My IIMA interview experience (documented to cherish for life)

I kept counting the days down to February 25, 2013 from the day I was called for the interview and yeah, it did come - the 25th of February, 2013.

A month's duration from the end of January to this day is the closest I can think of to how I prepared for my twelfth standard board examinations. And the morning of February 25, 2013 started with the customary revision, only that in this case, I had to restrict the syllabus for revision. Sounds so nerdy, I know.

After lunch, mom, dad and I left for Hotel Savera on Radhakrishnan Salai and reached by 1 PM. The scheduled slot for my interview, by the way, was at 2 PM. One hour was more than enough to calm down my nerves with India-Australia test match also to watch. 2 PM sharp and the nine of us were called by one of the two professors of our panel for the Written Ability Test (WAT). The topic was about India venturing into the manufacturing sector for progress in economy. As with most candidates, I was also not able to complete the essay in the 10-minute time frame given to us. However, I only fell short of a conclusion. (To any aspirant who is reading this, please do not assume that an incomplete essay is acceptable provided you have dealt with the topic appropriately. I should say I could have managed my time better. Always try to complete the essay). All of us were out of the room by 2:15 PM and what followed was a grueling wait for 3 hours and 15 minutes. I was the last of the nine candidates to be interviewed in my panel. Of course, anyone anyday would gleefully accept that it is worth the wait. Let me call the two professors who interviewed me P1 and P2.

P2 took me in to the interview room.

P1: So you are Shivram.

Me: Yes, Sir.

P2: Give me your certificates.

Me: (Handing over the certificates)

P1: So why did you quit XXX company and join YYY company.

Me: Explained.(and a short discussion followed)

P2: So, you like teaching?

Me: Yes sir.

P2: What do you teach.

Me: Told.

P2: Do you teach complex numbers?

Me: No sir.

P2: Okay. What is Ptolemy's theorem?

Me: Explained. Used a pen and paper. 

P2: Okay, what is its application?

Me: Don't know sir.

P2: Fine. Take a 2-minute tutorial on quadratic equations. Take sometime to compose yourself. No hurry.

Me: (After around 30 seconds) Shall I start sir?

P2: Sure, go on.

Me: Explained for close to 2 minutes.

P2: Okay, is x^2+1 = 0 a quadratic equation?

Me: Yes sir.

P2: How would you draw this?

Me: (I drew it just as a upward parabola that doesn't touch/cut the x-axis)

P2: Is this correct?

Me: (Kept looking at him)

P2: What is the minima of this function?

Me: Oh Okay sir. Will redraw. Drew it correctly this time.

P2: Okay. This does not cut the x-axis at all. You said this is a quadratic equation and that the roots of a quadratic equation are the points where the curve cuts the x-axis. How do you explain this?

Me: Those are only real roots sir. Here we have imaginary roots. 

P2: Fine. Okay. So how would you explain the roots here then? 

Me: (Answered tangentially) Said something about complex numbers evolved because we didn't know the roots for negative numbers.

P2: Why should you even be bothered about finding roots for negative numbers?

Me: (Dumbstruck. Said to myself, "That's a brilliant question. I have never thought about it.") I said something which obviously didn't answer the question.

P2: Okay fine. No problem.

P1: So you prepare online test content, right?

Me: Yes, sir.

P1: Any of your competitors already has this?

Me: Yes, sir. Named a couple.

P1: Okay, what is their business model? How do they make money?

Me: I do not know what exactly their business model is sir. But I can explain how these things generally work. Explained for a few minutes.
(Both of them were listening.)

P1: You know about sites that give general information about exams like CAT, GRE etc., right?

Me: Yes sir.

P1: How do they make money?

Me: Primarily through ads sir. (Spoke about pay-per-view and pay-per-click models.)

P1: Okay. Fine. You have done Optical Communication in your Engineering right?

Me: Yes sir.

P1: What is the basic principle in it? How does optical communication work?

Me: Based on the differential refractive indices of two media sir. It works on the principal of total internal reflection. blah blah... Drew an optic fibre roughly and explained the propagation.

P1: Okay. You have done something in robotics. What is that?

Me: Spoke about the competition in which our team won. Explained the problem statement in that and told them what we did.

P1: Okay. Have you watched the movie Robot?

Me: Hindi or Tamil sir?

P1: Some language. Doesn't matter. Have you?

Me: Yes sir. Have watched it in Tamil.

P1: Okay, who is the villain in that?

Me: Promptly said Rajini and then corrected it by saying Robot Rajini Sir. And then thought it could be Danny Denzongpa too. However, just stuck on to Robot Rajini. 

P1: Hmmm. Okay. Which law did that Robot disobey?

Me: I am not sure of the law sir. But I can explain the idea. Apparently explained the second law. The first law didn't come to my mind then. 

P1: Okay, do you know who wrote these laws?

Me: Yes sir. I know.

P1: Who?

Me: I know the name sir. I am not able to recall now. (Kept staring at the roof for about 5 seconds). Can I take a clue sir?

P1: science fiction.... science fiction writer.

Me: Yes sir. Yeah. I know that.

