DAY '0'

When I heard the alarm of my cell phone, I had two simultaneous realizations – one, it was morning and two, I had my eyes open even before the alarm rang. I am not sure whether I slept that night or not but yes, I was having a severe headache which normally happens when I do not sleep and am tensed. Day ‘0’ had begun and I was nervous :(

At this point of time, let me tell you what Day ‘0’ means. In ISB and IIMs, we have a placement week during which almost 95% of the junta gets placed. Companies mostly come for their placement process during this week. The placement week lasts from Day 1 to Day 7. Each company is assigned a Day of the week depending on the preferences of the junta. Day 1 companies are the ones that are the most sought after. At ISB, Day 1 companies are the consulting biggies like Mckinsey, BCG, Oliver Wyman, Booz Allen Hamilton etc and IBs like Deutsche Bank etc. Since their selection procedures are lengthy and last more than a day (these companies have multiple rounds of interviews), they come a day before the Day 1 so as to wind up their selection processes by the end of Day 1. This day just before Day 1 is called the Day ‘0’ of placements.

I had as many as 13 back to back interviews scheduled on Day ‘0’. I had my first interview with HUL (formerly HLL) scheduled at 0830 hrs. HUL people missed their flight from Mumbai due to which their GD/interviews started late. Therefore, I could not participate in their GD because their new GD/interview timings clashed with my other interview timings. I did not even have time to make a request to them. So, HUL was out :(

I then rushed for my A T Kearney (ATK) interview. Just then I got a call from Oliver Wyman (OW) guys saying that my interview that was scheduled at 1500 hrs had been preponed. Since OW was my dream firm, I did not want to turn down OW’s request. I talked to ATK guys about my problem (without taking OW’s name) and they agreed. One of the ATK guys, Pranshul (name changed) said to me, "Do not worry Abhishek. Each and everyone shortlisted will be interviewed, be it even at 0200 hrs tonight. ATK understands the problem of students having multiple shortlists." I breathed a sigh of relief and moved on :)

I was damn serious for OW. May be, that was the reason why all of my OW interviews were pretty good. In the afternoon, I did find time for my ATK interview and I thought it went pretty well. I got some 15 minutes off in the afternoon. I headed straight towards the Canteen on the ground floor to fill myself in but as soon as I got down to the ground floor, my cell phone rang and a female voice asked me to appear urgently for my next round of OW interview. I had no option. OW was above anything else. The fact that OW’s request was coupled with a female voice, made my choice easier ;). I said to myself, "Never mind pal. No breakfast, no lunch…hope it pays off and I have a grand dinner tonight." The interview was good.

By the time I wrapped up initial rounds of interviews of other companies like Accenture, it was around 2000 hrs. OW people said there was just one final round remaining and they wanted to interview me right after the candidate who was then getting interviewed. Pranshul of ATK wanted my next ATK interview right then. The student volunteers who were managing OW interviews made a request on my behalf to ATK guys to let me off for another 30 minutes so that I could finish my last OW interview. Just then Accenture people started searching for me for my second round. I requested them to give me 15 minutes so that I could get done with OW, and they obliged. Accenture and OW interviews were happening in adjacent set of rooms. Accenture guys saw me waiting for my OW interview in the adjacent seating area for the next one hour (and I had asked them for just 15 minutes). OW people literally locked me up (with my consent) in one of the rooms so that Accenture and ATK guys could not pressurize me to interview with them.

My final OW interview was my 11th of the day. I was very, very tired and so was the interviewer. I was asked to solve two cases and was told it was ‘make or break’ for me. I somehow managed to solve them. I knew I was through as the interviewer dropped enough hints to cement my inference :))

According to the ISB Placement Policy, the results are actually released at 1800 hrs on Day 1. Since it was Day ‘0’, the companies were not supposed to release their results. But it is not that you will have no inkling of your selection. You will.

I then went for my Accenture interview. After going through 11 interviews, I was enervated. Though I needed a job on Day ‘0’, I was sure I did not want to join Accenture. Everything became clear in my mind as to which company I wanted to join. The interviewer was literally holding my hand and making me solve the case. I finally gave in and gave it to him straight, "Amit (name changed), I am sorry but I am not interested in Accenture." The interviewer was kind enough to leave me. I then headed straight to Pranshul for my ATK interview. It was 2300 hrs. "Hi Pranshul. Can we have my interview now?" I said. Pranshul replied, "Abhishek, we are done for the day. Rest of the interviews will be conducted tomorrow. Why don’t you come at 0900 hrs tomorrow? Do not worry. We will definitely interview you. Go to your room and relax."

I was tensed though I knew OW was in my kitty. Unless I got the OW offer in written, I could not have assumed that I got the job. I did not feel like having my dinner. Sleep dumped me as if it were my girlfriend who had caught me two-timing her. Tring, tring…my cell phone rang at 2345 hrs. "Am I talking to Abhishek?" a male voice croaked from my phone. "Yupp, you are listening to Abhishek. May I know who is calling?" I replied. The guy responded, "Hi Abhishek. This is Pranshul from ATK. I just called up to assure you that your interview will be taken and that you should not worry about it. Have a nice sleep and come to us tomorrow at 0900 hrs." I had my Aditya Birla Group (ABG) interview scheduled at 0930 hrs the next day. I wondered how I would make it to the ATK interview on time. The next thought that crossed my mind was to ruin my ABG interview and rush for the ATK one.

