My journey towards perfection!

2008-12-27T23:25:00.003+05:30

Today my maternal Grand Father passed away... No I am not very upset for some weird reasons. He was a great person and epitomised a generation which was known for family values, "goodness" and humility. But the way he got treated by his own children has disturbed me so much over the last few years. I realized the fraility of a person as he started ageing. Age took away almost everything from him and that's when I started realizing the cruelty of life. I hope he forgives us for all the pain he endured from his own people.
Hearing this news from my father, I almost paused to realize Death is an absolute truth. Every day we approach an inevitable truth which none of us can deny. That just reinforced my belief that I need to enjoy my life as much as possible before it gets taken away from me. I always thought I will work extra hard and try to live a legacy for my next generations. But now I want to be a little selfish. I want to enjoy to the hilt so that when I am old and alone, I don't repent the choices I made when I was young and that I don't have the urge to live any more and I can have a peaceful death on my terms.

Training over....

2007-10-11T06:42:00.000+05:30

Today is my last day in New York....Things during our training flashed by really fast... Met so many new people from the biggest MBA schools like wharton, harvard, MIT, LBS etc.... It felt good :) When I look at our bunch of people, I see two kinds of people:
1. People who had the power of information, they knew who to talk to, how to talk to others and were from the best of the families where there dad was a hotshot prof at some of the biggest names in the academia.
2. People who struggled, who had the fire in their belly... They did not know where they were going ... what they wanted...but they wanted to be the best.

Surprisingly I still think there were not too many people from the 2nd group. When I visualise these groups over a period of 10 years, somehow I see the first group doing better in their personal and professional according to the societal standards of happiness and success. There are quite a few reasons why I think so...
1. Most of the people in the second group have beginning to lose that hunger. They seem to have over burnt themselves.
2. They have good intellectual capacity but when they are left among 20 strangers, they are quite uncomfortable.
3. Somehow 2nd group has been so much single minded on achieving what they wanted, they have so many chinks in their personality and social life that they might feel incomplete in life ..
4. They have started wondering what life is for? How do you define success and happiness?

I am sure anyone can understand which group I belong to :)! I am not sure if I can say I am happy but somehow even at the risk of sounding arrogant, I think I have been successful SO FAR. Today, I have the luxury of thinking about these shits which my other friends don't have. I have a chance to improve my personal life while others are screwing their personal life amid a turbulent professional life... When previleges don't come to you in a platter...you got to take your chances and it's extremely difficult to maintain the fine balance. But I wonder, which way I should go now....There is so much to be achieved professionally and it's so difficult to fight your loneliness, about the things you miss on a weekend or a weekday evening and you want to live a fuller life.... I don't understand what is the correct balance of professional and personal life... Everyone seem to know their balance....I don't because probably I don't understand what I mean by personal life....Probably I never had one !

My days in New York

2007-10-08T04:47:00.000+05:30

The last 1 month spent at New York were one of the better days of my life. There was no tension, nothing to compete for and I had enough dollars to support my over indulgence. I am doing everything I have never done and is legal :)) Am I happy? I think so...For the first time I like the idea of not being answerable to anyone! Not to my boss, not to my parents and most importantly not to myself. I like living in extremes...the 12 shots of tequilla for a newbie drunkard I think is a good proof :) . Somehow I don't believe in moderation as a way of life! The incremental pleasure of 1st tequilla shot is far lower than the 12th one and I can certainly vouch for that ... so why stop at the first shot? When I think of coming back to London, my heart sinks. I don't want that mundane routine which was so mind numbing and boring. I have planned few things for myself like trying to learn squash, dance, gym and roller skating. Let's see if I can complete even one of them. Life I have beginning to realize is all about initiatives and leaving your hesitation and ego aside. If I list the initiatives I have taken in NY I think I can count atleast 3-4 in the last one month and in London I have hardly taken any initiatives. Probably that explains the fun I had in NY even when as a city I like London a lot more than NY. When things would have settled post mid Nov, I guess I will try being a bit more adventurous and make my life more complete :)

Knowledge?

2007-09-30T07:36:00.001+05:30

why is it that life at the other end always looks greener? Why can't we be happy and content with what we have? what constitutes happiness..... At times you need one reason to get ecastic and at times a slight digression leads you to depression.... i wonder why can't we always live in a state of ecastasy? These are very fundamental questions which always keeps me confused about what am I doing with my life, where am I going... ? I wish I could just take my thinking hat off my head and stop pondering...People say happiness is with in you ... sorry mate, but I can't find it! At times it drives me crazy ....and at times I feel how stupid it is to think of these arbit and time pass questions... I think I am getting a convert in terms of the need to have a spiritual knowledge...the need to touch base with myself..to know who I am .. When I was a kid, I remember having dreams similar to this as to who I am, what will happen after my death, what is my purpose etc etc...and these were probably the result of watching too many religious soaps but the fact is there is definitely something more to education than what we learn in arts, science, history etc.... Why did we never make a good headway in terms of these basic questions than finding how to fucking keep ourself alive longer without making those extra years any more happier....I guess I just need to take a beer break and cut this post off :)

A milestone completed...

2007-03-31T22:57:00.000+05:30

Today the 2 years of gruelling journey of MBA at IIMA got over. I have got my MBA degree from this institute :) I started writing this blog when I was about to graduate from IIT K. Two years hence, everything seems changed. The higher I go, the more uncertain and unpredictable life becomes. The 2 years of journey got condensed in 2 seconds during which I received the degree. It's a mixed feeling receiving the degree. I have really got attached to this place and I know I will miss every bit of it in the difficult journey ahead. Sometimes, I really feel I am more suited for academics and I love the life style an academic institution offers. I wish to be a student all my life but alas life is not that simple :) Today I am chasing my and my family's dreams but few years down the line I really wish to do it my way. I always wished to get into the upper class, live life in style without worrying whether I can afford this or not. It may sound so materialistic, but when you see your peers enjoying stuffs and you denying yourself basic comforts, I feel I deserve for once to earn as much money and see if that is indeed happiness....
This is probably the end of a small period in my life and I am making a leap into the job arena. I really need lots of prayers and well wishers that I can carry off from where I have left IIMA :)

GOOD BYE IIMA !

The next 5 years....

2007-03-12T10:37:00.000+05:30

Yesterday night as usual, Jhango and I had nothing better to do except kill time drinking tea in Food King. The discussion as usual veered from his marriage, girlfriends etc to some more philosophical topics like "What do we want in life?"
To a simple and innocuous question like this I had no answer! Lest I forget, let me enumerate what was my response to the questions.
1. I want lots of money
2. A very good personal life. Despite all constraints , my father managed to keep the family so bonded and close. He devoted lots of time for us and literally held our hands through our entire life. The detachment has started setting in but I still feel connected and grateful. I will definitely not like a career focused life where I don't have time for my family.
3. I want recognition for my professional success.
4. Life is said to be lived in few moments. To have those prized moments, one needs to have experience new things, new emotions and live different lives at the same time. I want to be a banker, be an academician, work for an NGO, be an entrepreneur and what not. And for that I want some independence and an individual who genuinely believes in me.
5. I want to be seen as a person who is not seen as someone who wasted hist talents and underachieved as most of my friends think it's true.

The tale of Barista

2007-03-11T08:23:00.000+05:30

March 10, 2007
Time: 8 PM approx
Scene Actors: Khatiya, khainchu, jhango and me
Context: All four passing by the barrista after having a dinner.

