18th Floor theory

There are two kind of people. One who are ready to open their heart and regret it all their life when fun is poked at them regarding that emotional catharsis session. The other type never open to anyone, keep their emotions bottled up and probably suffer and regret this all their life.

Two different life philosophies; hard to say which one is the right one to follow. Anyways, this story involves a character from each category mentioned above.

Our beloved Kunal aka bhatti is the emotional romantic open-your-heart-to-your-friends type. Here’s a sneak peak at this dude with a sprouting in-your-face kinda moustache. Also noticeable is a gazillion years old cap, probably the one wore by Adam, to hide his baldness, when he was “doing” Eve.

I on the other hand am the fun poking, bottled-up emotions type. I am sure bhatti would have loved to add some other picture of mine, probbaly the one where i am sleeping holding cell phone in my hand. kyun bhatti..hai ki nahin.

Incident took place on a rainy day in july of 2007.

But first some background……

Bhatti worked for Comverse for a couple of years before he moved to Oracle. He had a friend over there who lived in a multi-storey building on 18th floor.

And as has been Bhatti’s speciality since the dawn of humanity, he was senti about this girl but would not agree. As usual i would prod him to go ahead and tell her and he continued with his we-r-just-friends crap.

But then this is bhatti..sooner or later he will spill the beans.

Let’s come back to July’07. Me and bhatti were sitting in our flat balcony in the rain. It is one of those open-your-heart-to-your-mate sessions. Bhatti is telling me all about the girls in his office. Who she likes, what about them, etc. I am, as usual, all ears..waiting for my moment. Bhatti generally opens up after a while and then information flows out like boundaries from Sehwag’s bat.

And then my moment arrived. Probably one of the raindrops trickled down into the sea of bhatti’s emotions, stirred them and made him utter this gem of a dialogue..

Next thing i know is that i am rolling on the floor with laughter, holding my stomach. Bhatti realised his mistake and tried his level best to diffuse the situation , but then bullets once out of a gun don’t return.

This dialogue is gonna haunt bhatti for a long time. Gosh i love screwing this guy…meri jaan bhatti, aise hi hame teri lene ke mauke deta reh. We need them.

18th Floor theory

There are two kind of people. One who are ready to open their heart and regret it all their life when fun is poked at them regarding that emotional catharsis session. The other type never open to anyone, keep their emotions bottled up and probably suffer and regret this all their life.

Two different life philosophies; hard to say which one is the right one to follow. Anyways, this story involves a character from each category mentioned above.

Our beloved Kunal aka bhatti is the emotional romantic open-your-heart-to-your-friends type. Here’s a sneak peak at this dude with a sprouting in-your-face kinda moustache. Also noticeable is a gazillion years old cap, probably the one wore by Adam, to hide his baldness, when he was “doing” Eve.

I on the other hand am the fun poking, bottled-up emotions type. I am sure bhatti would have loved to add some other picture of mine, probbaly the one where i am sleeping holding cell phone in my hand. kyun bhatti..hai ki nahin.

Incident took place on a rainy day in july of 2007.

But first some background……

Bhatti worked for Comverse for a couple of years before he moved to Oracle. He had a friend over there who lived in a multi-storey building on 18th floor.

And as has been Bhatti’s speciality since the dawn of humanity, he was senti about this girl but would not agree. As usual i would prod him to go ahead and tell her and he continued with his we-r-just-friends crap.

But then this is bhatti..sooner or later he will spill the beans.

Let’s come back to July’07. Me and bhatti were sitting in our flat balcony in the rain. It is one of those open-your-heart-to-your-mate sessions. Bhatti is telling me all about the girls in his office. Who she likes, what about them, etc. I am, as usual, all ears..waiting for my moment. Bhatti generally opens up after a while and then information flows out like boundaries from Sehwag’s bat.

And then my moment arrived. Probably one of the raindrops trickled down into the sea of bhatti’s emotions, stirred them and made him utter this gem of a dialogue..

Next thing i know is that i am rolling on the floor with laughter, holding my stomach. Bhatti realised his mistake and tried his level best to diffuse the situation , but then bullets once out of a gun don’t return.

This dialogue is gonna haunt bhatti for a long time. Gosh i love screwing this guy…meri jaan bhatti, aise hi hame teri lene ke mauke deta reh. We need them.

In the company of kids…

Last 10 days were one of the most fun filled days i have had in a very long time. I went to spend a few days at Kolkatta with my nephew and nieces.

Their brief intro by descending age :

Mayank aka DUDE – The smart one. Hit with girls, rowing champ, (gold medal winner in many competitions) this model dude knows every nook and crany of kolkatta. Introduced me to doodh-pepsi.

Khushboo aka PETALEATER – The shy one. Going into first year of college. Swim, jog and dance( I dont believe it though) enthusiast.

Ishu aka JAILER – The fun-loving one. Can make deafs hear with her loud and deliberate shrieks.

Megha aka CHINI KAM – The cleverest of the lot. Always looking for ways to poke fun at me. This loser miserably failed at beating me (though i am sure she will never accept this)

Reached kolkatta on 27th March morning and had booked two return tickets – one for 1 April and second for 5 April – depending on how soon either party gets bored.

First day Khushboo was busy preparing for last board exam the next day. So i went out with Ishu and Megha for bowling and other games. i was undisputed champ in all games. Bowling scores were Ishu – 20 odd, Megha – 20 odd and me -101. Almost 5 times their individual scores.
Then we palyed air-hockey, losers lost once again. Though Megha will claim that she won the second game. Actually the game ends when either side reaches 9. I was 6-0 up against Megha. Since we had enough time left and i didnt want game to end, so i switched sides with Megha. Final scores were 8-6 with Megha up. But clearly i was the winner.

Next few days were spent playing an array of games like Uno, Ludo, Scrabble, Word-building, Bluff, cow-bull, bollywood, dumb charades, and the mother of all games..Judgement.

There were fights, tempter tantrums, shouting, chuntis (Mayank and Ishu), showing of Loser sign, late night card competition, etc. Positions were changed in every game, with me occupying first spot in each game atleast once. The only constant theme amidst all this was the consistent performance of Khushboo…she was invariably the last position holder in every game, except a couple of rounds. Every time i played, i had only one aim..not to come last. And Khushboo helped me with that every single time. Thank you sweety….

Snapshot of performance in each game:

Uno - Megha and Ishu were the undisputed champs of this game. I got a hang of this game only after 2-3 days. Till then i was assisted by whosoever came first. Still i ended up last in almost every game, except ones in which khushboo played.