Amidst all what I went through on Day ‘0’, I could not talk to my inspiration – my ‘best friend’ for the second consecutive day. She did not know my placement week had already begun. When I called her up, she was upset and I did not have the energy to explain things to her. I had no good reasons. I told her that I was having mock interviews for the placements but she was clever enough not to buy that reason. Had she known about Day ‘0’, she would have tried her best to help me out and relieve me off my tensions but... :((

Just when I heard her disconnect the phone, I also heard the silence of my room mock at my helplessness. Lying in my bed helpless as if in coma, I waited for another inevitable stressful and grueling day just like an old man awaiting his death which he can't evade...

Reliving the Placement Experience…

My sincere apologies to those who wanted me to come back with my new posts much before than I actually have. I was a little busy with my family business. I now have quite a few experiences to write about, the first two of which would be my state just before the placements and my state during the placements.

As I told you in my last blog, I did not form a group for my interview preparations. What happens in an interview prep session is that one guy in the group interviews the other. The rest of the group members observe and later give feedback. Group members take turns and interview.

Almost everyone had a group by December ’07 end. On the other hand, I kept on procrastinating joining a group. In January ‘08, when I returned from Patna, I started to feel the heat. I asked a few groups to let me in but they were already overflowing with additional members. An offer from a group of IITians finally came and I joined them. I attended their prep sessions for a week. After a week, I left their group because their objectives were not in line with mine or rather we had different ways of working. They were a sincere bunch of guys but they were reviewing different courses before they would get into case-study interview sessions. I knew Management Consulting was my priority and case-study interviews formed a major portion of these interviews. I do not work more than what is required. I, therefore wanted only case-study interview sessions. I then joined hands with a girl named Neha Iyengar that did help a lot. Though I had only 2 sessions with her, I learnt a lot. I think I will seriously remain indebted to her because she cleared all my doubts and also filled me with confidence. Other offers to join any group were turned down by me because those groups might not have been of much use to me.

I started prepping (preparing) on my own. I used to interview myself. [Wait a minute. Do I hear guffaws???] I know it sounds weird but this is what had happened. My quadies (‘quadies’ comes from quad-mates which means the students I used to share our quad with) had laughed at hearing this. Anyone would. But they used to say I would get the best job. I guess they knew my capabilities or may be, they were just being sarcastic.

One week before the interviews, I was totally lost. Jaundice made my life tougher. Check out my pics on my orkut profile at

http://www.orkut.co.in/Profile.aspx?uid=12944013261399948546&pcy=3&t=0

in the albums to see my condition just before placements. I had shortlists from all (except one) Consulting companies. The issue that worried me was whether I would be able to convert at least one of them. I always knew I would get the shortlists because I had a powerful resume. Few alums (alumni) who reviewed my resume told me that their companies would think that I had a fantastic resume and that I had done in 1.5 yrs what others do in 4 yrs. They thought I was pretty sharp but then the next thing that came to their mind was, “This guy is just 23. He is still a kid.” The alums scared the shit out of me when they said I had done a big mistake by not forming an interview prep group. My friends used to look at me with pity. My confidence plummeted leaving me worried.

Pressure never eludes me. My uncle (my mother’s cousin), a graduate from IIT KGP and IIMB had already bagged an offer from Barclays, London. Let me tell you, Barclays offers a hefty package. Comparisons between him and me were inevitable among our relatives. That my friends from other IITs always kept saying I would get a 1 cr package obviously did not ease the pressure off me. People do not understand that it is only 1 or 2 guys who get the 1 cr offer and not everyone. Even those who get it have considerable experience under their belt whereas I had just a year and a half. Every relative and most of my friends I talked to were like, “You will get lacs of rupees. Tumhari to life ban gai hai. You are so lucky.” Yes, this is what happens. You slog your guts out to get into IIT, to get into ISB, to get into companies like L&T and Oliver Wyman, etc and people will call you ‘lucky’. They will not appreciate your hard work (may be because then they will have an excuse for not being in the same situation as me). Do not get me wrong. Do not think I am contradicting myself when I say I am just average. But yes, I wouldn’t refute having worked hard and having been focused on my aims. I cannot comment on whether their wish of me getting one of the highest package was genuine or not but I certainly knew, it was not doing any good to me. I did not tell my parents and other relatives/acquaintances that the ISB Placement Week was just a week away. I did not even tell my closest friend about the placements. However, she always told me I would get the best. It seemed the objective of every expectation in this world was to intensify the pressure on me. And the problem was that I could not share it with anyone. Had my head been made of some highly elastic material, I would probably resemble an alien with a 5 feet diameter head. I still wonder whether everyone was conspiring to convert me into an alien.

My “orkutting”, talking for hrs on my cell phone, chatting on gtalk, going back to Delhi, Mumbai or Patna in each of the 7 term breaks and also thrice during the terms seemed determined to let me down. It was then that I decided to talk to myself. I told myself I could do it in a week’s time too because “Impossible” says “I M POSSIBLE”. I then prepared all alone 18 hours a day for 4 continuous days. I interviewed myself about 50 times in these 4 days and after each interview analyzed my performance.