So, the story starts......
After having the first flush and the biryanis Khatiya and I were as usual fighting over how fattu we were in terms of girls .... the debate on who among us was a bigger loser and then ........................
Suddenly, we see a girl in barrista in white dress. For the first time after a long long time, I liked someone and felt like putting a fight and guess what I was given lots of incentives for that too. Jhango and co. put a bet that if I say hello and sit besides her, they will give me Rs 500. Btw I still think sitting and talking and knowing her was a bigger incentive [:P]
There began an eternal struggle of a fattu man trying to take a giant leap. I jumped up and down, moved to and fro, had few scoops of ice-creams and what not, to help me make that leap. Still I could not do it ... I felt stupid and defeated. Khatiya was ready to do it and had it not been for the phone call that she got, Rs 500 was totally his. Btw the repercussions could have been worse too as with in 5 minutes her BF comes straight to the barista.
So, at this stage I have two basic questions:
1. Mera number kab aayega ?
2. Main fattu se stud kab banoonga :)) ?

Everyone wish me good luck and some confidence :(

My stories Part I

2007-03-05T12:55:00.000+05:30

Few days back I was narrating my struggling and definitely the best days of my life when Jhango told me: "Why don't you write all of it?" And I immediately bought his idea. Childhood is the god's greatest gift! I consider myself very very fortunate that when I look back at those days, I don't want to change anything that happened to me in those years.... I lived a perfect dream and I sincerely wish everyone gets the same carefree days of childhood.

So, here is where I start with..From the young age of 3-4, I was extremely competitive(R.G.), chugalkhor and extremely aggressive. I studied till the age of 5-6 years at home bcoz my brother and sister won't take me to school and I desperately wanted to go to school....The reason they used to bunk classes, go under a tree and play cricket and kitkit. My mother fondly recalls an incident when at the age of 4, my father scolded me for not studying tables and in retaliation I actually came back with a stick to beat him instead....! In another incident I was trying to remember the table of 4 and every time I used to commit the same mistake of 4* 9 = 38. My parents asked me to forget it and try out the lesson tomorrow...And I decided to study for the entire night till I slept off saying 4*9 = 38 and that is when I was probably 3-4.

My parents always thought I was too aggressive for my own good. I did not respect my elders especially my elder siblings...Probably I was but then I realize aggression is probably one of the most raw feeling/skills needed for success. Anyways while I was child I was too busy paining my parents and my brother and sister...My sister always used to say "Maine pichle janm mein jaroor koi ghor paap kiya hoga ki tere jaisa bhai mila hai :)) " I really wish over the years she realizes that I was not so bad after all :)

I always loved dreaming and I still do. I wanted to be a collector, an IAS officer. That was the ultimate goal for every one in our family. My relatives used to say "ek IAS ke nikalne se saare family ke 7 vansh ke paap dhul jaate hai". I too had this babudom dream of being a higher ranked govt official than my father and probably an IAS ! He used to say "Study for 4 hours daily and you will become an IAS" and right from the morning I used to impatiently count those 4 hours so that I become an IAS officer as soon as possible and at the same time I can play too.
The one thing I admire in my father is that his motto in life was never "All work and no play". I have fond dreams of my father playing with plastic bat ball, badminton, football and what not... Proably my love for kids is because of him.

As a kid, I was never the topper in my school. Always stood 3rd or 4th in school and the worst of all was that a southie girl used to come 3rd. There was only once in class 1 that I came first. I got 93% and the usual topper saurabh got 92.33%. Anyways as a kid like everyone else, studies were never my priority: screwing my elder siblings happiness probably was :)) I vividly remember two incidents regarding my mom's most liked dish: rabri. My brother really liked the dish and he used to sing songs like "O meri rabri O meri rabri ... " while eating. He used to eat it really slowly and probably took an hour eating a small bowl of it. I used to finish it in 5 minutes. So, my father said to my sister, my brother and me that everyone has to eat it in 2 minutes and those who don't, will lose out on the rabri still left in his/her bowl. I did it in straight 2 minutes, my sister almost finished it but my brother was busy humming the "O rabri O rabri " song and hardly had a taste of his favorite dish. My father asked me to snatch both my sibing's dish and ordered me to eat them. As usual, I hardly looked at my brother's sad and shocked face and ate it straight away. I still remember my brother silently crying but I never felt his pain... I still feel bad about myselves for that. My brother has been the best person in my life and I still never cared for him as much as he did...
Anyways the second incident related to the rabri thingie... My brother always wanted to have rabri in complete silence and humming his favorite song and without chappati. I resented it as I used to have my rabri with chappatis and as a true RG :D I wanted him to eat his rabri with chappatis. I went straight to my mother who was cooking chappatis in the old style earthen hearth asking for chappatis for my brother. My mother said if you too want to have rabri without chappatis it's ok but why force your brother? I did not relent and in my haste to pick the next chappati my foot fell on the hot "Tawa" and my whole feet got burnt. "Jaisi karni waisi bharni" :))

Under dog?

2007-03-04T00:51:00.000+05:30

Underdog: This is the tag that fits me the best. Be it in school, DPS, IIT or IIM A, I was the guy who was there among the best but never held in the top bracket. Every time I enjoyed not being able to carry that burden and still being able to surprise others. I firmly believe in the principle: The biggest success is in surprising yourself with what you can do. To an extent I have been quite successful.
It has its downsides too. Many a times I felt this was achievable and I can be there and still I never made it. I will be lying to myself if I say I did not want to be held in awe. But then past is history.
I know I deserve a better deal than what I am getting. I always wanted to be independent and let my success be dependent on entirely my effort. Trading is a job I wanted bcoz it is there where I could have proved my true worth. Let's see how it unfolds.

Life at IIMA is over!

2007-03-03T00:28:00.000+05:30

It seems strange....Two years back I came to this place with all kinds of dreaded feelings of the life ahead of me...the desire to prove myself again and the feeling of insecurity that I will be playing from a position of weakness. Let me elaborate what I mean!

During my IIT K days, friends and seniors told me I was not good enough for an MBA. I was highly introvert and they thought I was incapable of good communication and leadership skills. I was believed to be good at puzzles and logic and not soft skills. Then like every aspirant, I used to hear the horror stories of IIMA and the rigors they are made to go through.....Reflecting on these things, I just think how naive I and my friends were. I proved myself wherever I wanted to be. People here were not as sauve and smart as I believed them to be. If I have to pinpoint on one thing which I have tremendously gained over these two years, it's self confidence. It feels good to know that you are at the top of things and that you can do stuffs your own way!

But more than the academic achievements, I consider my personal growth to be more significant. The awesome friendships, the grinding and unforgiving IIMA system, the tempo shouts, juices at Juice NB and....everything was like a rollercoaster. Life moved so fast, I did not have the time to even blink. I experienced so many new feelings and emotions, I thought I was never capable of.... and a person always grows richer by experience. I feel a lot more assured about my present and my future. So much has been gained and lost in these two years that it will always stay close to my heart. I never felt so angry and yet so connected to a place like this. IIMA graduates insisted to come IIMA for the experience it offers...I truly realize its meaning now. The bricks and buildings don't make an institute truly great, it's the people who create one....

In 2 months time I will be heading off to London leaving so much that I was familiar with and I had got used to. I carried out the responsibility of being a good student almost perfectly but I am aware that from now on everything is going to be unpredictable. There are few things that I always wanted to do and I am gonna do it. Work hard, party harder! I am gonna live life that way :) I won't miss anyone ... and I am sure I will be sorely missed by those who thought I did not matter and I did not exist!

Life has taught a lot in these two years ... and it's gonna stay for a long time. I will miss IIMA, its bricks, its people and a lot more...but I am gonna be successful!

Life is strange!