Bluff - It’s a boys game, because we only can lie. Me and Mayank topped this game with Khushboo holding her position of honour every time. In fact she got into a habit of collecting cards in this game. She would stack up a thick bunch of cards and by this time me or Mayank would have finished ours. One of us would then take over her cards and she would go to her beloved cell phone and SMSing. We would then play for her and still end up in 3rd or 4th position. A game khushboo never lost- thanks to Mayank and me. And loser was ISHU. I am sure every one would remember Mayank’s song and dance sequence after defeating Ishu for second last place. What was the song yaar….?

Scrabble – Megha rulz. This 7th passout had everyone at her mercy in this game. Would end up with max marks with the shortest words, thanks to judicious use of double and tripple word marks. No guesses for the last position holder……every time.

Word Building – Nobody can beat khushboo in this. Megha held khusboo’s customary position in this game. In one of the games, she was made “DONKEY” while Khushboo and Ishu were yet to open their accounts. Megha sucks at this game. Thanks largely to a stupid lingo and vocab. So LS

Ludo – We played as partners. Me and khushboo in one team and Ishu and Megha in the other team. Me and Khushboo won every time. This was the game where losers showed their true colors. There was bending of rules, shouting, temper tantrums and infighting. Megha was determined to piss-off Ishu big time and would end up getting inverse of what Ishu would ask for. If ishu would ask megha, “get 1″, Megha would get a six. If she asked for a 6, Megha got 1. Me and khushboo were in splits…boy, we should have taped ishu’s temper here.

Cow-Bull – Played only one day between me, khushboo and megha. Me and Megha were a team. In this game you give the opponent a four syllable word to guess and they get 10 chances to guess. khushboo gave us a four letter word woth no vowels and we were having an impossible time guessing it. And then having a cell phone finally paid off.. I called up my friend BD and asked him to google such words and SMS them to me. He mailed back hymn, myth and lynx. Khushboo had given us hymn. Next we set her myth but she guessed it in 4 chances. Khsuhboo won. We lost, despite all cheating

Bollywood – Played only one day between me, khushboo and megha. Me and Megha were team. We won hands down. Khsuhboo had her beloved position.

Dumb-charades – Khushboo and Mayank were one team and me, Ishu and Megha in other team. Game ended in a draw, thanks largely to khushboo’s ultra-poor memory. Mayank broke the film in four parts, made her guess each part individually and when the time came for combining them, Khushboo forgot what she had guessed. …bummer. …But Khushboo and Mayank made an awesome team. I gave them all sort of imaginary films to guess, Dhindora gali mohalle mein, din-e-elahi, etc and they still guessed them.

And finally the game of the trip – Judgement. Kids’ bua nd my didi came over and taught us this gripping, addictive, interesting game. Can be played by any number of players. Each player is given cards and then every one has to guess how many hands they can make. Each one then has to make exactly the same number of hands as guessed. Not one more, not one less. We would play this game for hours at a stretch with only a-very-late-night-and-time-to-sleep routine stopping us. Fortunes were changed in this game every time. Me, Khushboo, Ishu, Megha, Masi, Didi all stood first one time or other. Khushboo was last most of the times.

Two movies were seen- one seriously pathetic(aa dekhe zaraa) and one seriously awesome (curious case of Benjamin Button). I could see why girls love Brad Pitt. I dont know why, but i could see why even guys like him …

Old pictures were seen – with ishu’s boy-cut teeth-showing pic taking the cake, friends was watched, Roadies, Splitsvilla and numerous other dance shows were seen – and curiously enough in their company i enjoyed all this.

I even had nail-polish applied to a thumb and a finger to stop me from biting my nails. It’s been almost 6 days now and i have not bitten them. So it’s working, but am not gonna continue with this practice.

Khishboo for some reason found “cookbabu”, “cooknirmal” and “cookgovind” entries in my cell phone very funny. She gave her biggest and continuous smiles when she read these entries. She just wouldn’t stop laughing after reading them. Felt really good to see her laughing.

Megha and Ishu found my hair and language funny. Some of the nick names that i received from them -
Punju – (derived from Punjabi – my mother tongue and roots)
Pinki - (due to unfortunate use of pink bowling equipment, pink pencil won as a gift and use of pink sheet while sleeping)
Loser – due to a losing streak initially
Tubelight - due to a few dumb answers and game performances
Fool n Final – carry over from our last meeting. Name of a film that we watched together
..a couple of more which i cant remember…

Then there was that strange haircut dude in the serial bhakti mein shakti. Kids found his hairstyle similar to mine. Boy that was a bad hair cut. I seriously hope mine isn’t like his.

All in all a fun trip. Had never thought that would enjoy so much in the company of kids. No wonder that 1 April ticket was cancelled without a second thought. If only they had a few more holidays, i sure as hell would have cancelled the 5th one too….for they are gonna be adults soon.

So company of kids……….rocks

IIML Interview

Date: 8th Mar’08

Venue: IIML Campus, Noida

Pre-Interview Details: For me interviews were virtually over after IIMB interview on 6th March , Friday. I enjoyed all day on Saturday. Was lazing around at BD’s place. Then my mom announced that she is coming to visit my place in Gurgaon. She was visiting Jaipur and other places in Rajasthan. She said she will drop at my place on return. In the last 2.5 years that i have stayed in Gurgaon, i have managed to keep her off my place somehow. But now she said she is coming, argument being that she might not get a chance to see my place (my getting selected ).
So a good day of lazing around was suddenly turned into a cleaning frenzy. Called up my Flat-mate Mohan to clean up the mess. Showed mom around. Took her to my office.

Now the fun part…. My interview originally was scheduled on 6th March 2 P.M. Since it was clashing woth IIMB interview so i got it shifted. They gave me a date on 8th. I for some reason presumed that it is at 2 P.M only. So i had planned that i will leave my place at Gurgaon at around 11 A.M on 8th, get a printout of interview shift mail from office and then go for interview. But since i had come to office with Mom, i decided to take the printout then only and then i read…”10 A.M. IIML Noida Campus on 8th March”… mom got a feeling of her real son..irresponsible and careless.. anyways mini-tragedy avoided.

Left Gurgaon in hurry for Noida Saturday might only. Reached a friend Setia’s place at around 11. He also had interview next day. Told me that printouts of first and last salary slips were needed. Thought of getting them next morning. Couldnt get them. All shops were closed. So reached venue without required documents.

Group Discussion: Topic given was “Start of journey should not be mistaken for success”. First 20 minutes for writing a 300 word essay and next 20 minutes for discussion. I was bored writing the essay. Didnt write much. Wrote example of IPL and US Presidential elections. That success should not be decided at start, it’s always in long term that success should be decided. It was the first discussion that started as a fish market. After 2-3 minuted they stopped us and asked to not shout. There on it was a little peaceful. I made some good points.