February 14, 2008 - Valentine's Day was the day before Day ‘0’ of placements. I was nervous. To make matters worse, I had arguments with my closest friend too. I couldn’t tell her that I had my interviews the next morning because that might have pressurized me even more. I had thought talking to her about other things in the world without telling her about the Placement Week, would calm me down a bit. I know had she known about my situation, she would have supported me a lot and would have talked to me until I felt better. So finally I was left all alone…no close friends, no relatives with whom I could share my fear, my nervousness, my anxiety…My condition was so pitiable that even my sleep betrayed me that night :(

Each time I talked to myself, my brain and my heart said in chorus - "Jaane hoga kya."

My Mind’s Extramarital Affair…

“Hi dude! Kahan ja raha hai? Any assignment due tomorrow?” I asked one of my batchmates at 2000 hrs last night. He replied, “Nahi yaar, going for case-prep.” The placement week is not too far and everyone at ISB is busy preparing for interviews.

Almost all the students here formed their groups for interview preparation in November itself and since then, have been preparing for case-based interviews (in which you are given a business problem and you are required to solve it), personal interviews (in which you are asked behavioral questions) and technical interviews (mainly for areas like finance). The fact that these guys here are so sincere and hardworking makes me wonder whether ISB did the right thing by letting me in.

If you are an ISB aspirant or an ISB new admit and reading the above paragraphs made water vapor condense on your forehead, just relax…ISB is not full of these guys who slog it out day and night just to crack an interview in which you are asked a simple case. There are also a FEW studs ;) who never formed a group and are pretty cool at a time when more than 95% of the junta here is slogging.

I am one of those “groupless” people at the moment (though I am not a stud). I did a few cases in different groups but dropped out very soon, after I realized that cases are not that difficult to crack; you just have to be logical and need to have good reasons for your assumptions and recommendations. Moreover, I am bored of the set procedures that we are supposed to follow in the case-interview (and I do not think this boredom is because of jaundice that I am suffering from). If I prepare more, by the time my actual interview day arrives, I will be bored of solving cases which would undoubtedly show on my face during the interview. I do not think cases require the kind of preparation these guys are putting in. I will not call there preparation an ideal preparation. They are working like school kids and are probably memorizing the cases by heart.

I normally remain cool but when I see these people preparing so hard, I cannot resist asking myself, “Should I become like them and start slogging like they are, or should I believe in my capabilities and be what I have always been – abhishek ‘cool’ chandra???”

May be they are not wrong and do not deserve the criticisms I am bestowing upon them. May be I have a different way of working that suits only me. I know it won’t be long before I have these hypotheses verified. But until then, my mind that is married to “my aims” will have a tough time sleeping with “the above questions”…And I can’t help but be a mute spectator to my mind’s extramarital affair…


Note: Guys, I promise to increase my frequency of writing blogs but it will be after the placement week. Though I am not working too hard and stressing myself, I think I should at least pretend to ;) !!!]

Networking…Getting to know you

April 14, 2007: I entered ISB for the first time to pursue my MBA. I reached the main hall where registration was taking place. As soon as I entered the hall and looked around, I was shocked. I got nervous and whispered to myself, “My God, so many girls.” My pulse rate increased and so did the movement of my eyes from left to right to left. I noticed many of the guys were talking to each other as if they had known each other for years. I preferred staying quiet, and listening to other people’s conversations. Though all the guys seemed Asian, they spoke with a strong American accent. I felt like a “Gaanv ka chhoraa” who had come from Bihar to a place like US. “Gosh, these guys have all come from abroad it seems. How will I talk to them in an American accent? If I talk to them in my normal Bihari accent, they won’t even talk to me. It is better I keep quiet or ISB will disown me acknowledging its mistake in letting a Non-American in.”


When I was at one of the counters for my registration, a hot and a very cute girl standing behind me asked, “Which year did you pass out in?” My heart told my mind, “Sahi hai bete, line de rahi hai. Attitude dikha.” So, without even looking at her, I replied, “2005,” and moved on.


When I tried to match her picture to the girls in the profile book (this book has the picture and profile of each admitted student), I realized she was an HR consultant. Thinking I had a chance to know another hot girl, I waited for her to catch up with me which she finally did before we got into the next line. While we introduced ourselves, I realized she was no different from the others. “Another American at ISB,” I said to myself. Just to build some conversation, I asked her in my Bihari style, “Kya kar raha hai ye log? Aisa lagta hai bahut saal se jaanta hai ek dusre ko. Humse bhi bina matlab ke aakar ‘hi’ bol raha hai koi bhi jisko jaante tak nahi hain.” She replied, “They are NETWORKING…Getting to know you.”


It could be because of my average intelligence or because of my low work experience that I never realized why I needed to network. Four months down the road, I have realized how important networking is (I am being sarcastic ;) ).