2007-02-12T02:35:00.000+05:30

Time heals everything. I remember the time when I felt utterly helpless, stuck and very miserable. I thought I lost the most important thing in my life. Every moment I used to think what if and what if not? Now somehow I have started believing "everything happens for good" I am glad that it did not turn out the way I wanted it. Unfortunately it had its side effects too. I have lost my foolish romanticism, the innocence and the faith in the goodness of the people. Basically I have become so risk averse that I probably will never take a step that may hurt me even at the risk of losing some of the finest moments of my life. I don't look forward to my personal life the way I used to. May be it's the hard reality and life is not that romantic or a luxury I visualised it to be. Experience and life teaches you a lot. I want to live now just for the suprise package it has for me :)

2007-01-15T05:08:00.000+05:30

The biggest issue that most of us face today is the choice to be entrepreneurial and chase our dreams and the other is to get into a well paid job and have a comfortable life style. I respect people who have the courage to start on their own at this stage of their career. Frankly, I don't share the same passion for an idea nor do I have the guts to do away for the first time a cosy lifestyle, the fun of owning a car, house and give my parents the comforts they truly deserve!
But, apart from my frailities, do these startups really have that passion or it is just some sort of bubble we have encountered so frequently. IIMA is abuzz with everyone wanting to start a firm but hardly any of us have a fully backed out plan. In an environment where raising capital is not an issue, they are ready to plunge in the market with the brand IIMA without any viable business plans. Having done consulting for a startup, I have seen how a start up struggles to find a breathing space in the market and what can make a difference.
And that makes me feel really underprepared for such exercise. May be 10 years 20 years who knows...but I am going to be on my own atleast for sometime...
Perhaps I will love to start a nursery school and be a full time teacher there...I love small kids and no matter how sad I am, these kids can make me smile..:) God knows what I am gonna do ... the finals are just 2 months away :P!

Am I too naive?

2007-01-14T02:02:00.000+05:30

A very close friend of mine thinks I am too naive in relationships and that I need to grow up and learn to accept that people now don't care for emotions, love and blah blah. When I see different relationships around, none of them could stay for long. Even the best ones which I thought will never break up, broke up with accusations flying all around from both the parties. And in 90% of the cases, these people move on so quickly that they get another partner for themselves in a matter of few days. Probably he is right and he definitely had more such experiences than I had and he now repents for the fact that he got so hurt for people who in the end did not matter so much.
But, still I like that notion of love and relationships where there is a genuine concern for each other, where you trust the other guy so much that you give him or her the full authority to hurt or heal you. Most of the time, the other person hurts you but still you don't care! Today almost everyone who had been in a relationship had become too cynic of all this and refuses to believe that a good selfless relationship can exist. I still believe it can because I want to live with that notion and stay happy that may be one day I can find one!

a purpose in life?

2006-11-09T23:04:00.000+05:30

The last few months have been traumatic to say the least ... in every sense of the term. I found myself stranded in the middle, deserted without any sense of purpose in life ... I never felt so helpless even after being so secured in my career and academics. Personal life indeed went for a toss..Then I made a conscious decision to just distace away myself from things that has become my nemesis... Things have improved so far...I have found a purpose ... I love finance .. I love reading on Ibanks and I can sense the desire to excel and prove things to myself again. No doubt I can never forget my IIMA days and ... but no doubt it is not going to determine what I think, dream and keep on screwing my life. Everything takes time and it has already taken a lot of time and I am eager to move on :) Hopefully I will keep myself on track and things will gradually get beautiful for me!

Phew!!! I did it :)

2006-10-21T01:40:00.000+05:30

So, after all the hiccups I went on the challenging 70 KM marathon cycling trip. I don't know why I got this idea...It was not a challenge neither I really enjoy cycling. Probably I just wanted to prove a point to myself and wanted to see how far I could stretch myself...Sometimes these small things makes you realize what are your limits...and needless to say I did it!!!
Fugga and I went for the trip early in the morning at 6:15 AM and reached akshardham (35 KMs) at 8:45 so roughly at a speed of 14 KM/hr...which is quite decent considering we took some 5-10 mins rest in between...The morning breeze...I still can feel the energy of the morning bliss.
Once in akshardham, the real struggle started. I did not sleep much last night...and I was badly in need of sleep. but in the entire temple complex there was no place to sleep and for 5 hours...it was an eternal battle to keep myself awake!! Only I know how difficult those 5 hours were especially after 35 KMs of cycling.
At 2 P.M. I realized since I can't sleep there is no point staying in the temple complex. Fugga and I decided to leave for IIM Ahd at the same time in the scorching heat..We could not get cold water for our way.
The journey began and I started panting after just 4-5 KMs and it seemed I will not be able to make it!! I had no cold water and then I drank that boiling water in my bag...believe me that was the most satisfying drink I ever had in my life...I drank almost a litre of boiling water in that heat. Then journey began again!! Fugga an experienced cycler and having a much better stamina was cycling at a much better speed and I was trying to catch him up...We travelled for further 7-8 KMs and then I finally gave up...and I set besides the road ... My eyes were red and any extra 1 KM could have been dangerous...After 5 mins of rest and another drink of boiled water..we went off finally we saw a restaurant where I got cold water .. That time we decided I will board a jeep since I can't cover the rest 22 KMs....I was feeling defeated :(
Fortunately the Jeep guy refused to take the cycle on the carriage and hence I decided let's give it a try....And then began my last leg and probably the toughest part of the journey...We made 3 stops, drank 3 litres of mineral water and drove for 2 hours in the scorching heat to finally reach IIMA..Believe me I never felt so happy after seeing IIMA as I felt after finally reaching this place...
It has been a big learning experience for me .. a lesson in stretching your limits, a test of physical and mental endurance, determination and finally importance of peer pressure in reaching the goal.
Thank god I could do it...It would have been sad if I had boarded the jeep and did not cover the last 20 KMs...I did what I set out for and is that really not the most important thing in life?

I am crazy...

2006-10-19T23:17:00.000+05:30

The easiest way to keep the spirits high is to think of crazy stuffs every day...try new experiences and you treasure those crazy and eventful moments..In one of my favorite time pass movie, elisha cuthbert asks the actor "What is the craziest thing you have done recently?" and there was none! If a girl asks me this I don't want to sound stupid :D
Well, to bring some excitement in my life, tomorrow morning I am going on a cycling trip to Akshardham Temple, Gandhinagar which will mean cycling for 70 KMs. I have not done cycling for more than 5 KMs in life and that too 6 years back only .. but life is about stretching limits..and I know it will be fun...Let's see if I can complete this challenge :)

Back....

2006-10-19T04:08:00.000+05:30

15 minutes earlier my brother told me he read the stupid blogs I had written and then I realized I was supposed to be regular at blogging :) So what new has happened in Chaklu's life in the last one month.
To say it in one line "It has been rocking!!" considering the mess I was in. Sulu, khatiya, asski, masti and I have been enjoying like crazy. Somehow I have started living on the principle that today is my last day and I need to enjoy every moment of it .. and it has definitely done wonders to my attitude in life :)
Few days back, I thought I will always be an incomplete and discontented person bcoz I did not get what I wanted. But who says others determine your happiness :) Thank god for showing me the path and thank you for doing what you should have done .. After few years, I can see us going for a long walk along a riverside and laughing crazily for what I did !!
Btw I have started learning how to cook food :D Yesterday I attempted rice and dal and it was not too bad...And next day it will be the exotic khichdi :D!
Btw on a final note, I wish to register another gyaan statement in my blog "Experience and time is the best teacher in anyone's life, experience more and live more ;)"
Vikas

Older and wiser?

