Blue blooded

Chhedi, Aseem, Aunty's, Bhaat, Bhajan, Bong, Billoo's, Bhondu, Batti, CL, Cali, Cal, Jam, Candi, 90 degrees, Carlos, Park, Despo, Diro, Dep, DOSA, Eggies, Funda, Frusst Corner, KAT, GC, DC, Delta, GolB, Ghasi, GolC, GPL, Gult, Gymkhana, Tempo, Illu, Insti, Intro, LS, LAN, Matka, Rassa, Rassi, OP, Sher-e-Punjab, Schols Ave,Stud, Bady, Presi, Vikramshila, SAG, SOP, PSI, Shantanu's, Tinku, Thoka, Juice, Veggies, GOD,Maal, Maggu, Makhau, Arbit, Huha, Halu, Frusst, Load, Peace, Poltu, PAN, PD, 2.2

9th April, 2006 was the day I appeared for my JEE. It changed my life. Or should I say, I started knowing life thereon. The result of the examination was certainly not up to the mark since I was performing better in the mock tests. Infact, I was saddened by the fact that I was not able to pursue the branch which I wanted to due to my rank. 10th April, 2010 was the day, when all that disappointment faded away. Finally, I got something I had always wanted - a call from C; IIMC.


JOKAr; JOKAite; IIMCian; call what you may, it only accentuates the aura associated with the tag. I would be cheating myself if I said I always wanted to go to C. B was my dream (please don't bug me with 'A is the best' rant). It did not matter which one is the best. I always placed the three - ABC - in the top brass and had always seen myself in B. Though, as I read more and more into the various facets of the three, I found C to be most of my liking - bole toh, ekdum my type. Infact, if I do convert A (results still on hold .. and honestly, I don't even expect a call), I might as well go against the more common way people chose and take C over A. I have my reasons and I'm satisfied with them.


So, for the moment, am reveling in the glory. I also plan to eat the Rs.2 chocolate I received two years back as a condescending gesture from some who could never gain back my respect. Will do that when I'm reading my call letter. I really look back at the four years in kgp with great self-contentment and having left an impression on some, if not many.


It feels awesome :)


PS1: Yay!!
PS2: Going to the "Alvida" dinner :|
PS3: Will miss kgp .. sachchi!
PS4: I dread the day when people like Amit Sahu will become IAS/IPS/etc ..
PS5: It still feels awesome :)

I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.

I want my name to mean me.

You could still want something that is very unlikely to happen. 

When people tell you what to do, it's usually very confusing and does not make sense.

People break rules all the time.

 I think people believe in heaven because they don't like the idea of dying, because they want to carry on living and they don't like the idea that other people will move into their house and put their things into the rubbish.

 Mrs. Alexander was doing what is called chatting, where people say things to each other which aren't questions and answers and aren't connected.

 In life you have to take lots of decisions and if you don't take decisions you would never do anything because you would spend all your time choosing between things you could do.

People think they're not computers because they have feelings and computers don't have feelings. But feelings are just having a picture on the screen in your head of what is going to happen tomorrow or next year, or what might have happened instead of what did happen, and if it is a happy picture they smile and if it is a sad picture they cry.

 I like timetables, because they make sure you don't get lost in time.

The historic "Right to Education" comes into force in India on a rather ironic "April Fool's Day". Here's hoping that this one does not turn out to be a mockery given that the other fundamental rights are often denied to many a people.

Come to think of it, I feel that these are moves which are more of an attempt to hog limelight instead of ones with a long term vision of proper implementation. One after the other, decisions which promise to change the face of education in India have been rolled out by Sibal saheb. At times, it seems like these programs have been introduced by him with the sole objective of having his name associated with huge projects so that posterity could speak - "Sibal saheb ki wahaj se hi ye sab ho paya hai." What makes me wonder is, are equipped to handle these as quickly as they have been declared. Surely, with such grandiloquent plans, comes the burden of intense planning and proper channelizing of both funds and resources. What I mean to say is that the support structure to implement such a plan is of enormous importance apart from the plan itself.

I read that XY amount of money has been allocated towards implementation of RTE. But if this money goes through the bureaucratic channels in the same manner as it does in other fields, the trickling down effect of money would kill the purpose of RTE. Mechanism to get the money to the right place is of paramount importance for us be able to implement RTE. The good thing is, RTE guarantees Quality Education and not just education which makes it a potent tool in shaping the youth of India. It promises to provide students learning through activities, exploration and discovery. Again, the bill completely leaves the burden on schools to provide proper teachers, playgrounds and activity centers. Just passing on the burden will not be of any use unless we could do something to support the grass-root level institutions to develop their infrastructure. All the more important is availability of Quality teachers, which we are already short of in India. How exactly is that demand going to be met? The schools themselves will require a complete overhaul to provide the apt pedagogic conditions since each school will be expected to cater a larger number of students.