Interview: I was called in 5th. Two intervieweres. One old lady(P1) and a middle-aged male prof (P2).

P2 starts looking at my certs and P1 starts

P1: Anurag tell me what you do
ME: Dunnhumby..retail analytics.. Work for BBY

P1; What is BBY
ME: Best Buy. We work on their emerging-market entry strategy. I am solutions lead for Non-US markets. Work for Turkey, Uk and Mexico

P1: You are clubbing UK with Turkey as an emerging market
ME: Mam i meant new market entry strategy

P1: But you said emerging.
ME: Mam i meant new. Sorry for that.

P1: Describe the nature of your responsibilities.
ME: Blah Blah

P2: Anurag i am seeing a very strange thing on your 10th certificate. There are two rows for Punjabi..one for Punjabi subject and one for Punjabi culture and History.. You have a 134/150 and 1/150 in them.
ME: Looked at my mark-sheet. There were two rows. Scratched my head..yeh kya ho raha hai..Told him ki sir ek hi subject tha. Total of 150 marks. koi sub-section hoga..Probably 5 marks of hand writing honge. Vahan i must have got a 1/5.

P2: Smiling..No explain it.
ME: Dont know sir. But i am sure it’s not that i have 135/300 . Used my topper card. Sir i had a total of 610/650 in 10th class. Was first in AMritsar and 8th in Punjab.

P1: Irritated… But you should be able to explain it
ME: Mam never noticed it….

P1 looking at P2: He has this certificate with him for last 8 years. I am sure even his parents must have noticed this.
ME: Thinking..parents kahan se aa gaye yaar..jo baat karni hai mujhse karo….mere parents ko beech mein mat lao..Sorry mam. Just dont know

P1: There are two more rows that have you getting one mark out of 50. Thay dont even mention the subjects that you got tehse marks in
ME: What? I looked at my certificate and there were infact two more columns which had 1 out of 50 each. What the f** is going on. Told them ki sir its some gardes i guess. SUPW ya Physical education ka hoga. Cant remember.…yeh mein kya bol raha hun…man i am on fire today

“Explanation for above events. This is decoded after i reached home. Actually that was not 1. It was just a vertical line. Whosoever prepared the mark-sheet used vertical instead of horizontal lines for showcasing not applicable ( – ). That is where there were no subjects mentioned, there was a vertical bar..meaning not applicable. Similarly in front of Punjabi History and Culture there was a vertical bar..because i had not taken that subject”…How dumb can i be. SUPW aur Physical education kahan se aa gaye the yaar..

P2: Ok Anurag leave it. Tell me what you do.
ME: Expalined it. Told him statistical analysis

Next few minutes were spent on cluster analysis and factor analysis
Then next few minutes on logistic regression. Then he asked me about probit model. Told him what it does and that i have never used it.
They asked me how i knew about stats, being an engineer. Told him that we are given a training. Then an internal project.

P1: Tell me what tools do you use.
ME: SAS, Knowledge Studio, CART, Excel for data manipulation

P1: Manipulation..you do data manipulation
ME: Smiling..mam i meant analysis

P1: No you said maipulation
ME: Thinking..bachhe ki jaan loge kya..analysis mam
P1: Anurag what are EVMs
ME: Electronic voting machines.

P1: Tell me about their use
ME: They are being used for elections in India.

P1:Irritated..Anurag i meant you being an electronics engineer, do you know how they work
ME: remembering i was an elec engg at some point…mam har ek party ke saath associated ek counter hoga. Every time you press one, it is incremented.

P1: How are they tempered.
ME: Mam they must have reset it. Not at the end of the day..but in between. Kyunki nahin to din ke end mein zero hoga to fight ho jayegi. Mechancial counter hota to they can take it to any value. Kyunki electronic hai, you cant get into teh code. Voh to chip mein embedded hai..you can only reset it to 0. Isiliye will not be done at day end..will be done some point in between.

P1: Sure or are you just guessing
ME: Not sure mam..but should be this way only

P2 looking at P1: I think we are done
ME: Getting up. Sir the students are waiting outside since you have not asked for any certificates copies to be deposited and it was mentioned in the form that they are to be submitted.

P1: irritated..No they can go. We did not ask them to stay
ME: I jsut asked mam

P1: More irritated…they can ask themselves..
ME: Ok..Good afternoon mam. And left the room..

Worst interview ever….Worst interview ever

I would be shocked if i get elected here. That old lady was hell bent on screwing me. Anyways, i guess i was too informal for this interview. Should have taken it more seriously.

Good thing though, interviews are over..yippie…it’s party time now.

Results on 10 April….Fingers crossed.. and as one friend commented…legs crossed too ….

P.S: I got through. Wonder how!!!!

IIML Interview

Date: 8th Mar’08

Venue: IIML Campus, Noida

Pre-Interview Details: For me interviews were virtually over after IIMB interview on 6th March , Friday. I enjoyed all day on Saturday. Was lazing around at BD’s place. Then my mom announced that she is coming to visit my place in Gurgaon. She was visiting Jaipur and other places in Rajasthan. She said she will drop at my place on return. In the last 2.5 years that i have stayed in Gurgaon, i have managed to keep her off my place somehow. But now she said she is coming, argument being that she might not get a chance to see my place (my getting selected ).
So a good day of lazing around was suddenly turned into a cleaning frenzy. Called up my Flat-mate Mohan to clean up the mess. Showed mom around. Took her to my office.

Now the fun part…. My interview originally was scheduled on 6th March 2 P.M. Since it was clashing woth IIMB interview so i got it shifted. They gave me a date on 8th. I for some reason presumed that it is at 2 P.M only. So i had planned that i will leave my place at Gurgaon at around 11 A.M on 8th, get a printout of interview shift mail from office and then go for interview. But since i had come to office with Mom, i decided to take the printout then only and then i read…”10 A.M. IIML Noida Campus on 8th March”… mom got a feeling of her real son..irresponsible and careless.. anyways mini-tragedy avoided.

Left Gurgaon in hurry for Noida Saturday might only. Reached a friend Setia’s place at around 11. He also had interview next day. Told me that printouts of first and last salary slips were needed. Thought of getting them next morning. Couldnt get them. All shops were closed. So reached venue without required documents.

Group Discussion: Topic given was “Start of journey should not be mistaken for success”. First 20 minutes for writing a 300 word essay and next 20 minutes for discussion. I was bored writing the essay. Didnt write much. Wrote example of IPL and US Presidential elections. That success should not be decided at start, it’s always in long term that success should be decided. It was the first discussion that started as a fish market. After 2-3 minuted they stopped us and asked to not shout. There on it was a little peaceful. I made some good points.

Interview: I was called in 5th. Two intervieweres. One old lady(P1) and a middle-aged male prof (P2).