2006-09-17T01:49:00.000+05:30

Today I am 22... Last one year was the beginning of a dream... probably the most eventful year of my life... An year which saw my transition from being a teenager to adulthood. I got what ever I sought to achieve...I saw the softer side of me ... Though I am not at peace with myself, I know myself better than an year before and is that really not a reason to celebrate? I think so though I may not celebrate it this time...
I experienced emotions which I thought I was never capable of .... accepted defeats and realized importance of accepting things as they are. Today probably even after getting a hard slap of fate on my face, I can manage to smile...because I know better what losing the best things in life means :) Life moves on and so will I... hopefully with more wisdom :)

Relieved :)

2006-09-11T13:54:00.000+05:30

A few days back I was probably one of the most confused soul on this earth. Every moment I used to change my decision and was totally helpless :( I knew I can't talk to others either ... so in a fit of moment I thought if I am right at my heart, I am doing nothing wrong. I did the craziest thing I could have done and for a few days I was absolutely mad thinking of its repercussions...
Today, issues seems to have been sorted out and I feel a lot better now. The past few months has been a great learning experience and I have a better idea of what we call EQ! In life it's very important to first of all convince yourself that you are right and then things can never go wrong!

Young managers at crossroads

2006-09-09T02:23:00.000+05:30

This is the tilte of a book written by one of IIMA prof Indira Parikh and is a part of one of the most famous course called ERI (exploration, role and identity) offered to 2nd year students.
The indian education never really allow you to pause for a moment and reflect on your past success, failures, your role in your family, society, relationships etc. It's totally geared working relentlessly towards more success without understanding what it really means to them. No wonder why we have such a huge rush for IIMs and IITs in India.
ERI is a 5 day course where we get to write an autobiography, stay far away from the city in a resort, share our experiences, expectations with other students and help us understand ourselves. Personally, I am really looking forward to this as I feel I am still emotionally and psychologically not well equipped for the roles the society expects out of me.
The book "Young Managers at Crossroads" narrates the experiences, disillusionment, dilemmas, success etc of alumni of IIMA in their relationships, career, society and family. For the first time I felt good that there were people who have gone through the same emotional turmoil and have still succeeded in life.
I will strongly recommend everyone to get a copy of this book and just read if you are on the verge of starting a professional career. Sometimes understanding yourself a lil better makes you more happy than getting an MBA at a place like IIMA :) It is atleast true for one person and that's me!

The magic of thinking big!

2006-09-07T13:38:00.000+05:30

Though this is one of the best inspirational book I have read so far, my topic for today is slightly different. Yesterday we three tuchhas were having discussion about our career options, mullahs that we are gonna make and things like that. After 3 hours of idle chit chat, I came out happy thinking I have not been so stupid when such lucrative careers are on offer after my 17 years of education. Nearly all 3 of us can possibly get into any company that comes into A at this stage and we all had some hazy plans for ourselves in the short and medium term.
What was strikingly similar and a lil disconcerting was that we all lacked a more holistic view of what we are gonna ultimately achieve in life. Atleast I don't know after I had earnt all that I want to, made a name for myself, what is that will satisfy me emotionally. But life is anyway a journey of self discovery. Probably few years of corporate/banking life will help me realize my true goals :) Sometimes, time does all the work, you just gotta watch and relax :)

Experimenting with myself

2006-09-06T17:23:00.000+05:30

For people who read my blogs, I beg their pardon for being so egocentric but this blog is totally an exercise to understand myself, to be explicit about what I think about myself and not a literary exercise so most of my daily updates will be a reflection of my life and my idiosyncracies.
Life in 2nd year IIMA is just like your engg days ... the only difference being I don't like sitting idle and watch 4 movies a day like my engg days. So, I decided to explore new things in life. I started with trying to learn how to drive a four wheeler...don't laugh as before that I did not even know how to drive a two wheeler confidently :P
Then I tried my hands and feet :D at swimming ... There is an interesting story behind this. IIMA students are known for their dedication, perseverance or never-say-die attitude. When I joined the swimming class, there were around 20 wannabe swimmers from IIMA...at the end of just 15 days, 10 have left and after 25 days only 3 of us were left trying to cross the final hurdle, that is get a pass/fail approval from our instructor. Unfortunately none of us eventually had the persistence to complete it fully. So much for the IIMA tag and hype!!
Anyways, my 3rd and probably the most interesting attempt is trying to learn guitar. I went to just 3 classes in the last one month but planning to be a lil regular now. The biggest problem with me as a person is that I don't seem to enjoy the process of learning anything, I am just too focused at trying to achieve sthg extraordinary at the end of it ... which keeps me hooked to it but somehow when I achieve that, I feel the excitement of having done it finally dies down quickly. For example, I dream of getting into an amateur music band and performing somewhere sometime though at present I don't even know how to play the most basic tunes !!
The few more things which I am planning to learn is dancing and tennis. Dancing is probably the only thing which scares me to death. Some of u will be definitely be surprised to know that the last time I danced was in 1994 :o and I really want to conquer this fear! Tennis is sthg I want to learn because in an year's time I will be a place where I won't get much opportunity to play TT, badminton or cricket as much as I will get the opportunity to play tennis.
If any of u guys and gals have any interesting idea about things which I can learn in these 6 months, I will be really really grateful to you :)! Please post your suggestions in the comment box...Thanks!

Eternally confused!

2006-09-06T02:14:00.000+05:30

Why is that when you seem to have achieved more than you wanted in life...suddenly everything seems so meaningles...we still remain restless and there seems to be a lack of purpose. The last one year at IIMA and my previous education at IIT, DPS Bokaro and GBRC bodh gaya....everything was almost perfect...better than I had dreamt of considering the kind of environment I have grown up in.. and still today I don't relish them. I am proud of my academic credentials...but I still feel I have not done enough. And that makes me unhappy...Life in second year at IIMA gives u enough time to reflect on your past and help you prepare emotionally and psychologically for the tough road ahead. And somehow I have started appreciating the contrasting life styles of fucchadom and tuchhadom at IIMA... not because I am now a tuchha but bcoz as a tuchha and having had slight experience of the work life and probably having a more realistic expectations of my future and of my family from me, I can chart a journey of my own. Last one year has been an emotionally turbulent period for me. It has definitely helped me realize my limitations as a person and respect finer things in life.
Surprisingly, when I am at a time when I am least insecure about my future, I am also most confused about myself. I don't know what I am passionate about, what excites me, what will keep me going for 40 years of my professional life...and that is what bothers me every moment and keeps me awake till early morning!

life is fun at A

2005-10-08T00:11:00.000+05:30

Believe me the best thing at IIMA is juice NB...For WIMWIANs..this is the only outlet where you can vent out your frustration without the fear of being penalized and creating ill will..I wont go into what is a juice NB..but all for those who aspire to come to IIMA..you guys have something to look forward to in IIMA apart from studies. For me it has been absolute fun. 2 months of professional juice writing has dramatically increased my spontaneity and creative thinking ability. I would have liked to post some snippets from this nb..but i dont want to reveal the secret and spoil the fun :)))
Chakla singh..

career after mba

2005-10-06T18:40:00.000+05:30

We live life in extremes..Take the example of life at an MBA institute and an engg institute and you will understand the difference. Yesterday, we had a gyaan session with our tuchhas...The way they portrayed life after A left us dumbfounded. Is this what we are going to be in 2 years time? Did we really come to A for such a life? Disillusionment has set in and for me every career option seems to be closed after i talk to a person who has worked in that field..Atleast something should appeal me ..I hope it happens otherwise MBA will be an opportunity gone waste :((

2005-10-04T16:08:00.000+05:30

Loved today's marketing class...junta was so restrained and the cps for a change were quite good..hope things continue in the same vein. BTW there are things better than mugging in class :)) Thanks to Jhango :D

2005-10-03T19:19:00.000+05:30

Two things I realized today:
Sleeping less than junta is an enormous competitive advantage in a place like IIMA. My nightout yesterday allowed me to even front log while others were finding it difficult to even complete today's work. But, the problem is to sustain it ..god knows if I can do it :D

Marketing is crap...as that is the feeling I get from the discussion we have. The whole class is full of desperate class participations and the whole discussion gets hijacked for stupid reasons. Wish we could maintain proper restraint in the class to help ourselves learn more :(