I had my reasons for not networking during the first few weeks. I did try to network the first few days at ISB but met all the wrong people who screwed up my time and grades. At the first batch party, I was drinking and listening to other people talking. “Hey dude, I am Mr. X. We haven’t met yet,” one of the guys said to the other. The other guy replied, “What are you saying? We met at the dinner table yesterday.” This is exactly my point. For the first two weeks, everyone used to introduce himself/herself to scores of others in the name of Networking and the very next day used to forget everything. What is the point in wasting time knowing people who will not remember you or who you would not remember the next day, leave aside after ISB. I said to myself, “Let them network now. Networking karne se job thode he lag jaegi meri? I will network in the ‘second week’, once things settle down and we are divided into separate sections.” Call it my reluctance to talk to people or laziness or my bad experiences with some people who I tried to network with during the first few weeks at ISB, that ‘second week’ never came. Believe it or not, one of the guys (who had been attending classes in the same section as I was, for more than a month) was talking to me once. He asked me, “Which section are you in?” “Damn it…am I so unpopular?” I questioned myself and my popularity. “Cool it dude. I must be popular amongst the girls here,” I consoled myself.


Networking did try to screw me up when I had to apply for an ELP (projects that we do for companies). I did not have a team until the night before the deadlines for ELP applications. I could not apply to the first ELP offered on campus from a reputed firm because I did not know how good that firm was and I had missed the deadline for application too. Had I networked, I would have got to know it from my networks. Even for the team formation for ELP, I have been shooting emails to the entire student community to get in touch with other guys like me. I have been lucky enough to get offers from other teams; no, not because people know me but because people know my alma mater, IIT Roorkee. I have said it so many times to myself, “2001 mein jo accident (I got through IIT) hua tha, uski kamai abhi tak kha rahe hain. IIT brand name na hota to kya hota?”


Still wondering whether networking is important or not? The answer is, “It depends.” In your personal life, you never know who you might need and at what point of time. If you are good at developing and maintaining personal relationships, you should network. Do not waste your time if you cannot maintain relationships. In your professional lives, you can network with people who are in the same line that you want to get into. You need not network if you have faith in your capabilities and do not need favors to get to the top. In some cases, networking is a MUST, like, if you want to be an entrepreneur, you better start ‘NETworking’ or your business will be “NOTworking”.


To me, (if you look at the reasons people give for Networking), Networking is all for selfish reasons. You never network because you want to help people but because you want other people to help you when you are in deep shit.


If you thought networking could get you a job, think again. Will you offer any of your acquaintances a job just because you know him/her? Probably not. Imagine a second situation that happens in future: You and I were batchmates at ISB. You had heard I was a stud (just assume) in the field of manufacturing but we had never met or talked to each other. There was one other batchmate of ours at ISB who you still know very well but he is just average in the field of manufacturing. If you needed a stud, who would you go for, your acquaintance or me? If you would go for your acquaintance, you should network but if you would go for me, you should not worry too much if you are not networking. Having a decent number of acquaintances who slog out networking would suffice. That is the strategy I follow ;).


Despite the above stated negatives about networking, I love networking. Just read on and you will know why…


I have not yet mentioned, the most important point regarding how important networking is. For bachelors, networking can help you diversify the risk of suffering if you break-up with your girlfriend. It gives you a chance to own a diversified portfolio of female friends that will enable you to live happily ever after…


Oops!!! Happily only until marriage... :)

Ye hai meri kahani…khamosh zindagani... :(

[Part 1]

“How is life buddy? You must be chilling out with the hot babes there at ISB. Kitni patai? I wish I were at your place. You are so lucky, itni jaldi MBA bhi ho jaegi teri. Give me some tips about the application,” scribbled one of my friends in my orkut scrapbook. I was wondering how beautiful ISB appears to the outside world. I was one amongst these friends of mine 8 months ago jealous of people who were already at ISB. My pre-ISB life flashed in front of my eyes for the next 5 minutes making me nostalgic. There were several ‘Unanswered’ questions knocking at the door of my mind for at least an hour now. Was I better without an MBA? I started comparing the value of happiness in my life before landing up at ISB to the expected value of happiness in my life post ISB. Am I really gaining anything here or am I here just to add another brand name to my resume? It was 0300 hours and I was sitting in my room staring blankly at the case (case-study) I was to prepare for class the next day. The case was 40 pages long and I was through with just 3 pages. I had a class next day at 0800 hours. “I am sick of it yaar. Ever since I have joined ISB, I have not had a good night sleep. People think I am having a blast with the babes here but little do they realize, meri he blast ho rahi hai. I had thought I would make girlfriendS here and enjoy the last few years ‘of my life’ (read as ‘of my life before marriage’). I had dreamt of reading out my girlfriendS’ future from their palms. Saare sapne toot gaye :( . Instead of making girlfriends, I am making reports and instead of reading their future out of their palms, I am reading endless number of cases.”

Totally frustrated, I looked into the sky out of the window and asked God, “Despite being in a ‘Swarg’ full of fairies, why can’t I enjoy life here with them? What wrong did I do in life?” I got no answer. Perhaps, God has better questions to answer or he too has got into a B-School like ISB and has the same ‘Unanswered’ questions…

[Make sure you read Part 2 of this blog later this week :)]

The Grinding Begins...

I wish I had the time to narrate my first-day experience at ISB. I am time-starved at the moment but promise to come back with an interesting account of my experience on April 14, 2007, the day I began my one-year “Vanvaas” at ISB.