P1: (anxiously looking at me with his palm supporting his chin)

P2: (who was checking something on his mobile till then suddenly turned his attention towards me)

Me: (Out of nowhere it came out of my mouth. It was clearly the 'aha moment' of the day for me) Isaac Asimov. (All smiles)

P1: Okay. Name three island nations on the Indian Ocean.

Me: Said. Srilanka, Indonesia and Maldives.

P1: Okay, name their capitals.

Me: Said. Columbo, Jakarta and Male.

P1: Male? For Maldives?

Me: Yes sir (doubtfully).

P2: You are close enough. That's fine. You know where Bali is?

Me: Yes sir, Indonesia.

P2: Do you know what it is famous for? Do you even know if it is famous?

Me: No for both sir.

P2: Do you know Indonesia is an Archipelago?

Me: Yes sir. Group of islands.

P2: What other archipelago do you know?

Me: Caribbean sir.

P2: Caribbean? an archipelago?

Me: Yes sir. Group of islands.

P2: Group of islands, fine. Is it an archipelago?

Me: (Blank face)

P2: Fine. Okay.

P1: You play table tennis, right?

Me: Yes sir.

P1: What are the different grips used?

Me: Shake-hand and pen-hold sir.

P1: Can you show me how?

Me: Showed both the grips using a pen.

P1 and P2 looked at each other.

P1: Take a toffee. Thank you.

Me: Thank you sir.

P2: So, being the last one, you got to discuss a lot right?

Me: No sir. We were just talking. Not much of discussion.

P2: Yeah, I saw that (with a smile)

Me: (I was trying to explain that I was genuinely avoiding discussion as that might create unnecessary tension for me)

P2: (Cut me short). That's fine. Everyone has the right to information. We are not going to disqualify you based on that. Don't worry.

Me: Thank you sir. (Walked away with a mentos in my hand)

P.S: Yes, I did convert :) . 

Two key inferences.

1) I have an attachment with red-coloured buildings at some level. I did my UG at College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University. I converted FMS too. :D

2) Secondly, and the most important one. Weren't I asked about Rajnikanth's movie? Now, do you see how I converted? With Rajnikanth, nothing goes wrong. :D

Ramblings, just like that

For many, life after school is a rat race. Or should I say, for my nephew's generation life itself will be a rat race.

There was a time, when I was in school, when life was so simple, so fulfilling, and less stressful. It was when my life was restricted within a 7-km radius, when a visit to the spencer plaza was an excursion, when eating pizza was a luxury, when mobile phone was the show-off gadget, when Internet was on a dial-up connection, and when I was ignorant of the world in all sense. 

Just five years later life seems to be so different. The more you know, the more you desire. The more you desire, the more you strain. The more you strain, less useful you become. 

Ignorance is truly bliss!

An Open Letter to India's employers

(In response to http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/an-open-letter-to-indias-graduating-classes/?src=me&ref=world)

Dear Partner,

Kindly share this response with your entire fraternity.

If you feel that the current graduating class is spoiled by an illusion that the Indian education system is capable of producing the talent that the employers want, well, we aren't. We know for a fact that the education system is flawed and that the employers are are also not keen on matching roles with skills, at least at the under-graduation level. After all, what has a chemical engineer got to do in a firm that specializes in Java implementations.

While I agree to the fact that the English-speaking-writing skills of most of the graduates is below par, I strongly disagree to the fact raised about effectively communicating in business. This again takes me back to the previous point. The final word was always with you Mr. Employer. Language skills meant proficiency in C and C++ for most employers. And I always wanted to ask. What's it with the soft skills training during induction? Do you think it is something that can be taught and made to develop in 8 hours?

With regards to both these points, if your intention in doling out thousands of job offers, compromising on quality, was to provide employment then please don't complain. And please don't generalize.

Good at problem solving, thinking outside the box and seeking new ways of doing things are cliched expressions of employers. Please move on.

Most of the questions that the employees ask often invoke one of these replies.

"We are taking enough steps in this direction and will get back to you once things are sorted out." - Never sorted out.
"As you know, all our decisions are consensus driven. We have to discuss with the leadership." - Never discussed.

And yeah, by the time we know how we should shape our career, we are already exposed to the ground realities of the firm. Nobody quits. Everybody is made to quit. The youth is gradually moving towards an I-don't-care-about-money-I-wan't-a-life attitude.

And the last thing I want to tell you is this. Please don't expect us to ask questions about the impact of the recession on the Indian economy or about the growth strategy for the fiscal year or about how crude oil prices impact the economy. All we are interested in right after graduation is in the poor taste of food in the cafeteria and about poorly operated shuttle services. Sadly, we know the answer already.

Three idiots watched '3 idiots'

It was bhogi yesterday - the day before pongal when most of the residents in Tamil Nadu go berserk and burn up everything they see. Who cares what the Copenhagen summit was for? I had class yesterday, just one hour. While the lazy me made me even lazier, the sincere me forced me to college. I somehow made it to college just on time only to know that the class got cancelled. Ya, I did become frustrated. In fact, all three of us. Three idiots who came to college to attend just one hour. There is a limit to sincerity, I thought. So, a normal teenager has no other option other than a movie, isn't it? :P

Now, about 3 idiots. A good entertainer. But, I really don't find any element that should make anyone go crazy and say I can watch it for thousand times also. Of course, there are many things I liked about the film. The flow of ideas, jokes, dialogues and picturisation.