P2 starts looking at my certs and P1 starts

P1: Anurag tell me what you do
ME: Dunnhumby..retail analytics.. Work for BBY

P1; What is BBY
ME: Best Buy. We work on their emerging-market entry strategy. I am solutions lead for Non-US markets. Work for Turkey, Uk and Mexico

P1: You are clubbing UK with Turkey as an emerging market
ME: Mam i meant new market entry strategy

P1: But you said emerging.
ME: Mam i meant new. Sorry for that.

P1: Describe the nature of your responsibilities.
ME: Blah Blah

P2: Anurag i am seeing a very strange thing on your 10th certificate. There are two rows for Punjabi..one for Punjabi subject and one for Punjabi culture and History.. You have a 134/150 and 1/150 in them.
ME: Looked at my mark-sheet. There were two rows. Scratched my head..yeh kya ho raha hai..Told him ki sir ek hi subject tha. Total of 150 marks. koi sub-section hoga..Probably 5 marks of hand writing honge. Vahan i must have got a 1/5.

P2: Smiling..No explain it.
ME: Dont know sir. But i am sure it’s not that i have 135/300 . Used my topper card. Sir i had a total of 610/650 in 10th class. Was first in AMritsar and 8th in Punjab.

P1: Irritated… But you should be able to explain it
ME: Mam never noticed it….

P1 looking at P2: He has this certificate with him for last 8 years. I am sure even his parents must have noticed this.
ME: Thinking..parents kahan se aa gaye yaar..jo baat karni hai mujhse karo….mere parents ko beech mein mat lao..Sorry mam. Just dont know

P1: There are two more rows that have you getting one mark out of 50. Thay dont even mention the subjects that you got tehse marks in
ME: What? I looked at my certificate and there were infact two more columns which had 1 out of 50 each. What the f** is going on. Told them ki sir its some gardes i guess. SUPW ya Physical education ka hoga. Cant remember.…yeh mein kya bol raha hun…man i am on fire today

“Explanation for above events. This is decoded after i reached home. Actually that was not 1. It was just a vertical line. Whosoever prepared the mark-sheet used vertical instead of horizontal lines for showcasing not applicable ( – ). That is where there were no subjects mentioned, there was a vertical bar..meaning not applicable. Similarly in front of Punjabi History and Culture there was a vertical bar..because i had not taken that subject”…How dumb can i be. SUPW aur Physical education kahan se aa gaye the yaar..

P2: Ok Anurag leave it. Tell me what you do.
ME: Expalined it. Told him statistical analysis

Next few minutes were spent on cluster analysis and factor analysis
Then next few minutes on logistic regression. Then he asked me about probit model. Told him what it does and that i have never used it.
They asked me how i knew about stats, being an engineer. Told him that we are given a training. Then an internal project.

P1: Tell me what tools do you use.
ME: SAS, Knowledge Studio, CART, Excel for data manipulation

P1: Manipulation..you do data manipulation
ME: Smiling..mam i meant analysis

P1: No you said maipulation
ME: Thinking..bachhe ki jaan loge kya..analysis mam
P1: Anurag what are EVMs
ME: Electronic voting machines.

P1: Tell me about their use
ME: They are being used for elections in India.

P1:Irritated..Anurag i meant you being an electronics engineer, do you know how they work
ME: remembering i was an elec engg at some point…mam har ek party ke saath associated ek counter hoga. Every time you press one, it is incremented.

P1: How are they tempered.
ME: Mam they must have reset it. Not at the end of the day..but in between. Kyunki nahin to din ke end mein zero hoga to fight ho jayegi. Mechancial counter hota to they can take it to any value. Kyunki electronic hai, you cant get into teh code. Voh to chip mein embedded hai..you can only reset it to 0. Isiliye will not be done at day end..will be done some point in between.

P1: Sure or are you just guessing
ME: Not sure mam..but should be this way only

P2 looking at P1: I think we are done
ME: Getting up. Sir the students are waiting outside since you have not asked for any certificates copies to be deposited and it was mentioned in the form that they are to be submitted.

P1: irritated..No they can go. We did not ask them to stay
ME: I jsut asked mam

P1: More irritated…they can ask themselves..
ME: Ok..Good afternoon mam. And left the room..

Worst interview ever….Worst interview ever

I would be shocked if i get elected here. That old lady was hell bent on screwing me. Anyways, i guess i was too informal for this interview. Should have taken it more seriously.

Good thing though, interviews are over..yippie…it’s party time now.

Results on 10 April….Fingers crossed.. and as one friend commented…legs crossed too ….

IIMA Interview

Date: 5th Mar’09

Venue: IIFT, New Delhi

Pre-Interview Details: Interview was at 2. I reached at 1:30. They took roll call. Divided into 3 panels. Motioned us to our halls. To everyone’ surprise they started at 1:45.

A little heads up here. I was at my goofiest best.

They ushered us in a room for essay writing. I took the form where essay was to be written and went inside. I didnt carry my certificate file with me inside. Now there was a round table around which we were all seated. Round table had no section from where you could enter the well of round table.

And it was IIMA. Things had to happen. I placed my form on the table. The moment i sat on my seat and laid my heavy arms on the table, a gust of wind blew and carried my form into the well. Now i was looking around..hoping that no one had seen it. But everyone was staring at me and laughing. One of the prof(P1) said, “Anurag i have already deducted 1 mark for this. So how do you intend to retrieve it”

I sat on the table on my ass, spun around, picked the form, sat on the table on my ass, spun around again and the task was done. Everyone was laughing.

It doesnt end here

Prof gave instructions that we had to submit our certificates with the essay form at end of scheduled time. My head went for a toss. Hadn’t brought my certs. I got up, told the prof(P2) that i had left my file outside. Prof said,”So Anurag i have deducted another mark, go get your file”…everyone was laughing. I got my file and essay started.

Essay - “Recession is the mother of all innovation”
Wrote some good points. We got 10 minutes for this.

Interview: I was fifth in line. Average interview duration for candidates before me was 20-25 minutes and general reaction after the interview was,” Accha nahin hua. Bahut maar rahe hain“.

After long wait P1 came out. Looked at me, smiled and said,” So Mr. negative 2, why dont you come in for interview”…
I was thinking,” I am so gonna pay for my little spinning adventure exhibited earlier“

P2 took my file and started going through it. After around 30-40 seconds
P2: Anurag tell em your work profile
ME: BBY, data analysis, segmentation, factor analysis, etc etc. I packed in a lot of detail as he was not interrupting or asking any question.