For the time-being, you readers [ if at all ;) ] will have to be content with this blog of mine.

We are into the 3rd week at ISB and it seems as if we have already spent 3 months here. At the end of the 1st week of term-1, I am still trying to figure out what all hit me this week. I have started realizing the value of each minute and the way things are moving, I do not think it will be long before I start realizing the value of each second. I had never thought life would be so interestingly miserable. Gosh! You have to read 3-4 30-40-page chapters and come prepared for each class and then you have assignments.

There are so many things here that can actually drain everything out of you (your mental balance too). For our stay at ISB until now, my life has been tougher than that of most of the people here mainly because the average age here is 27 and the average work experience 5 years and I am 23 with a work experience of 1.5 yrs, one of the youngest guys here. But then, life has never been easy for me, may be because I always choose the toughest path.

For all those non-studious guys like me out there, I told you all the bad things that are happening here. Let us talk about the good ones now. Every weekend we have parties in which we have booze flowing everywhere and then there’s the dance floor which is set ablaze by the stunning ladies who can drink more vodkas, whiskies and beer than you can. If you really want a partner for life, I bet you will get one here ;). We already have a few budding love stories here.

Two sides of the same coin, right? Despite this coin having so many negatives, I still wish to keep it in my pocket because I know this coin (ISB) is very precious.

Saawan ka Andhaa...

I had no clue of how depressing the day would be that day. It was December 15, 2006 and the final results for ISB MBA were to be declared.

At 0800 hours, I was busy dressing up to leave for Alibaug where I had to meet a supplier regarding one of my projects. There were 2 other guys going with me, one was a 45 year old IITD graduate and the other was a retired L&T employee (from an unknown college). We were going in an INNOVA. Both of them sat in the front row while I was sitting alone in the second row. To my pleasant surprise, the car stopped after an hour in front of a beautiful lady who must be around 27 years of age. God does listen to honest prayers. This was proved when that lady sat beside me. When my 2 old friends started talking amongst themselves, I thought I would entertain my young lady. Not long before we started talking, she told me that she was the wife of the German fellow we were to meet in Alibaug. I took my evil eyes off her (the success of my project was more important than a short-lived relationship with her). I felt a little odd because my 2 old friends were calling her “Ma’am” while I was calling her by her name, ‘Shama’ (Gosh, could any name be sexier?).

It was 1000 hours now. I said to myself, “Screw everyone yaar. I still did not get any SMS from ISB about my selection or rejection. I do not want any girl. Give me my ISB result God.” God was probably listening to someone else’s request that time. My request was turned down. No SMS, no calls from anyone. Depression was creeping in but I tried to keep my happiness afloat using the young, graceful lady, who sat by my side, as my life-jacket. She definitely qualified all my cut-offs, the reason why I kept talking to her. Had she proposed me, I would not have thought twice before saying ‘Yes’, such was the sorrow of my probable rejection by ISB that was slowly making its way into my heart. I had now started consoling myself, “Had I got selected, I would have received an SMS by 0900 hours. This implies I did not get through despite my seemingly strong profile and a good interview. Never mind, I will apply to other B-schools before January and get through. ISB is not the last school on earth.” :(

We finally reached Alibaug at about 1200 hours and the ‘Pleasure’ of my ‘Tensed Pleasure’ during the entire trip ended leaving me ‘Tensed’ (Shama took the ‘Pleasure’ part when we parted at the German guy’s place). We met the German guy who was very enthusiastic and energetic. We talked a LITTLE about our project too. We finally set off for his beach house where we had some beer with fried fish. The beach was beautiful and clean with some sports cars, which he had made for some rich Mumbai customers (you know, the Ambanis and the Tatas keep buying such crazy stuffs), parked. I rode his four-wheeler bike and drove all his cars along the beach at great speeds skidding the cars while making a turn and trying to my mark at least on the sand. I tried to drive out the frustration that was now getting intimate with my heart. I ordered myself to enjoy the present to the hilt. “Maybe, I am destined to have a few girlfriends in Mumbai too. So, let’s enjoy life and the next 1.5 years in Mumbai,” I said to myself. :)

“Tring-tring”, finally a call from someone. I picked up the phone only to find one of my colleagues, who had applied to ISB, on the line. “Where are you? What about the result Abhishek? You must have got through,” he said. “I have not received any SMS from ISB until now which implies I have not got through. Did you receive any SMS regarding your result?” I replied. My cracked dreams shattered when he told me he had received an SMS informing him of his selection. I congratulated him on his achievement and pretended to be normal despite getting the confirmation of my rejection. I had always maintained that this guy’s and my selection were mutually exclusive events because we were both in the same SBU in L&T, and there was no reason why ISB should take both of us (unless ISB valued my entrepreneurial ventures and extracurriculars).

My parents wanted me to get admission for my MBA soon but in a good school. I wanted them to feel proud of me and here I was screwing their dreams. I had however never told them that I had already had my interview and the results would be out on December 15.