A very intrinsic supposition which comes with the RTE is that child-labor will be abolished, which is great. But ain't there laws already against child labor? How is it going to be ensured that the children are brought out of the dusty factories and sent to schools? This will be one major question denting the prospects of the right and some tough measures will need to be taken to overcome the predicament.

The finance is there, but if it's not released at the right time and to the right institutions, the complete endeavor would end up just making a few people richer. Institutions at every level need to come together and make a herculean effort to make the 'implementation' of RTE a reality. Introducing the right was indeed a pre-requisite towards ensuring every child gets education, but it's hardly the sufficient step.

A cartoon from today's The Hindu edition very aptly depicts the current scenario:

Here's my first attempt at some cartooning .. This is completely a work of 'fiction' and any parallelisms drawn are at your own risk ;)

IIM Calcutta interview was scheduled the day after the disastrous A interview. Here's my experience, which I don't think would be of any use to anyone .. and you'd know why.


Date: 23rd March, 2010
Time: 1400 hours
Venue: IIM Calcutta (Joka, to be precise)


GD Topic: The art of deception is necessary for achievement

My Performance: I thought I was a bit aggressive. Though I raised pertinent points, the panel thought otherwise and I had to defend my views. Also, in a bid to try and project both sides of the topic, I somehow came across as "shifty" to the panel, as they told me later. Again, I had to explain that it was a conscious effort on my part to see both sides of the coin before coming to a conclusion. We were given approximately one minute each at the end of the discussion in which I made a stand.

Personal Interview:


Before writing about that, let me give a brief background of what happened, which is very pertinent to the whole interview. The first person interviewed by my panel was Nilu, who happens to be my department-mate and close friend. Similar profile with similar tastes in some aspects like books. I was the seventh candidate to be interviewed.

Characters - Moi, 2 Lady professors (one of whom was a professor of behavioral sciences) - referred as L1 and L2, 1 Male professor (professor of Economics) referred as M

Moi: Good afternoon professors.

L1 - Show me your I-card and your certificates please. (They see your I-card before beginning the interview. Kahin Osama na aa jaye)
L1 - Ohk. So you're from IIT Kharagpur, Chemical Department.. Another student was from there na?
Moi - Yes ma'm. The first candidate you interviewed.
L1 - Right.

L1 - (She did most of the talking .. the behavioral professor was mostly writing and the economics professor was .. yaad nahi) So, what do you think how did you perform in your GD?
Moi - Ma'm, I think it was decent. Though I felt I was a bit aggressive and ..

L1 - Oh thank god you felt that! (Thank God I said that .. I almost did not want to say that I was aggressive :P )
L2 - Did you feel you were aggressive or your friends told you?
Moi - No ma'm, it wasn't my friends. Actually, I had realized this halfway through the GD itself and tried to tone myself down.
L1 - But it didn't seem like you did that.
Moi - (ehh .. ) I'm sorry ma'm if that was the case. Maybe my efforts were not enough to be evident.
L1 - hmm .. and I thought you were quite shifty in your arguments. Sometimes speaking positively, sometimes negatively. It seemed that you did not have a viewpoint on the topic.
Moi - (hadh hai! isn't it a general funda that we should not draw guard from the beginning of a GD and should look at both sides of the argument before coming to a conclusion) I then went on to explain that maybe because I got to speak in patches, I might have appeared to be shifty and that if given a chance to express myself continuously, the gradual gradation to the conclusion might have been better displayed. Also, I explained her that I did reach a final stand when concluding to which she agreed.

Now, they turn to the hobbies section of my application form. It had Table Tennis and Reading books mentioned. I had also mentioned the books - To kill a mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, White Tiger and a couple more. Interestingly, Nilesh also had "to kill a mockingbird" mentioned in his form.