2005-10-03T17:42:00.000+05:30

Everyone here slogs so hard that sometimes I wonder whether its worth it..Waking up till 5 Am in the morning, desperately trying to keep yourself awake, sacrificing your little pleasures for an even more taxing career ....is that what we all want..Many of us have come to IIMA because we were fed up with what we were doing but did we make some hasty decisions. Probably yes, if we dont enjoy the course. This semester seems to be more enjoyable than the last. I must mention about professor eroll dsouza, our macroeconomics proff..Though few find his teaching not very animated and engaging, what impresses me is his network and influence he exerts..For example once explaining a concept he said: "When I explained this concept to Montek, he got upset with me"..For a while I wondered who this montek was :D He is really a god level professor..Other professors are also really good though the classes are not so exciting in terms of entertainment value like the MANAC classes in 1st term. The disappointment so far has been Marketing I, a real frustu course which seems more like an extension of HRM I which was so horrible :(((

3 months at A

2005-10-03T00:22:00.000+05:30

today i was reading the blog by vishal grover the topper our senior batch....a person who I really admire...Not that I know him very well but the way he carry himself and you can feel that this guy is different. Just reading his blog made me feel so inadequate and insecured. I always had a sense of false pride and decent knowledge..Three months into A and my perspectives has really changed.. You have such a short life and you want to achieve so much in this cut throat competition that you cant sit up and even reflect on your failures and achievements. Good or bad I dont know but surely I need to tighten my belts further to gain what I had set out for..For now I have decided to be more regular becoz as vishal says you need to know how to crack the system and then the rest follows..Time is plenty if you can do this and then blogging does not require much of intellectual thinking ;)

Formally an engineer!

2005-05-31T18:10:00.000+05:30

Now I can proudly claim myself to be an engineer from IIT Kanpur. The convocation was quite cool with eminent scientists like CNR Rao and Kasturirangan. I was in my home so could not be regular with my blogs. Internet is after all not a luxury outside your college and for me to access internet, I need to travel almost 50 KMs. Probably the next update will happen when I step into the hallowed campus of IIM Ahmedabad. Till then good bye and wish you luck!
Vikas

I am back!

2005-04-30T20:46:00.000+05:30

Now that my endterms are over, hopefully I will get my dream B. Tech. Degree in computer science and engineering from IIT Kanpur. Its definitely a time to look back and realize that indeed something has been achieved! My best days of life has been the IIT JEE preparation days when I used to dream of a single digit JEE rank...I worked hard, missed the target by a whisker but I was a contented man. I got the most coveted department in arguably the best IIT :) Four years into my B. Tech. I am not a satisfied person. The sense of achievement and satisfaction that I used to derive out of my work has gone away. Today, I feel I could have used IIT a lot better to shape my career. Am I getting uselessly worried? Perhaps not! When a person enters IIT with the desire to be among the best and now if he is satisfied with a pass grade, something must have gone terribly wrong. The reasons can be many...Perhaps, his aptitude lies somewhere else. Perhaps, it was a case of burnout....Perhaps, .....
I always thought that these are lame excuses for failures. Now, I use them! The time has come to open a new chapter in my life i.e. IIMA. IITK has taught me some lessons the hard way. My father always used to say that if you fail, you learn more. Today, I know that one can never bask in past glory. Every milestone achieved is temporary. 99% of successful people reach their goal because of their hard labour and not because of being an oversmart chap.
I know I am not going to have my stay at IIMA a bad spot in my academic career. I am definitely going to rock this place, come what may!

Rules of a good presentation!

2005-04-23T00:02:00.000+05:30

Today, I met Dr. S. K. Mehta, a very cool professor of our department. I am doing a project course(CS 497) under him and I am supposed to give a presentation tomorrow. He looked at my ppt slides and then we had a real good conversation about what makes a good presentation. The advice seems trite but they really sound reasonable.

Never promise more than what you can deliver. Always be on the safer side while promising anything to the audience :)
A picture is worth a thousand words. Use them as much as possible.
Maintain the flow of ideas in the presentation. Never keep the audience in lurch about any definition or complicated ideas. Explain them in the next slide only.
Always give a definite statement about what you claim. Be ready with examples for every statement written in the slides. No Globes :))
Finally, time your presentation. Know how much time you are giving to each slide.

My endsem exams are from Monday. So, I wont be very regular with my blogs. Finally, some respite for people who inadvertently read my blogs.

Vikas

Unity in diversity :P

2005-04-22T02:17:00.002+05:30

When we started learning to write essays in our school, the first topic invariably was "India's unity in diversity". The class will be taught how this diversity has propelled india into the path to prosperity. Today, according to me, nothing can be more contradictory and inane than this comment. What would have happened to us had there been no diversity in terms of race, culture or religion? Looking at conflicts across the world, I find people fighting over their identity. Either these identities have been thrusted on them or they strived to create one. Talk of the basque conflict, Israel-Palestine conflict, sudan civil war or the People's war group in Andhra pradesh and the adjoining states. Don't we find the inequities existing in the society the overriding reasons for what has happened to the society at large? These social and economic inequities further get exacerbated and coloured by the imaginery identities that we imagine for ourselves. Can't we have a nation in which the born child learns more about the humanity and not the religious hatred that our so called religious leaders propogate? I think everyone has a big stake in making the society more homogeneous and equitable. Though we listen of gates foundation in every newspaper, but isn't that a zilch contribution to curing a malady that can cripple the nation totally. We talk of India as a superpower in making based on the fact that our median age is only 24 years while even for china which is a relatively young nation the median age is 35+. But, the youth can be an asset as well as burden to the nation. Unfortunately, we seems to be approaching the latter case. People blame politicians for the lack of development and prosperity in the nation. But, is this not true that people make a revolution and not politicians. Is the case not so grim that we introspect what and where the system has gone wrong? Let's ponder over the problem and come with a solution :))

Vikas...
Quote of the day: Set your goals high, then EXCEED them.

A mixed day :)

2005-04-21T03:22:00.000+05:30

Yesterday, I met ankur khandelwal. He has done his MBA from IIMA and has been recruited by Morgan-Stanley for its singapore office. He was a very nice person and gave lots of gyaan about IIMA and career options. We also got a good sumptuous treat :P I hope I can survive the rigour of A and come out stronger. I can sense the pride I will feel when I will read this blog after my first year at A because of the sense of achievement after having gone through the most rigorous academic curriculum of India. Today, I got my much awaited IIMA call letter too. Luckily or unluckily I have been invited :D for the communication prep course starting from 30th May. Now, it seems either I will have to leave the DataStructure class or this prep class. My convocation is also on 31st which I dont want to miss at any cost. After all, getting a B. Tech. degree from IIT Kanpur is not that easy. Slowly, the news of having got a final convert from all the IIMs has started to sink in. The final end semester exams are starting from 25th April. Though, there is some fight in one or two courses, I hope the professors will be kind enough not put the dreaded alphabet in my grade sheet :( .

Vikas

IIM Calcutta Interview

2005-04-20T07:06:00.000+05:30

This is really interesting. That is the sole reason this experience is at the top of other GD/PI write ups.

Vikas Kumar
99.99%
All Calls
CPI 8.4
IIT Kanpur
Status: Finally converted
GD Topic: The development of a country depends on politics and not technology.
The GD went fine and the quality of points were good. I made 4-5 entries.. Will rate my performance as OK.