P2: Anurag go step by step from start and go a little slow
ME: survey, data to us, value segmentation, need segmentation, cluster analysis, etc

P2: Explain cluster analysis
ME: fastclus procedure. Seed selection, observation addition, iteration, minimization of euclidean distances.

P2: What is euclidean distance. Say a point on this table in front of us and one on the ceiling, then what is euclidean distance?
ME: Take a ruler, measure the distance. That’s the euclidean distance.

P2: point X1, Y1 and X2, Y2 then euclidean distance
ME: Explained..

P2: Any other distances you know of?
ME: Mahalanobis distance, but sir dont know how it’s calculated

P2: Why do we use euclidean distance?
ME: clusters should be close, minimize the intra cluster distance, etc

P2 hands over to P1. P1 was the one who had given me negative 2.

P1: Smiling….Anurag, i was going through your certs. You have almost all A’s in first 5-6 semesters except one C. Can you tell me which subject?
Me: Smiling…Sir Human values and professional ethics

P1: Smiling….Anurag what is the explanation?
ME: Sir theory subject. No numerical. Cut-offs very close. I got C at 72. People had A at 78.

P1: Smiling… But for a C-grade professional ethics guy your company pays you pretty well.
Me: Smiling…Sir C is not a reflective of my ethics. I am a very ethical person.

P1: Smiling..So Anurag you seem a guy who is more interested in quantitative side.
At this point i realised he might move to maths..So i cut him while he has talking

ME: Yes sir, we use a lot of statistics at work

P1: Smiling..what statistics
ME: Logistic regression

P1: Why is it called Logistic regression
ME:Because of use of logistic function.

P2: Why logistic. Why not linear..
ME: Explained

P2: What is intercept?
ME: Indicative of probability even when all independent variables are 0.

P2: What does it mean?
ME: Explains the variation that is not accounted for by independent variables

P2: No Anurag, that is something else. Can you tell me what stat measures the explained variation of target variable
ME: Sir coefficient of determination

P2: So intercept term? Can it be the effect of variables not present as input?
ME: Immediately picking his point…Yes sir, it captures the effect of variables that are not included in the model and that effect the target variable.

P2: Anurag, can we use any other function instead of logistic function
ME: Yes sir, we can

P2: Do you know any function
ME: No sir, but we can use the logistic function by changing x to 2x or something. It will still give between 0 and 1.

P2: Anurag have you of probit, tobit?
ME: Yes sir, have heard but never used them.

P2 looks at P1. Both say that they are done. Offer me a candy. Return my file. I wished good afternoon. Came out.

Total of around 8-10 minutes. Dont know what to make outta this. Was very brief and cool interview. No stress.

This was IIMA. Hoping that dream comes true when the results are declared. Till then fingers crossed.

Next stop IIMB…

P.S: Two good looking chicks were there for interview. Ray of hope……..

Results: IIMA here i come……

IIMA Interview

Date: 5th Mar’09

Venue: IIFT, New Delhi

Pre-Interview Details: Interview was at 2. I reached at 1:30. They took roll call. Divided into 3 panels. Motioned us to our halls. To everyone’ surprise they started at 1:45.

A little heads up here. I was at my goofiest best.

They ushered us in a room for essay writing. I took the form where essay was to be written and went inside. I didnt carry my certificate file with me inside. Now there was a round table around which we were all seated. Round table had no section from where you could enter the well of round table.

And it was IIMA. Things had to happen. I placed my form on the table. The moment i sat on my seat and laid my heavy arms on the table, a gust of wind blew and carried my form into the well. Now i was looking around..hoping that no one had seen it. But everyone was staring at me and laughing. One of the prof(P1) said, “Anurag i have already deducted 1 mark for this. So how do you intend to retrieve it”

I sat on the table on my ass, spun around, picked the form, sat on the table on my ass, spun around again and the task was done. Everyone was laughing.

It doesnt end here

Prof gave instructions that we had to submit our certificates with the essay form at end of scheduled time. My head went for a toss. Hadn’t brought my certs. I got up, told the prof(P2) that i had left my file outside. Prof said,”So Anurag i have deducted another mark, go get your file”…everyone was laughing. I got my file and essay started.

Essay - “Recession is the mother of all innovation”
Wrote some good points. We got 10 minutes for this.

Interview: I was fifth in line. Average interview duration for candidates before me was 20-25 minutes and general reaction after the interview was,” Accha nahin hua. Bahut maar rahe hain“.

After long wait P1 came out. Looked at me, smiled and said,” So Mr. negative 2, why dont you come in for interview”…
I was thinking,” I am so gonna pay for my little spinning adventure exhibited earlier“

P2 took my file and started going through it. After around 30-40 seconds
P2: Anurag tell em your work profile
ME: BBY, data analysis, segmentation, factor analysis, etc etc. I packed in a lot of detail as he was not interrupting or asking any question.

P2: Anurag go step by step from start and go a little slow
ME: survey, data to us, value segmentation, need segmentation, cluster analysis, etc

P2: Explain cluster analysis
ME: fastclus procedure. Seed selection, observation addition, iteration, minimization of euclidean distances.

P2: What is euclidean distance. Say a point on this table in front of us and one on the ceiling, then what is euclidean distance?
ME: Take a ruler, measure the distance. That’s the euclidean distance.

P2: point X1, Y1 and X2, Y2 then euclidean distance
ME: Explained..

P2: Any other distances you know of?
ME: Mahalanobis distance, but sir dont know how it’s calculated

P2: Why do we use euclidean distance?
ME: clusters should be close, minimize the intra cluster distance, etc

P2 hands over to P1. P1 was the one who had given me negative 2.

P1: Smiling….Anurag, i was going through your certs. You have almost all A’s in first 5-6 semesters except one C. Can you tell me which subject?
Me: Smiling…Sir Human values and professional ethics

P1: Smiling….Anurag what is the explanation?
ME: Sir theory subject. No numerical. Cut-offs very close. I got C at 72. People had A at 78.

P1: Smiling… But for a C-grade professional ethics guy your company pays you pretty well.
Me: Smiling…Sir C is not a reflective of my ethics. I am a very ethical person.

P1: Smiling..So Anurag you seem a guy who is more interested in quantitative side.
At this point i realised he might move to maths..So i cut him while he has talking

ME: Yes sir, we use a lot of statistics at work

P1: Smiling..what statistics
ME: Logistic regression

P1: Why is it called Logistic regression
ME:Because of use of logistic function.

P2: Why logistic. Why not linear..
ME: Explained

P2: What is intercept?
ME: Indicative of probability even when all independent variables are 0.

P2: What does it mean?
ME: Explains the variation that is not accounted for by independent variables

P2: No Anurag, that is something else. Can you tell me what stat measures the explained variation of target variable
ME: Sir coefficient of determination

P2: So intercept term? Can it be the effect of variables not present as input?
ME: Immediately picking his point…Yes sir, it captures the effect of variables that are not included in the model and that effect the target variable.