L1 - How is that everyone has "To kill a mockingbird" mentioned in his form?
Moi - (Arey meri kya galti Nilesh ka interview pehle ho gaya aur usne bhi padhi hai kitab) Ma'm, infact it's my favorite book.
L2 - Very unusual book to have as a favorite.
L1 - Goes into some discussion over the book. Questions like - Who was Scout and Jem's friend? Who according to you was the Mockingbird in the book? and a couple more I don't remember.
Moi - Answered them all. Who'll miss the chance to speak half the time of his interview over his favorite book :P

L1 - And you've also read Catcher in the Rye.
Moi - (happy happy :D ) Yes ma'm.
L1 - Another discussion ensues on the book. Some questions on what was Caulfield's dream and what the title of the book symbolizes?
Moi - Again happily took the opportunity :D

L1 - How come you have read these books? For preparation of CAT?
Moi - (Who reads books to prepare for CAT :O) No ma'm. It was just one phase of college when I was reading books which were listed in the Times top 100. (Tried to explain that my peers had reading habits in a completely different horizon and I wanted to expand my range which made me take up these books)


L1 - Ok. So you're from Asansol. Are you a bengali?
Moi - No ma'm. My native place is Jamshedpur. My father is posted at Asansol.
L1 - Oh! So you're a Jharkhandi .. you know, these people don't like themselves to be called Jharkhandis and Biharis (smiles all around)
Moi - Oh no ma'm. I have no problems as such. (how much I wanted to give the ishtud dialogue of "I am an Indian" :P )
L1 - Ok. So tell me what you think on the performance of the Jharkhand Government.
Moi - Explained about it being a failure of the ideology on which it was formed - the upliftment of the region. Also a bit about the large scams attributed to Madhu Koda.
L1 - What other calls do you have?
Moi - Ma'm, Ahmedabad. (Here, I made a slight mistake. I also mentioned Calcutta after Ahmedabad, though slowly.)

L1 - Ok. That should be all I guess. Any questions sir? (referring to the Economics professor)
M1 - No no. I'm done. (kuchh kiya hi kahaan jo done :P)

Moi - Thank you ma'm. Thank you sir.

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

I come out with the feeling of "Ye kya tha!" . The interview was over in 17-20 minutes with a large part coming from my hobbies. Could make out no head and tail of the interview. The only good thing was, that it was way better than the interview of Ahmedabad.

PS1: Fingers crossed
PS2: Hands crossed
PS3: Everyone else who interviewed in my panel had similar interviews. I believe, it was a completely behavioral interview.

Equanimity - 29.xx seconds
Irreverent - 4.xx seconds (third-fastest by any team)
Lectern - 3.8x seconds (fastest by any team)

Bronze.

This post is dedicated to my WTGW (What's the good word) team-mates Nilu and Bhat.

Two awesome people to hang out with (It would be too much to call those meetings as practice sessions :P). Luckily or unluckily, the two of them were already walking dictionaries, which meant I could makhofy a bit, but also implied I had to do some catching up. What I learnt from all those sessions? - Poker :P

Plagued with postponements, the event finally took place today. Second last event of the Soc-Cult GC which has seen a dramatic turnaround. A gold would have sealed the fate, but it was not to be. The timings of the second and third rounds show how neat we could have been, if not for the first round. Somehow, I misinterpreted Nilu's pass and went in the wrong direction and by the time we recovered, it was too late. The team deserved far better results - though, every team in the competition would say the same about itself :)

Cheers team!

PS1: Tomorrow, the Soc-cult GC 2009-10 shall find its taker :)
PS2: Will miss the SF word events :(
PS3:  Infact, as an afterthought, who knows if there'll ever be another such event.
PS4: One improvement in WTGW could and should be - a greater number of rounds. 3 are too less.
PS5: Title Credits - Our very own gujju, Dhavy :)

When your interviews begin with that of Ahmedabad, it couldn't get bigger worse.

And what an interview it was. If there was any chance to get selected, I made sure it was obliterated. Here's my experience besot with my comments in italics. I have not written my answers at times due to either me forgetting what I answered, or I do not want to make a greater fool of myself in front of you.

Date: 22nd March, 2010
Time: 0845 hours
Venue: Hotel Kennilworth, Kolkata  (Had been here just three months back)


Essay Topic: Corporate houses should take greater social responsibility

My Performance: I think I did decent. Within the stipulated 10 minutes, I gave a short introduction, two examples and almost concluded.

Personal Interview:

I just had to be the first candidate to be interviewed .. darn!


Characters - Moi (M), Two professors referred to as L (left) and R (right) here on.

Moi: Good morning sir!  (I had not decided on the salutation till then :|)
L&R: Good morning .. please sit down.
Moi sits.