PI: HORRIBLE and a complete DISASTER
There were two panel members.. The first one was a bearded guy(BG) with an evil look and the other was a bengali proff(BP). Every candidate had stress interview but I topped all of them When I entered the bengali proff went out and I was left all alone to be slaughtered by BG.
BG(looking at me rather harshly): You were very aggressive in GD
ME: I was just stunned. I made 4-5 entries did not try to take much airtime..but
ME: I said sir, I dont think that was the case and I felt I had some good points which should have been discussed and some more gas!
BG: Two people did not speak in GD and one was sitting besides you. Do you believe in elbowing out others while competing with them?(Maintaining a very serious and evil look)ME: Sir, I think I am a competitive person and that has helped me reach where I am despite being from a rather small place and not so good schooling. I think that it is an isolated event where you have got this impression that I am aggressive..I have worked in many group projects and activities and I have never got this feedback...(was getting drained out and frustrated)
BG: Some more crap and said that though the discussion was quite good but there should have been some more participation from the 2 guys..
ME: (arre yaar ab maaf karo) Ok sir, probably I should have tried to bring them into discussion but I think everyone should realize that one has to perform at this stage...5-6 minutes actually passed at this stage!!
BG: You had a pretty bad 3rd year (cpi 3rd year 7.8 and 1st-2nd year 9.0) why?
ME: Sir, I am really concerned about my academics but from my 2nd - 3rd year I have been concentrating more on my projects apart from the compulsory courses and I think I missed out while priortizing things.BGangrily) That means you are not good at maintaining focus...
ME: Sir, though I have done bad in my 3rd year but I am expecting a good spi this semesterBG: What is your spi for the 7th semester?
ME: sir 7.2 BG: That means you have been performing poorly for the last 3 semesters!
ME: blabbered something and lost my composure ...haalat kharab ho gayi and I just gassed some moreMeanwhile the other bengali prof(BP) comes
BP: looks at my form and said that why low spi in 3rd year?
BG: You know he has perfomed poorly for 3 semesters...
ME: Again the same weird justification about projects...
BP: But the projects are compulsory...
ME: No sir, I have taken many projects which were over and above the requirements of the course
BP: Ok give us some lead
ME: Talked about processor simulation of MIPS for pipelined, non pipelined and multiprocessors..(Both of them had no clue what I was talking about)Some more gas on why low cpi? At this stage mere dimag ka fuse jal chuka tha and I desperately wanted to come out!11-12 minutes over!
BG: Ok you good at maths?
ME: Yes Sir
BG: I will ask you a probability question!
ME: nods(relieved)
BG: I say that the probability of the roof falling on your head is 0.5? What is the basis of the statement..
ME: Did not know what to say? Talked of experimental observations to take out the probability
BG: Do you want me to take so many experimental observations
ME: Sir, in case of random events it is 1/2 like coin flipping.
BG: (shouting) I asked you for the basis of the statement
ME: I dont know:(( BP was nodding but BG was not satisfied at all and was growling
BG: A person goes to a shop to purchase a shoe but it costs 495 while he has 500 bucksThe shopkeeper gets the change from another shopkeeper and returns the appropriate amount to customer. After some time he comes to know that 500 note was fake. What is the gain and profit to each individual in the transaction?
ME: Bungled it big time since I was drained out and my mind was not working at all..Did some useless calculation and fumbled a lot ..Came out with the correct answer after 1-2 minutes
BP: You took so much time for such a simple question?
BP: What is your percentile? and calls?
ME: 99.99 and six calls
BP: (Sarcastically) You want to get into IIMs, ok thank you
ME: Did not even thank them came out pretty disappointed...I could not sleep for 3-4 days over this interview!
The interview experience was totally fu**** up. But, even then I converted IIMC. It shows of the importance of CAT score and one's profile.
Vikas

IIM Lucknow Interview

2005-04-20T07:03:00.000+05:30

GD/PI on 30th March, 2 PM at IIM Lucknow.
Vikas Kumar
IIT Kanpur
99.99 percentile
CPI 8.4
Status: Finally converted
GD Topic: Only the powerful can speak of peace and harmony.
The discussion was a bit chaotic but I entered 5-6 times and came with some good points. Infact this is what my group members said to me. I hope the panel members feel the same. Overall my performance in gd was quite good.

PI: Was a bit tense since I had lost my admit card. I was again second last after C and B.There were two profs one a young chap(YP) and the other an older prof(OP).After entering the room:
ME: Sir, I have lost my admit card
OP: How can you do this?
ME: Sir, I am sorry.
OP: I dont know what can I do.
ME: Sir, look at the xerox of the admit card and my driving license.Thankfully the matter settled there and then.
OP: Tell me about yourself
ME: The usual crap I had prepared.
OP: Looking at my cat scorecard. You scored 100 percentile in quant and 99.99 percentile overall. That's excellent Then said that 100 percentile is technically not feasible.
ME: Added to his point.
OP: Ok gud, so you are good at maths. But in your acads you started with a spi of 9 and then ended with 7.2 Why such a consistent fall
ME: The prepared answer..
OP: After getting such a gud rank in JEE you should not talk of competition.
ME: Talked of the projects that I had worked on apart from my course projects.
YP: So, what are your interests?
ME: Politics.
YP: which newspaper?
ME: Hindu.
YP: why hindu?
ME: Justified and said that earlier I liked toi. Tried comparing both.
YP: You cant compare TOI with Hindu
YP: Which news has drawn your interest recently?
ME: Sale of F16 to PakistanA long discussion for 10 minutes on US, india's foreign policy , pakistan and Israel ..I was able to raise some good points .
YP: Some more question on my family background and my schooling.
ME: handled really well and tried higlighting my strengths.
OP: Ok last question from acads What is NP complete problem.
ME: Defined P, NP and NP complete problems.
OP: give an example.
ME: TSP explained in detail about the same.
OP: gud you are correct.
YP and OP: Best of luck!
Overall a very good PI

Vikas

IIM Bangalore interview

2005-04-20T06:59:00.000+05:30

MY IIMB GD/PI IHC, Delhi 9AM 28th March,2005
Vikas Kumar
IIT Kanpur
99.99 percentile
CPI 8.4
Status: Finally converted
GD: The case study was regarding the development of a software. It was to be delivered in just a few days and the overseas project manager suggested some changes keeping in mind the US customer needs. The Indian project manager feels that this may lead to bugs and possibly jeopardising the whole development process. But the indian project manager is hesitant to say so because he fears that the professional relations may worsen. BTW the company is a big MNC. There were some other small details thrown in.. The group contained 7 people. Most of them were from IIIT allahabad/hyderabad and one two people from IT BHU etc. The group was kind of curious to start and in the first 30 seconds almost everyone spoke except me After much cross talk for 2-3 minutes, they slowly came back to their senses . But for me, I felt good at the end. Spoke 7-8 times with good composure and many of my points were accepted in the consensus. In the end none had any point. In the last 2-3 minutes, I analysed the problem technically and tried to locate the possible problems in the software development process of the company and the possible changes that can be made to the current software. Overall after two avg GD at A and C, I would like to upgrade my performance review to good. But, in my interview, the lady prof said that while you were analysing the problem technically, others thought it was a managerial issue..She added that she may be wrong but what are my opinions? I said that ma'am I think both issues are important and in this case it's important to realise the technical feasibility of the project and the changes that can be made to the software. Also tried mentioning points which I had raised regarding the managerial issues ... But her question disappointed me and may be I will get some negative points for that. But, overall I think this was the first gd in which I was very articulate and people listened to me even after the chaos in the gd. God knows how they will grade it!