P2: Anurag, can we use any other function instead of logistic function
ME: Yes sir, we can

P2: Do you know any function
ME: No sir, but we can use the logistic function by changing x to 2x or something. It will still give between 0 and 1.

P2: Anurag have you of probit, tobit?
ME: Yes sir, have heard but never used them.

P2 looks at P1. Both say that they are done. Offer me a candy. Return my file. I wished good afternoon. Came out.

Total of around 8-10 minutes. Dont know what to make outta this. Was very brief and cool interview. No stress.

This was IIMA. Hoping that dream comes true when the results are declared. Till then fingers crossed.

Next stop IIMB…

P.S: Two good looking chicks were there for interview. Ray of hope……..

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>

IIMB Interview

Date: 6 Mar’09

Venue: India Habitat Centre

Pre-Interview Details: Interview was scheduled at 2 P.M. I reached at 1:30. Met a few familiar faces. Refrained from addressing anyone by name, fully aware that i might screw up with names. Three panels. 7 students each batch. 2 Profs in each panel.

Case Study: Working professional who stays in out-skirts of the city with his parents. He is facing a bitch of a commute. Was missing out on post office fun. Also was tired after he came back and was not doing anything productive. On the other hand wanted to be with his parents to take care of them. Also wanted to keep a look on his sister to prevent her from doing any “mischief“….This really got me interested in the case ….His sister asks him to move to city but he doesnt want to because he will miss home cooked food. Sister offers to come with him and stay with him. So should he move to city or not…

10 minutes were given for thinking but got extended because one of the professors took some time attending a call. Everyone was looking at each other after 5-6 minutes. Nothingmuch to think in this case. I started the discussion. Very peaceful discussion. Lots of different points made. I talked about 3 days in city 2 with his family kinda thing, getting a help from his town in city for food issue, flat sharing to reduce the cost of living in city, seeing if its feasible for hsi family to move with him, etc… Well received points.

During discussion one of the guys started talking about the “mischief” thing and that he needs to keep an eye on his sister as she is young. Another guy topped that with “she will acquire certain traits even if he is watching her“.. I was hearing laughing in my head. Girl sitting across me was actually feeling a little uncomfortable with this point. I shifted the discussion. Rest was good.

Last 10 minutes were given for writing summary.

Interview: I was called in 3rd. Profs P1, P2 and ME.

P1: So Anurag, 9.5 CPI. You topped your batch kya?
ME: No sir. Was DR 3. Batch rank around 7-8.

P1: For me still a topper.
ME: Smiling ….

P2: So tell me Anurag what do you in your job.
ME: Work for BBY..market study.. recommendations for store assortment, taget customer group, segmentation, etc.

P1: So retail person.. Tell me the retail situation in US. Tell about your client
ME: Sir January sales are 7 Bn $. 7% growth compared to same month last year. But like for like store sales are -6%. Indicates that they are facing serious challenges. Growth in sales has been due to new stores. Also they have benefited from Circuit City’s bankruptcy.

P1: Why didnt BBY buy Circuit City
ME: Circuit City was is too big and almost identical to BBY. BBY has a good distribution n/w. Problems are not internal. Customers are just not spending.

P1: So you do statistical analysis. Can i ask you a question on stats.
ME: Sure sir.

P1: Draw normal distribution curve.
ME: drew it.

P1: WHat does it represent.
ME: Probability distribution function..area under curve..etc etc

P1: So the value on y-axis is probability.
ME: yes sir

P1: Can it be greater than 1
ME:No sir

P1: How many values within +/- 3 stdev
ME: 99%

P1: So lets say std dev is .1 . Draw a rectangle around curve with 6 stddev as base (+/- 3 on both sides of mean) just touching the curve at its top. Since you are saying that value on Y-axis cannot be greater than 1, lets say it is .9 . Whats the area under curve
ME: .9*.6=.54

P1: Less than 1. But you said area under curve is 1.
ME: Thinking... haila, yeh kya ho raha hai…

P1: So Anurag can value on Y-axis be greater tahn 1.
ME: A little confused, No sir, it is probability. Has to be less than 1.

P1: Ok Anurag, what is the probablity of occurence of mean.
ME: Sir 0.. ( Phir mujhe chamka..Its a continuous probability distribution function. Gives probablity of occurence of a range of values..Discrete probability distribution functions have individual probabilities for events which are less than 1)…I said sir it can be greater than 1.

P1: Ok.

P1: So Anurag you worked at Inductis for 2 years. Is into financial services.
ME: Yes sir, primarily financial analytics.

P2: Where are you based
ME: Gurgaon, New York, New Jersey

P1: So after Inductis you joined Dunnhumby. Was finding it hard to pronounce
ME: Told him that its from Edwind Dunn and Clive Humby

P1: So you got a pretty decent jump after Inductis
ME: Yes sir

P1: Anurag in current scenario, you know its highly likely you might end up getting less than what you get currently.
ME: Sir, not about money..value addition…will help in long term

P1: Where do you see yourselves 5 years from now
ME: Leading a team of 25-30 analysts

P1: In financial domain, you will not get to do it for along time. Life will be on a spreadsheet.Only after becoming VP will you get a chance to lead that many people.
ME: Dependent on industry and organization you enter. My current manager graduated in 2001. Currently leads a team of 30 analysts.

P1: So you wont mind coming back to your existing firm
ME: Yes sir, i wont mind that

P2: Anurag what do you want to specialise in?
ME: Sir marketing (CFA L2 ki aatma andar se ro rahi thi…)

P2: Makes sense. You have worked in that domain.
ME: Yes sir

P1: So Anurag what do you read
Me: Latest was White Tiger by Arvind Adiga.

P1: Tell me about serious literature if you ahve read any
ME: Sir i read classics in college. A tale of two cities, Jane Eyre.. (and then problem started. I couldn’t recall any other. I had read a lot of classics. Just couldnt remember any)… Sir one by Fyodor Dostovosky. Cant remember the name..(amidst this confusion i did the next blunder)..sir read a lot of sidney sheldon

P1: That is titillating fiction. Am talking serious literature.
ME: A little confused. Sir dont read much books (Pichle 6 saal ki saari reading ko maine 1 minute mein bhula diya Yeh maine acchha nahin kiya )

P1: Anurag we are talking of 100′ s of pages of reading to be done everyday in courses and cases.
ME: Sir i can do that. academic record is a proof of that

P1: Academic record is indicative of marks. Tell me what you read?
ME: Newspaper

P1: Just front and last page
ME: No sir. Editorials also

P1: Which newspaper. What columnists
ME: TOI, jug suraiya, bachi karkaria, Swaminathan ankaleshwar aiyar, Bobili Vijay Kumar, Shashi Tharoor

P2: Ok. So Anurag what are the latest inflation figures.
ME: Sir for week ending Feb 21 its 3.02%

P2: Effect of low inflation on firms
ME: Sir they can reduce the increment offered to employees. Raw material costs will stay stable.