On my way back, the lady again sat beside me but I was least interested in her now. All along my way back, I kept thinking how I would spend the next 1.5 years at L&T. I reached Mumbai and finally the flat I stay in. I planned a party right then with one of my friends to get rid of the frustration that was flirting with my heart and celebrated the GOOD NEWS of my staying in Mumbai for another 1.5 years.

I returned home late at night. I could not sleep despite a couple of vodka shots I had had before my dinner. How could I? I had just discovered my heart was pregnant with my frustration’s child. I kept chewing the issue. “I will not lose heart. I will start all over again,” I told myself. I started thinking about the schools where I would apply in the 2nd round. It was 0400 hours and sleep still eluded me. I kept discussing with myself, “What could be the reason for my rejection? Was it because I just had a little over 1 year of work experience, or was it because I showed a little attitude during the interview?” I did not check my email because I did not want to read that “Sorry, we are unable to offer you a place at ISB…” email. I remember lying awake until 0430. What happened for the next hour and a half, I do not know.

I suddenly woke up at 0600 hours and for no good reason, I picked up my cell. There was an SMS. “Happy staying in Mumbai dude. Must be some new chic who must have got your number from orkut,” I said to myself and opened the message. I noticed my eyes turn bigger, my mouth open and my pulse rate increase :-o. The unborn child of frustration had been aborted at 0500 hours. The message read, “Congratulations. You have been accepted into the ISB’s One-year PGPM which commences on April 14, 2007. Please check your email for the details.” No, I was not half asleep and I was not dreaming. There was a feeling of excitement down below in my body at a location I cannot disclose. I called up my home to give this great news of my selection. “Hello, Ma?” I said. “What happened? Is everything alright? Why have you called up so early in the morning? Tabyat to theek hai na beta?” Ma fired so many questions all at once. After assuring her that I was alright, I finally gave her the good news. I could sense the happiness and satisfaction in her voice.

After giving her the news, I hung up. The world came crashing down on me when a possibility, the probability of occurrence of which was pretty high, struck me. I always take my friends’ cells, delete my number from their cell phones and then send them messages like, “Congratulations. You have won free tickets to Singapore…” from my cell and ask them to call back for details. Was someone having his revenge? I had told my parents that I had got through. If they now find that the news was not true, how would they feel? Before making further calls to my loved ones, I logged onto the net. Oh, there it was, lying in my inbox, an email from ISB. Still surprised at the selection, I logged into my ISB account just to confirm that the email and SMS were not sent to me by mistake.

Everything seemed great. The morning had never been so pleasant. A big burden was off my head now. I reached my office on time after a long time on December 16, 2006 with my head held high. But as soon as I reached my office, I noticed that every building in L&T was painted green. I turned around and noticed all the vehicles were painted green, even my bike. “Today isn’t Holi?” I said to myself confused. Just then, I heard my soul whisper, “Saawan ke andhey ko sab hara hara dikhta hai.” ;)

A “DAY-NIGHT” DREAM…

It was August 17, 2005 at the Placement Complex, IIT Roorkee. I was nervous and pretended to listen to the PPT (Pre-Placement Talk) being given by Larsen & Toubro Limited (from hereon referred to as L & T) which had come to IIT Roorkee for placements. L & T had been my dream company and here it was. We were to have 2 written tests and then 2 rounds of interview.

Before August 17, I did sit for a few software firms like Oracle, etc despite my lack of interest in the software industry. I had not prepared for the tests and so, had no idea of the type of questions that came. My batchmates were too professional to share with me the type of questions that were usually asked. And to make my situation worse, my ego did not let me give it a damn. I never requested anyone for the questions. As a result, I tasted failure in the written tests of Oracle and even Tata Motors. It did not hurt me much as I was never serious for those companies. Other students did a lot of practice and got through. Oracle was the first company I had sat for. It had come on August 12. When I did not qualify even the first round of Oracle’s written test, I was down. Frustration had started setting in. Then had come another software firm, failure again. I had then become desperate to get a job. August 12 to August 17 was the most frustrating phase of my life. Then had come L & T. And here I was, waiting to write the tests for L & T.

L & T was here for the recruitment of graduates for the post of Management trainees (from hereon referred to as MT). I knew I had to be in this time. I qualified the first round of written tests and breathed a sigh of relief only to know we are to appear for another round of written tests. In the second round, I performed miserably. It was a Verbal test, similar to the critical reasoning questions that come in CAT and I had no practice. I read the questions at snail’s pace. What was going on in my mind at that time was to keep my accuracy high instead of looking to solve all the questions. I did that. I left 12 questions untouched. I was sure I would be thrown out and I was, but only partially. God apparently had something worse in store for me. Though I was rejected for the post of an MT, I was offered an interview for the post of a Graduate Engineer Trainee (from hereon referred to as GET).

At this point, I think I should tell you the difference between an MT and a GET as told to us by L & T during the PPT. An MT is the one the company identifies as a future manager with leadership qualities n blah blah… He is on a fast track career. That means, he will be given promotions quicker than anyone else in the company. MT is selected for the Management Leadership Program of the company. The starting package offered was 3.75 lacs p.a for an MT and 2.30 lacs p.a for a GET.

