done there..my expressions and my attitude..so overall it seemed like a pretty decent experience!
And that is all I have to say about that!
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