R: So, Moi, where are you from?
Moi: Sir, I'm from xyz near Asansol. Gives a little description about Asansol alongwith distances from Dhanbad and Kolkata. I really had prepared, or so I thought. Until I faced the next question.
R: Ok. So, if you join Kolkata and Asansol with a straight line and extend it further northwards, could you tell me what all places would lie on that line?
Wham! WTF! Completely stumped.
Moi: Sir .. err .. I won't be able to tell you about the straight line, but maybe I could tell you the places which come as we move northwards on the railway line from Kolkata to Asansol. (Big big mistake. . why did I have to go along the railway line)
R: Yeah, go on.
Moi: Kolkata, Burdwan, Durgapur .. blah blah .. Ghaziabad, Delhi.
R: That's it? India ends there?
Moi wide-eyed.
Moi: No sir, but I don't know the places which come next.

R: Ok, since it seems you know a lot about railways (Arrey arrey! maine aisa kab bola :( ) tell me who is the railway minister, and speak on him/her for 40 seconds.
Moi: 40 seconds :O :O Sir, Mamta Bannerjee (40 seconds :O :O) .. blabbered as much as I could for around 20 seconds. That's all sir.

R: hmm. Have you heard about Delhi being in Pakistan? Any advertisement?
Moi: (Ye kya ho raha hai .. Delhi in Pakistan :|  Turns out, there was some Indian Railways goof up in an advertisement which I did not know about. This despite going through the whole of last week's newspaper religiously) No sir. No idea at all.

R: Achcha tell me what is government?
Moi: (Kahaan fas gaya mai subah subah :( ) Blabbered something ..
And then a barrage of W questions - What, why, who, where, when etc etc is government of India .. Don't even remember what all was asked, and what all did I answer.
Somehow, the discussion came on the term "company" .. and soon, W's of company .. what is a company, who can form a company, etc etc.
Yaar nahi pata mere ko kya hota hai government aur company. Chhodh do mere ko. Bachao!


L: (Finally comes into the picture by the time I am completely psyched and shaken by R) So, how do you rate yourself in academics?
Moi: (Lagta hai kuchh prepared chizo pe finally sawal aayenge) Sir, above average.
Went on to give details such as class rank, institute rank and was asked to compare the two ranks and explain why I was doing better in the institute as against the class. Did that. (Kuchh toh kiya/bola)


L: Ok. So, tell me the second law of thermodynamics.
Moi: (yippee! kuchh toh jana pehchana puchha) Told. And missed out on the "unless external work is done/heat is supplied" part .. :iamwithstupid (how could I do that when I had prepared so much :x)
L: I think you missed something.
Moi: (Blank) Sir, I can't seem to remember.
Told him three different statements of the second law. And only in that one particular statement, missed out on that part again.
L: Have you taken any management course?
Moi: Yes sir. Operations Research (I had prepared that well)
L: Hmm. I won't call that as a management course. But ok, tell me what is a dual variable?
Moi: (Hadh hai .. pure OR mei yahi ek question puchhna tha. I had read the breadth of OR, but depth nahi :( ) Sir, I don't remember :(

Ab toh kuchh bhi nahi bacha tha. Geography, Civics, Current Affairs, Academics, sab mei maar li.
R: What are your hobbies?
Moi: (Ab ye kyun puchh rahe ho .. dekhna hai ki itna bhi pata hai ki nahi?) Sir, Table tennis, reading books.
L: Tell names of some books you've read over the last 5 years.
Moi: Told.
The situation was such that with every book I mentioned, R asked me the author. And it was only after he asked me, I told the author's name. My brain had went dead by then.


R: Ok. That would be all I guess.
Really!?! OMG .. thank you so much. I almost thought it was a never-ending ordeal.


My performance: Kuchh kehne ko baki reh gaya hai?


That's it. A complete waste of an opportunity. It was probably the best chance one could ever get to convert an A call due to the high seats:gdpi calls ratio.


PS1: IIM C experience to follow soon.
PS2: IIM A logo trivia - It shows the "SEEDI SAIYED JAALI" - the entrance to a famous mosque in Ahmedabad.
PS3: I don't care I got just A and C calls. Would not have even appeared for calls from other IIMs (apart from B) .. But I care :|
PS4: I am stupid.
PS5: I am stupid :(
PS6: WTGW today.

Greetings

If you are or have been a final year student of engineering, you'll know exactly why I've devoted so much time to build up a new blog. I wonder how will I ever be able to shed off the hangover of this excess dose of 'vellapanti' in just about a couple of months once Kgp becomes history for me.

Anyway, will love to know if the banner looks good enough or needs a touch-up.