I then had to decide whether to go for the interview for the post of a GET. On one hand, there was that frustration of failing in almost all of the written tests I had appeared in and the desperation to get a job, while on the other, was the post of a GET which I knew did not deserve me. I decided in favor of going for this interview, not to get the job but to get a feel of an interview ( I had never faced an interview in my life).

Many other students who had not qualified the 2nd round of written tests were offered the same. The next day, we had our interviews. Around 15 students had come for the interview for the post of GET and I was one of them. Rest of the students did not even turn up to say they were not interested in the post of GET. I knew my chances were meager even for the post of a GET because my knowledge of Mechanical Engineering was no better than a software engineer’s knowledge of it, if not worse. My other friends were surprised, when they came to know that I wanted to appear for the interview, because my CGPA was quite good (I still do not know why my CGPA was good, I have never had interest in studies. I hate them more than anything. I still wonder how I got through IIT JEE.) I ignored their advice of not sitting in the interview for the post of a GET. I told them I would tell the interviewers, I did not want to join as a GET.

Almost all of the candidates got interviewed except me. When I told the interviewers that I was still to be interviewed, they asked me to wait. Then the interviewers took a break for lunch and asked me to have my lunch and come back. I was the only candidate left to be interviewed. After lunch, they finally called me. I tried not to answer any of the questions they asked me, but everytime I used to say, “ I am sorry, I do not know the answer to that.”, they used to say “ You do not know a thing as simple as this?” I then used to blurt out the answer. During the interview, one of the interviewers tried to trap me but I gave such an answer, the guy who was trying to trap me was embarrassed (because I made both the interviewers realize that his arguments were silly) and deprived of all suitable words of reply while the other interviewer started laughing loudly and even said “Mast banda hai yaar.” They tried hard to convince me to join L & T. I had an impressive resume, and I knew they were desperate to select me. I told them straight away “ Sir, I do not want to join as a GET, I want to join as an MT. I could not qualify my written test for MT because it was a bad day for me.” To this, they said, “ You will be given a chance 4-5 months after you join L & T to become an MT.” I left finally thinking I had screwed up my chances of getting selected. I was happy at having done this. My purpose was to face this interview, not to get selected in it. In the evening, I went to the Placement Complex again, dressed up for BPCL but my name was struck off from the list of candidates appearing for the Group Discussion for BPCL: reason, I had got selected in L & T and now could not apply in any other company. I did not have the slightest feeling of happiness despite being the only one in the insti selected as a GET. 3 of my batchmates got selected as MT the next day. There were 2 more guys who joined my “BAND OF SCREWED UP GUYS” after getting rejected in their MT interviews and were offered the post of a GET which they had accepted.

I was tensed, very tensed. My elder brother had asked me to be patient in placements which had I been, I would have easily got placed in companies that came later with far better packages. When I told him I got selected as a GET, he said it was good. “To get a job is a big thing. Do not worry, it is good,” he had said. I knew he also knew it was not that good.

I sat for HLL (as it was open for all) but screwed my interview purposely. My resume got misplaced by the placement office and did not even reach the recruiters from Schlumberger. I got a call from Tavant Technologies (the package was 3.2 lacs p.a). This time I got through the written test easily. I was asked a puzzle in the first round of interview. The question was wrong. I asked the interviewer, “ Are you sure this question is correct?” He said he was. I solved it within seconds. But then he said, he did not expect this solution from me and asked me to solve it in some other way. I knew the question was wrong. But I also knew if I convinced him that his question was wrong, he would get pissed off and I would have to face the consequences. Knowing that I could not solve that incorrect question correctly, I gave him a better answer. I told him that the puzzles that they ask in interviews are common ones and the students who are in a habit of solving puzzles will even know the answer of these puzzles before solving. Hence, you should not base your selection on whether a candidate is able to solve a puzzle or not. The result was unexpected. I got through. I had smoked just before the interview. This was again done to ruin my chances of getting through the interview as I was least interested in a software job. To me, there is nothing as boring in this Universe as the job of a software engineer. The second round of interview (which was a mere formality) had to be telephonic. I did not give the second round. I had a very good reason for that. I am an incorrigible optimist and believe firmly in the philosophy, “ Everything happens for my best”. I was determined to join L & T and become an MT. I had this aim of becoming an MT since August 18, 2005. There was not a single day in my life after August 18 when I did not think about this GET to MT conversion because I had friends who had got selected as MTs. Then I had other friends who had received jobs offering package of 4-5 lacs p.a where mine was just 2.3 lacs p.a. Later I got my offer letter which got misplaced by one of my friends. In that offer letter, the salary break-up was given. I was getting a paltry sum of 10000 per month. When I told Dad about my salary , he laughed. That made my determination even stronger. “ How can he do that? I have achieved it on my own without anyone’s help,” I had said to myself.