At the same time, there were some stupid scenes and logical lapses as well. The movie sort of trivialized some very serious issues - for example, the delivery of Pia's sister. That was stupid. And so was taking Raju's father to the hospital on Pia's bike. Aamir, who usually portrays reality in his films, has given not much thought to it this time. I feel that the chilled out mood was too heavy and cloying that even the supposed-to-be emotional scenes were not so emotional. The idea of revamping the educational system was not effectively communicated. Such an idea that has a powerful impact on the society should have a better script and screenplay to reach people effectively.

Whatever it is, I appreciate the entire crew for their efforts. The choice of actors is perfect. My favourite character of the movie is Virus, only because it has been beautifully carved by Boman Irani. If you have any reason to watch the movie for the second time, it should be only this - for Boman Irani.

Single line: Aal izz naat well.

The magic of Chetan Bhagat

Few novels take you to unimaginable worlds, few impart knowledge, few make you feel why you ever chose to read them and few make you think about them for weeks together and smile, when in solitude. because they have a correlation with your life somewhere. Writing a novel is different from writing an interesting novel. Only in few novels do you put yourself in the place of the main character and read on.
Chetan Bhagat has this gift of writing novels that can reach people faster and falls under the category of writers who write for pleasure, unlike others who write for booker or pulitzer. I certainly agree that his style of writing doesn't have a rich vocabulary or an impeccable grammar. But, who cares! Do you go to a theater with an expectation of learning something from the movie that you are going to watch? It's just to entertain you, to make you feel lighter, to de-stress you. Same is the case with novels. After all, reading is for pleasure. And, I bet my shoes, every boy who reads his novel will enjoy it, especially his latest release - 2 states.
His success can also be attributed to the story line. It's real. There is no need of creating a story from scratch. It's already there. You just have to add gloss to it. And when the story by itself is interesting, your work becomes simpler. So, I think Chetan is lucky in that aspect.
Something very strange about his new novel is that, the story is old, plain, very much guessable and yet interesting. It might be because of IIMA or because of Chennai or because of Ananya. I don't know. Might be the magic of Chetan Bhagat.......

P.S : I feel this isn't a well written post. Chetan deserves more. Will edit it, if needed.

Risking my holidays

Risk Management and Risk Analytics. Well, those are what I have been reading about for a couple of days now. It's good to learn management concepts and even better when you are interested in them. I am blown off totally. Finance is HUGE. I began to feel complacent about my achivevement when I finished reading(and understanding) Financial Risk Management, Dun & Bradstreet, but later felt too small on seeing two heavy loads of books again on Financial Risk Management in the D&B TU library.
It's been just two days since I joined here as an intern but have had quite a significant number of realizations.
* You can be on a Fazer or even on a Hayabusa but you would hate driving if you travel once from Virugambakkam to Kandanchavadi (for those who wonder what these are, they are places in Chennai)
* Even if you vow not to go by bike to office and take a bus, an AC bus, you can still hate travel because you'll be late - late by 1 hour. Murphy's law struck again
* Check the font options before you take a printout, else, you could waste a dozen papers when you are not permitted to take even a single printout without informing the IT department
* Hot chocolate sucks at cafeteria. Black coffee is way better
* Don't ever go with the expectation of meeting good-looking girls. They'll be found everywhere except where you are
* Always stick to what you know best. Don't eat rice with spoons just because others do it. One mistake and you could mix payasam with rice.

Connect'09 - a delight

September 10th,11th and 12th of 2009 are the three days I would never forget in my life. It was a top of the world feeling to talk to few people whom I have hitherto seen only on the television. The event started off with Unconference, which basically isn't a conference. I was apparently part of the organising team of the social media department and had not much of work on that day. In fact, Mr Kiruba Shankar, the organiser of Unconference made things very simple and easy. I had a great time working with him. He is an influential figure in the blogging circle and is the CEO of Business blogging and is in the board of directors of wikipedia. Now, doesn't that sound great??? Thanks to Senthil anna. It was he who helped me be a part of the organising team of this conference.

That's our team.

On the 1st day of the main conference I missed the plenary sessions due to my electronic system design laboratory exam, however, made it to the cocktail party and networking dinner in the evening :P.

The second and last day of the conference is when I spent some time with a few members of our team whom I met for the first time only a day before - Srinidhi, Radhika, Anuj, Prashanti and Harish. You know, it is nice to see new people and to make friends with them. Now, coming to the most important part. Where else would I get to network with great corporate giants and IAS officers like Mr S Gopalakrishnan, Mr Gopal Srinivisan, Mr Santhosh Babu, Mr Lakshmi Narayanan, Mr Anil Menon, Mr Mahalingam and many many more? I really pity few friends of mine who missed this opportunity.