P2: Any change in their borrowing costs
ME: Will come down due to loe interest rates that will be there because of low inflation

P1 looking at P2: Done
P2: Yes

P1: Thanks Anurag. Best of Luck. Any questions for us
Me: Yes sir. Has there a change in profile offered by companies on campus this year

P1 answered.

Me: Thanks sir..

Good afternoon…Good afternoon…

Overall just an ok type interview. P2 will select me. I have doubts about P1.
Could definitely have done better, especially about reading question.. I have read a lot. Had i racked by brain a little there, i would have been able to mention a lot of books..(btw dostovosky’s book was Brother Karamzov)

Next stop IIML on Sunday. Last interview

Results: I got through . 4th result that i checked after having cleared L,K and I

IIMB Interview

Date: 6 Mar’09

Venue: India Habitat Centre

Pre-Interview Details: Interview was scheduled at 2 P.M. I reached at 1:30. Met a few familiar faces. Refrained from addressing anyone by name, fully aware that i might screw up with names. Three panels. 7 students each batch. 2 Profs in each panel.

Case Study: Working professional who stays in out-skirts of the city with his parents. He is facing a bitch of a commute. Was missing out on post office fun. Also was tired after he came back and was not doing anything productive. On the other hand wanted to be with his parents to take care of them. Also wanted to keep a look on his sister to prevent her from doing any “mischief“….This really got me interested in the case ….His sister asks him to move to city but he doesnt want to because he will miss home cooked food. Sister offers to come with him and stay with him. So should he move to city or not…

10 minutes were given for thinking but got extended because one of the professors took some time attending a call. Everyone was looking at each other after 5-6 minutes. Nothingmuch to think in this case. I started the discussion. Very peaceful discussion. Lots of different points made. I talked about 3 days in city 2 with his family kinda thing, getting a help from his town in city for food issue, flat sharing to reduce the cost of living in city, seeing if its feasible for hsi family to move with him, etc… Well received points.

During discussion one of the guys started talking about the “mischief” thing and that he needs to keep an eye on his sister as she is young. Another guy topped that with “she will acquire certain traits even if he is watching her“.. I was hearing laughing in my head. Girl sitting across me was actually feeling a little uncomfortable with this point. I shifted the discussion. Rest was good.

Last 10 minutes were given for writing summary.

Interview: I was called in 3rd. Profs P1, P2 and ME.

P1: So Anurag, 9.5 CPI. You topped your batch kya?
ME: No sir. Was DR 3. Batch rank around 7-8.

P1: For me still a topper.
ME: Smiling ….

P2: So tell me Anurag what do you in your job.
ME: Work for BBY..market study.. recommendations for store assortment, taget customer group, segmentation, etc.

P1: So retail person.. Tell me the retail situation in US. Tell about your client
ME: Sir January sales are 7 Bn $. 7% growth compared to same month last year. But like for like store sales are -6%. Indicates that they are facing serious challenges. Growth in sales has been due to new stores. Also they have benefited from Circuit City’s bankruptcy.

P1: Why didnt BBY buy Circuit City
ME: Circuit City was is too big and almost identical to BBY. BBY has a good distribution n/w. Problems are not internal. Customers are just not spending.

P1: So you do statistical analysis. Can i ask you a question on stats.
ME: Sure sir.

P1: Draw normal distribution curve.
ME: drew it.

P1: WHat does it represent.
ME: Probability distribution function..area under curve..etc etc

P1: So the value on y-axis is probability.
ME: yes sir

P1: Can it be greater than 1
ME:No sir

P1: How many values within +/- 3 stdev
ME: 99%

P1: So lets say std dev is .1 . Draw a rectangle around curve with 6 stddev as base (+/- 3 on both sides of mean) just touching the curve at its top. Since you are saying that value on Y-axis cannot be greater than 1, lets say it is .9 . Whats the area under curve
ME: .9*.6=.54

P1: Less than 1. But you said area under curve is 1.
ME: Thinking... haila, yeh kya ho raha hai…

P1: So Anurag can value on Y-axis be greater tahn 1.
ME: A little confused, No sir, it is probability. Has to be less than 1.

P1: Ok Anurag, what is the probablity of occurence of mean.
ME: Sir 0.. ( Phir mujhe chamka..Its a continuous probability distribution function. Gives probablity of occurence of a range of values..Discrete probability distribution functions have individual probabilities for events which are less than 1)…I said sir it can be greater than 1.

P1: Ok.

P1: So Anurag you worked at Inductis for 2 years. Is into financial services.
ME: Yes sir, primarily financial analytics.

P2: Where are you based
ME: Gurgaon, New York, New Jersey

P1: So after Inductis you joined Dunnhumby. Was finding it hard to pronounce
ME: Told him that its from Edwind Dunn and Clive Humby

P1: So you got a pretty decent jump after Inductis
ME: Yes sir

P1: Anurag in current scenario, you know its highly likely you might end up getting less than what you get currently.
ME: Sir, not about money..value addition…will help in long term

P1: Where do you see yourselves 5 years from now
ME: Leading a team of 25-30 analysts

P1: In financial domain, you will not get to do it for along time. Life will be on a spreadsheet.Only after becoming VP will you get a chance to lead that many people.
ME: Dependent on industry and organization you enter. My current manager graduated in 2001. Currently leads a team of 30 analysts.

P1: So you wont mind coming back to your existing firm
ME: Yes sir, i wont mind that

P2: Anurag what do you want to specialise in?
ME: Sir marketing (CFA L2 ki aatma andar se ro rahi thi…)

P2: Makes sense. You have worked in that domain.
ME: Yes sir

P1: So Anurag what do you read
Me: Latest was White Tiger by Arvind Adiga.