To make matters worse, one of my relatives, who had graduated from IIT KGP, got selected as an MT in L & T. You know relatives start comparing you with your relative if such a thing happens. There was one of my friends from IIT D who had done his internship with me in Germany and who used to think of me to be a stud, he also got selected as an MT in L & T. Life became hell. Even he was surprised when I told him I was joining as a GET. I had then told him, “I am doing it for a reason.” There were several reasons why I had joined as a GET, out of which one was the most important. I needed a conversion from a GET to an MT for my MBA. The foreign universities ask for career progress and all that stuff while analyzing your application. And I knew I would gain more if I joined as a GET and then got converted to an MT than I would if I joined directly as an MT. But if I failed to get converted to an MT, life would become hell. Nothing would be worse. Everyday, my MT friends and I used to go in the same bus. There very sight made me feel ashamed of myself. I am taciturn by nature and these daily incidents made me even more disinclined to conversations. I never talked to anyone except my boss. I never talked to anyone in the department. I rarely smiled, rest aside my smile turning into guffaws. GETs from regional colleges used to ask every other day the reason why I joined as a GET even after being an IITian (just because they held a grudge against IITians). Life was tough, very tough. Nothing could be a better test of my patience and my will power.

At this point of time, I think I should tell you the difference between an MT and a GET which I came to know when I joined L & T. Both of them do the same work. But, an MT is called a “Daamaad (son-in-law)” of the company. Everyone respects them. He gets what he wants. Nobody can fire him but he can fire even senior managers. He gets loads of money and incentives to stay in the company and of course a fast track career. The HR people respect him a lot. He has a very high market value. On the other hand, a GET gets firing from all the sides, HR guys, boss, boss’ boss, everyone. Though I never got a firing from anyone mainly because I was from an IIT, I was not comfortable working as a GET. Also out of the two employees at the same level of hierarchy, the one who is an MT gets far more money and benefits than the one who is not.

There was some relief when I saw 13000 on my paycheck because I was expecting 10000 bucks. Not a single day was my mind peaceful. I just had one thing in my mind -‘MT’. I confess my inability to put the thoughts I had then, the tensions I had then, into words in this blog. I could not discuss my thoughts with anyone. I even lied to my gf (who I met soon after I had joined L & T) saying I received 3.75 lacs p.a. But it was not with the intension of creating a false impression on her but with the intension of creating a tremendous pressure on me to work harder for the post of an MT. I wanted to do it for her, I wanted to do it for my family and I wanted to do it for myself. Let me tell you, having a gf and living in Mumbai will screw the s--- out of you if you have a monthly income of just 13000 bucks (especially when you refuse any financial support from your parents). But it was all about managing my resources which I have always been good at. Having a very understanding gf who never asked for anything but my company, helped me manage my resources and time better.

After 1.5 yrs of wait, I finally got my shot. The tests continued for 4 months. The selection procedure was more rigorous here than it was at my insti campus last year. The day when my boss was to tell everyone the results, he had asked 3 guys (including me) who had reached the final round of interviews to wait in the office until he came back. When he came back, he called one of the other guys (and not me) in his cabin. I knew I had lost. I almost broke down. My dreams shattered in front of my eyes when I saw my boss giving an envelope to that other guy. I left without meeting my boss. I was on my way back to my flat thinking about future course of action to be taken. I was thinking of companies I should apply to. Just then I got a call from one of my colleagues. I told him I did not need my boss’ consolations. I got down of the bus I was returning in, when an Assistant Manager forced me to return to office. I entered boss’ cabin. Man, it was such a relief. This was the day I had been waiting for since 1 yr 9 months. I got my reward, I became an MT. It was the most satisfying moment of my professional life. Only I knew how important it was for me to get this tag of MT. I had achieved what I had been dreaming of for almost 2 yrs.

Kaun kehta hai “din ke sapne sach nahi hote”???

Classifying the fairer sex...

Not long ago, I, with one of my friends had classified girls into few categories (based on looks). I am not going to write all that stuff again because it has already been posted by my dear "mamu" in his blog.

Sitting here in office, after finishing today's work, I was thinking of the other classification which I normally use whenever I see a girl, or a woman. And thought of putting it right here.

Whenever I see a girl or a woman (under 35), I ask myself this one question and that tells me whether to go ahead with the "staring" job or not."If she proposes, will I marry her?is she worth marrying?"If the answer to this is 'yes', I start staring at her.Well, you might want to know the parameters which I check before answering this question. hmmm...bata dun kya???

'My lady' has to clear a few cut-offs to merit my stare. You know, this IIT Joint Entrance Examination (even though I took it 4 years ago) has had a tremendous effect on me. To make that effect worse, B-School Entrance Examination preparation stepped into my life. So,I now set cut-offs to qualify candidates (strictly girls). So, here we go...

Section-I:

She has to have a very sweet face which I can get up and see every morning, without getting bored for at least...ummm...how many years...ok...as long as we live. She has got to have that freshness in her looks.

Section-II, III, IV:

The next 3 cut-offs are related to her figure. She should have a (34''-36'')-(24''-26'')-(34''-36'') figure. Here, there are upper cut-offs too. The first dimension is for the bust and then you can go down to the waist and the hips.

Section-V:

The next cut-off is for height. She should be above 5' 0'' and <= 5'8.5''. I am 5'9'', hence the values of the upper and the lower cut-offs.

There is one important note regarding this. If she scores more in Section-I, she can qualify even if she marginally fails to clear cut-offs in one or two of the other sections. In any case, she won't qualify if she's unable to clear cut-offs in more than 2 sections.This classification is definitely better than the first one that we had come up with. Shall come back with more interesting blogs soon. Till then, take care...