Interview:I was the last one in the panel so the process started at 1:20 PM and finished by 1:40 PM.There were two panel members: One male prof(MP) and the other lady prof(LP).
MP: Vikas, you are the last guy. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of being last in the interview?
ME: Sir, being last adds to your nervousness while on the +ve side you get to hear questions from other candidates.
MP: So, what did they say?
ME: That you were asking mainly about our projects and the interview was very cool.
MP: Ok so what do you want to be quizzed on?
ME: Projects , Current affairs(Politics) and maths
MP: Ok tell me about your projects.
ME: Told about my btp and my summer internship in NUS, singapore. Spoke for about 5-6 minutes.
MP: advantage/use of the project..
ME: answered..
MP: See, I am not a very technical guy so spare me the technical details
MP: Some basic quizzing on intermediate representations in compilers and the need for a universal IR.
ME: Talked in detail about UNICOL and how the researchers have made an effort in this direction.
MP: I have heard some thing called error correcting codes. What do you know about it?
ME: I am not sure but then started talking crap about error correction in compilers..and asked is that what he is expecting?
MP: I dont know, I attended a talk sometime ago and I dont remember much.
ME: Again talked some crap..(latter came to know that I should have discussed Reed Solomon codes and others ) I hope he does not remember anything from that bloody talk.
MP: What are the time complexities of these error correcting codes?
ME: I have not worked in this area but gave some globe on P and NP problems.
MP asks LP to ask some questions...She asked the same question about gd that I have written over earlier. I hope that does not become an issue.
LP: Some thing that struck me in singapore.
ME: crap crap
LP: What technical learning?
ME: SOME More crap
LP: You must have many other career options..What are they?
ME: talked in detail about three career options and how the other two does not suit me.
LP: You are arriving at your goals after elimination. Dont you think you should leverage your strengths?
ME: talked about my maths and analytical skills and how I am so much interested in eco and some other fundas.
LP: Ok what courses have you done?
ME: Could recall only two of the three and said that the third was an advanced course of the first course.
LP: What kind of reading?
ME: not much into novel reading but like reading current affairs (Politics, economy etc).
LP: Correlate one international business news with your economics course.
ME: silence for 5-10 seconds then came with suits filed against Microsoft in USA and europe.
LP: what are those suits called?
ME: blank Could not recall.
LP: Ok, explain the concept..
ME: Talked about the need of multiple players in the market and how microsoft was using its monopoly to drive competitors out of the market.
LP and MP look at each other and say thanks.

Vikas

IIM Ahmedabad Interview

2005-04-20T02:27:00.000+05:30

Vikas Kumar
IIT Kanpur
CPI 8.4
99.99 percentile
Six Calls
Status: Finally Converted(Infact going to IIMA :) )

Case study: Topic was related to some decision by the higher mgmt to revoke a deal with a supplier.. Since we were only six people(2 people did not come ) and one did not speak we had ample time..I made few good entries and would rate the performance as OK

Interview: Three panel members....P1, P2, P3P1 used to smile a lot..P2 was looking at my certificates and P3 did not seem to be interested!
P1: So Vikas many IITK students have come today? Have you studied together?
ME: Yes sir, every one has been called today only .. No, I have done self study for CAT(lied big time )
P1: Ok let say I have to find out the number of individuals getting calls from atleast one IIMs...How will you estimate the number?
ME: Sir, I will take the datas of coaching institutes ... explained a bit .... but I had a flaw in my logic which was pointed out by him...
ME: took some 15 some seconds and said that I will do some sampling..I will make segments of different percentiles and different profiles..Based on the sample I can extrapolate the value..
P1: Smiling, ok so what will be the sample size?
ME: Sir, since I presume that the estimation need not be very accurate, a sample size of 5% of the population seems good to me
P1: seemed satisfied..ok what is the time complexity of quick sort?
ME: talked of worst case and average case..
P1: 3-4 counter questions on algorithm time complexity...
ME: answered well and confidently(I guess!)
P2: Vikas, we have heard so much of developed economy..what defines an economy as developed one?
ME: Talked of Human Development Index
P2: What is percapita income?
ME: GDP/Population later said its NNP/Population
P2: What is the difference between GDP and NNP?
ME: Answered correctly
P2: Name the top 3 country with the highest percapita income?
ME: Sir, I do not know but atleast one scandinavian country is there
P2: What are scandinavian countries
ME: Norway, Finland and sweden
P2: Are you sure?ME: Yes sir (later came to know that Denmark is also there)
P2: Name the state with the lowest literacy rate?
ME: Bihar
P2: What is the literacy rate of bihar?
ME: 47 %
P2: Female and Male literacy rate of Bihar?
ME: around 35-40 % for females and 55% for males
P2: Name another basis to distinguish between literacy rates?
ME: Since bihar is quite caste and class conscious, this can be a good basis(wanted further discussion but they had other ideas)
P2: Highest literacy rate?
ME: Kerala
P2: Second Highest Literacy rate?
ME: Mizoram
P2: what is the literacy rate?
ME: Around 90 %(88% is the correct answer)
P2: He did not seem to be satisfied
P3: (wakes up from his sleep) name two active areas of research in computer science?
ME: Talked of grid computing and next generation of computers based on AI.
P3 and P1: What is intelligence or AI?
ME: Sir, since I have not done any course on AI. So, I may not be accurate but according any thing that mimicks human intelligence should be intelligent system(what a stupid answer!)... and then talked of neural networks which I had heard from my friend at IITK.
P3: Suppose you are sent to a village what will be the power source for your computer?
ME: Sir, solar power though I am not very sure?
P3: Why you are not sure?
ME: May not be economically feasible
P3: ok go on!
ME: sir ups
P3: How will that be recharged
ME: Sir, solar power
P3: any other power source
ME:I cant think of any other source
P3: Should there be promotion of IT in villages?
ME: yes sir
P3: Why?
ME: Weather reports and cropping patterns..
P3: one can get the same information from newspapers?
ME: Sir but it will not be real time weather report?
P3: (amused) do you mean to say that if there is going to rain in the next hour, you will change the cropping pattern..
ME: Realized my mistake... and tried to cover it up by talking of getting good market information about the inputs for farming and the final produce..
P3: but if the people are not literate how will they use them?
ME: Sir, we can have a system installed for a group of villages and an operator for each system. A villager can approach the operator to get any information.
P3: Ok, give me the speed of the fastest memory?
ME: Did not get what he was saying took some time and assuming something I came out with some answer after some analysis.. Was expecting them to pound me after this but it seemed either they did not know or they were not interested in the answer.
P3: asked to integrate (e)^(e)^x?
ME: Was not expecting and did some stupid rough work..
P3 quickly taking the sheet back said do you like maths?
ME: Yes sirP2: why is your cpi decreasing in 3rd year?
ME: talked of my projects
P2: can you justify such a steep fall(7.8 in 3rd year and 9.0 in 1st and 2nd year) based on your projects.
ME: talked some more crap.
P1: Vikas You got 38 rank in IIT and 0.1 % merit certificate in english? Which do you think is a greater achievement?
ME: IIT has opened lots of opportunities for me and some more crap!
P1: talk about your personal satisfactions...
ME: gassed some more
P1: Smiling thank you!
P2: ok one last question name the states through which river kaveri passes
ME: TN and Karnataka?
P2: AP?ME: Not sure, but probably a narrow stretch
P1smiling) what about kerala an maharashtra
ME: No sir
P1: ok thnx
Seeing that they have not offered me chocolates, I started taking one P2 said I am sorry please take two...
ME: Thanks sir
That was IT... I committed far too many blunders and was expecting some questions on current affairs, my projects and BTP.

Vikas

IIM GD

2005-04-20T02:18:00.000+05:30

In any of the IIMs, GD dont count much if you have very good percentile and profile. Except for IIMA, one can get a final call even if he does not open his mouth provided he has an excellent percentile and profile. Now, people generally feel that since they dont have very good communication skills so they are at a disadvantage. Well, take my word this is not the case. The general do's and dont's for GD:

DO's
1. Open your mouth atleast 2-3 times.
2. Try bringing new points which can give direction to the discussion.
3. Since IIM GDs are really very peaceful, dont be aggresive and dont cut others.
4. Try being among the first 3-4 speakers, but again dont try to cut others to grab the opportunity.
5. Read newspapers and magazines atleast for 2-3 months. It helps!