P1: Tell me about serious literature if you ahve read any
ME: Sir i read classics in college. A tale of two cities, Jane Eyre.. (and then problem started. I couldn’t recall any other. I had read a lot of classics. Just couldnt remember any)… Sir one by Fyodor Dostovosky. Cant remember the name..(amidst this confusion i did the next blunder)..sir read a lot of sidney sheldon

P1: That is titillating fiction. Am talking serious literature.
ME: A little confused. Sir dont read much books (Pichle 6 saal ki saari reading ko maine 1 minute mein bhula diya Yeh maine acchha nahin kiya )

P1: Anurag we are talking of 100′ s of pages of reading to be done everyday in courses and cases.
ME: Sir i can do that. academic record is a proof of that

P1: Academic record is indicative of marks. Tell me what you read?
ME: Newspaper

P1: Just front and last page
ME: No sir. Editorials also

P1: Which newspaper. What columnists
ME: TOI, jug suraiya, bachi karkaria, Swaminathan ankaleshwar aiyar, Bobili Vijay Kumar, Shashi Tharoor

P2: Ok. So Anurag what are the latest inflation figures.
ME: Sir for week ending Feb 21 its 3.02%

P2: Effect of low inflation on firms
ME: Sir they can reduce the increment offered to employees. Raw material costs will stay stable.

P2: Any change in their borrowing costs
ME: Will come down due to loe interest rates that will be there because of low inflation

P1 looking at P2: Done
P2: Yes

P1: Thanks Anurag. Best of Luck. Any questions for us
Me: Yes sir. Has there a change in profile offered by companies on campus this year

P1 answered.

Me: Thanks sir..

Good afternoon…Good afternoon…

Overall just an ok type interview. P2 will select me. I have doubts about P1.
Could definitely have done better, especially about reading question.. I have read a lot. Had i racked by brain a little there, i would have been able to mention a lot of books..(btw dostovosky’s book was Brother Karamzov)

Next stop IIML on Sunday. Last interview

<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

IIMK Interview

Date: 25 Feb’09

Venue: IMI, New Delhi

Pre-Interview details: Taking lesson from the folder debacle last time, a new strategy for arranging the folder was devised..strategy being, there should be no strategy. Just put them in order. Form was completed well before time. Reached venue 90 minutes early. Talked to guys over there. Mostly IIT under-grads.

Group Discussion: Batches of 10-11 were made. Topic given was around genetic engineering and its use to improve the human breed and tackle diseases. 5 minutes were given to think and then 12 minutes for discussion.

Considering that there were 11 students and just 12 minutes, i was expecting a fish-market right from start. After 5 minutes one of the profs gave the green light. To my utter surprise no one started. Everyone was looking around like me, waiting for someone else to start. Finally i started. Introduced genetic engineering. Said that lest discuss its pros and cons. General gyaan

GD was pretty peaceful. No fish market through out. Some good points raised. I added a couple of scenarios that might happen if genetic engineering is allowed to select the characteristics in an individual. Points were accepted well. Overall a healthy discussion. We were stopped after 14 minutes and told that interviews would take place in the order of sitting arrangement. So my number was third.

As usual hunger was killing me. I had 2 paranthas just before leaving my place for interview and there i was, standing and staring at the cafeteria. I went in and had a quick bite of 2 sandwiches and a coke. Now i was ready.

Discussions with guys who arrived after interviews before me had given a hint of academic grilling. I went in hoping they would spare me.

Interview: 2 profs (P1 and P2) and ME.

ME: May i come in Sir.
P1: Boy you are already in.

ME: Thinking… ha ha…. not funny…come up with new line guys..anyways i smiled and took a seat

P2: So Anurag what do you do.
ME: Dunnhumby..retail data analytics

P2: Tesco guy..right
ME: yup…We have a JV with Tesco.

P2: So Anurag, retail is almost wiped out
ME: No sir. They are facing problems but definitely not over..

P2: So Anurag tell me what has gone wrong.
ME: Told them that sir people have cut down on spending, especially in credit-driven markets like US.

P2: How did current recession start?
ME: Sub-prime crisis.

P2: Explain how it happened?
ME: Voh maara papad waale ko…aaj wikipedia bolega..
Explained with a diagram. How cycle of credit started and then busted with housing bubble bust. Crux being that housing was used as an investment instrument. People were spending way too much. hardly any saving. So now credit has stopped, saving is not there.fear of recession and job losses…so no spending

Now today was one of those days my ears were performing below acceptable levels. So i was asking them to repeat and was concentrating a lot.

Also it was very hot in there. And me, someone who always leaves top two buttons of his shirt open, was wearing a tie and coat. And top that with my intensive sweating gift. It was a furnace in there. I wiped my sweat a couple of times. One of the profs sensed it that i was feeling hot. He got up and turned on a fan. Bhagwaan tera bhala kare baba

P1: Anurag, your company is paying you this much. Don’t you see it as another housing bubble building.
ME: No sir. I spend judiciously. I save too.

P2:Going by your salary figure i am sure you save a decent amount. Don’t you?
ME: Yes sir..

Smiles all around…

P1: So, What does your father do?
ME: Marketing officer with FCI

P1: Revenues of FCI?
ME: Dont know sir.. Then made a rough guess as a multiple of Dunnhumby revenues (was asked to do that)

P2: So Anurag, How much does your father get?
ME: xxx amount sir..

P2: It’s a ratio of almost 1:3. Does that mean you are 3 times more productive?
ME: No sir. Salary function of industry, joining time, organizational performance…etc..

P1: Do you think its justified your firm paying you your current salary..
ME: Thinking… interesting question… first it’s a decent salary and not a great one..second who cares….i cleared the interview and got the job..i dont care if it’s justified or not..
Told that i am paid well because we produce that much value for our firm.

Smiles all around…i don’t know why..

P2: Anurag, do you want to start an industry some time later?
ME: No sir. But i do have something very close to my heart.

Enter the Gyaan session

I had actually stated that i want to work in the field of education. Bring about a system where by students get a chance to make informed decision after class 10th. Throw in my small city roots, lack of proper mentoring and humble background, and we have an interesting debate.

Next 5 minutes were spent discussing my future plans. How much feasible…etc etc.. i answered confidently. They seemed interested. Agreed that idea is good. Will be tough. I stood my ground. Said i know it is required in our society.

This discussion was happening mostly between P2 and me.

P1 started looking at my certificates.

First semester..6 subjects.. All A’s
Second semester..6 subjects.. All A’s
Third semester..6 subjects.. All A’s
Fourth semester.. 6 subjects..5 A’s..he probably missed a B.
Fifth semester.. 6 subjects… All A’s
Sixth semester.. training semester.. A

He looked up and asked me..I have looked at 6 mark sheets. Anurag have you ever got a B?

ME: Smiling…sir then you don’t wanna have a look at seventh?

P1: Why?
ME:Smiling, I am afraid you wont like it sir…

Smiles all around… Ok, i wont look..(I had got 4 B’s and 2 C’s in seventh semester. )

P2: Good Anurag. Thanks.
Me: Thank you Sir..

Overall i think it went well.

Next stop IIMA…plsssssssss yaar GOD, help me… i dream of IIMA more than i dream of na*** chicks. I am dying to play dandia. plssssssss

Results: Got through