Dont's
1. Dont open the gd if you are not sure of your points and the case/topic at hand.
2. Dont open your mouth every now and then!
3. Dont interrupt a person who is speaking for the first time and that too a very valid point :D

GD can only make your case stronger. It is not a critical factor in final selection. Dont commit any blunders. You may have a tough time with IIMA atleast if you have done some glaring mistakes.

Best of luck.
You can comment on the blog if you are looking for some specific fundae.
Vikas

Funda on CAT mocks

2005-04-20T01:54:00.000+05:30

Now, lets talk of mock cats which is the most crucial part of your preparation. There are three main options that I looked for while preparing for cat. They were cl/ims/time mocks. None of the institutes has given me any moolah for writing this. Please use your discretion while deciding on any of the coaching institutes.
CL : I took all the CL mocks+FLT. I found the maths section to be quite good and quite close to CAT. English RC's were in general quite easy. The english usage section was easy to ok. CL people tried giving new charts/graphs but no coaching institute gave us the feel of DI in CAT 2004, which was quite tough.

TIME: I found maths easy in most of the mocks. The passages toughness level varied from very tough to very easy. The quality of english usage questions was not of cat standard though at times they tried to make it tough. The logic section of DI was really good in TIME and it came closest to DI problems in CAT 2004.

IMS: I took only two tests so my opinion should not count much. But, in general people find it very tough. If the topper scores 55 marks in any mock, you are really wasting your time in writing these mocks :))

Now, some general fundae on mocks.
When should you start writing mocks?
Start early if you are clear you want to go for cat. You can join TIME which starts the test series in june or so. Till mid-october dont be too much concerned with your rank and try out every possible strategy. Once you have decided on a particular strategy, stick to it. Even if you are performing bad in 2-3 mocks before cat, dont change your strategy in the last minute. You know never know what will be the pattern of CAT. But, it pays to have a rough idea of which section to start with and which will be your last section. Keep 15 minutes time as your spare time which you will allocate according to the toughness level of individual sections. Its extremely important to get atleast 90-95 percentile in each section. So, divide your time judiciously according to your strengths and the toughness of the paper. In cat, dont panic. If the paper is tough, everyone will find it tough. You have got these two hours, just go with an open mind. Dont put too much pressure on your self. Luck plays a big role. So, dont have too much expectations. You will really enjoy the result more if you dont have very high expectations :)) Dont make last minute strategy change in cat. Do, all kind of differential time allotment with the help of those 15 spare minutes. Give atleast 30 minutes to each section. If you get questions of varied weightage like CAT 2004, try solving the higher weightage questions atleast from your stronger section. They are not very tough compared to the lower weightage questions. You have to ace one section and this is the real chance for you. I solved all the 2 marks questions in maths except one :D So, dont go with the perception that 2 marks questions are twice as tough as 1 marks question. I will advise you guys/gals to be regular with your mocks. Taking a total of 20-30 mocks/Full length test should be good enough. But, after test atleast devote 3-4 hours for realizing your mistakes and making suitable strategies. During your mocks, at times you will find that your ranks have declined drastically. Please dont panick! It happens with everyone. Just believe in yourself. CAT is just a 2 hour game. If you have done it before, you can do it in CAT as well. It's easier said than done but having confidence in yourself pays :)
If you want any more fundaes, just put a comment and I will try to answer it. Sorry for typos and grammatical errors. I am writing all this pretty fast :))
Vikas

General funda on cat

2005-04-20T01:15:00.000+05:30

Hi everyone,
I am Vikas Kumar, a final year undergraduate in computer science and engineering at IIT Kanpur. Well, this time I will write something useful. The journey from IITK to IIMA has been quite eventful. At times I felt everything was going down the drain and then suddenly I got all calls and eventually converted all my gd/pi calls.
Let's look at CAT. There are three sections. Now, I was good at Maths. So, I really did not prepare for it. I believe every IITian or a person with a good engg background should find this section quite easy. But, the trick is to make this section your strength. People go with the perception that one should be content with a score of 12-16 which will clear your cutoffs. But, at times it backfires. In cat2004, I believe maths was more scoring than english. I scored 36.66 which will give you a rough idea of how scoring this section can be. A good maths score will be 22+ while one will be reasonably safe if one scores 14+ in cat2004. I believe in CAT 2004, 20-22 would have fetched 99 percentile in maths. Coming to DI, CAT2004 was a real surprise. The pattern in DI is gradually tilting towards logic from problems involving data crunching. But, in no way does this mean that you should not concentrate on usual table/graph problems. CAT 2004 was an exception. Otherwise, I think DI can be the make or break section for people who believe they cant score very well in the other two sections. The key to success in DI is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE...... Now, the most critical section I believe is english. For IITians and engineer, this is a real problem. But, believe me you can improve tremendously in this section. The key to scoring well in this section is the realization that you don't need to speak or write very good english. Half of the paper is RC. For people who are underconfident, this is the best bet for increasing their score in english. Read atleast 2 novels a week 3-4 months before CAT. Read editorials of HINDU very regularly. Apart from your RC needs, it will come very handy in GD/PI stage later. Do the above exercise for 2-3 months. Mug up word power by norman lewis. It definitely helps if you dont have good vocab. If you can score something close to 15+ marks out of 25 in RC, you are well on your way to an IIM call. Now, the english usage section consist of 25 marks. It consist of around 6-8 marks of parajumbles. I believe parajumbles can be solved with a very high level of accuracy if you realize the funda of solving it. Start looking for connects, contrast and flow of the statements. Even names of persons and places can be a vital clue to the solution. This again requires common sense and the ability to analyse and interpret the sentences. For parajumbles, again I will advise all of you to practice regularly. Even if you get the answers correct look at the solution and realize what made you choose this option. This is really an important exercise. Ideally, analysis of the solution should take as much time as you take to solve the exercise on your own. Then comes fill in the blanks which again I believe can be quite scoring. If you know the meaning of the options, you are done. But, even if you dont know the meaning of the options, try to understand the meaning of the sentence and its flow. Is it looking for some contrasting words or is it looking for some similar words? In most of the cases, you will easily eliminate atleast 2 options. If you are not very much sure between the two, you can always take an educated guess !!! Now, we come to grammar questions. Grammar problems are not easy for people with ok english. If you have been a voracious reader, can understand the nuances of english grammar etc. then this may well be quite scoring and can be solved quite quickly. But, for me it always proved to be a stumbling block. The problem is that in CAT the grammar problems that usually come are not standard errors that you get to spot in CL/TIME/IMS mocks. I will recommend not to put too much emphasis on these sections if you are fairly ok with the other types of questions.
Let me know if you want some more fundas on any type of questions in these sections in particular. Just put in your comments and I will edit the post. Since, I have written this blog quite fast, please ignore my usage/spelling mistakes. I have never been good in english.
Vikas

Stock Market

2005-03-31T13:41:00.000+05:30

Speed!
That has been the word most characteristic of me. I like finishing things fast: be it the CAT paper, reading my friend's course notes for the end semester exams or making runs for a game of cricket. Now, I want to earn money fast. And what can be a better tool than the ever increasing ticker on the Indian Stock Market. So, I have begun my quest to tame this unruly creature. I found the following websites pretty useful:
1. www.sharekhan.com (It contains some good tutorials for beginners in its school section)
2. www.icicidirect.com (A good repository of current stock market analysis and recommendations)
3. www.indiainfoline.com (I loved the research section of this website).
I am still looking for some virtual stock market simulation game where I can soil my hands before taking the plunge and wasting my dad's hard earned money. So, folks in case you stumble upon this post and you know some virtual indian stock market game, do care to drop a message.