MY IIM INDORE INTERVIEW

The interview was at the Indian Social Institute on the 23rd at 1330. I reached an hour early and generally asked around for feedback. Everyone had had a tech interview. These guys were really keen on acads...

I was limping around due to a damaged ligament on my right knee and was very hungry.....so was pretty uncomfortable all together.....I had a couple of biscuits to assuage my hunger pangs...

(a word of advice: eat something before going to the interview...my stomach growled so bad I that my panel may have heard it)

It was around two when a Prof walked in. He split us into 3 groups(of ten each) and we were off to the GD.

Topic:

A Question on ethics...About an MBA-grad sales manager questioning some of the company practices. We had to decide on his course of action...

An good GD....very civil...was able to put across a lot of points.

Interview:

I was the first to be called in.

IThere were two guys on the panel....A real cool guy(CG)...the other was and inquisitve guy(IG)...and there was me.(ME)

They went over my form and my folder. Silence reigned for 5 mins.

IG: ok....Karthik....So you are from Pulp and paper??Is it a part of Mechanical??

ME: No Sir....An extension of chemical.

CG: Its in saharanpur right??

ME: Yes...Go on to explain the two campus theory.

IG: So you have done a course on economics?? What is value addition?

ME: answered

IG: More grilling on Value added and its role in gdp calculation

ME: answered.

IG: what is labour market?

Me: I dont know.

IG: persists.

ME: ditto.

IG: High level eco shit...statistical demand etc...

Me: Ditto

IG: It dawns on IG that my course was a basic one...Then asked something on stats..

ME: Answered.

IG: you have done microprocessor applications, Tell me some industrial applications.

ME: I start on calculators...

IG cuts me short..: Industrial!!

ME: Instrumentation, Process control, Automation.

IG: How is it used in traffic lights, a couple of random equipments..

ME: Blank face....IG intreprets quickly...:You haven't studied all this??

ME: No sir,

IG: Then why is the name of the course Applications...It should be Study of Microprocessors..

ME: Dont know Sir...I tell him about applications in the paper industry...Go on for 5 minutes about how it is used in digesters ...seems satisfied....

IG looks to CG

CG: SO...a sportsman Karthik.....tell me do you think India will win the 2010 world cup...

ME: There is a bright chance,Sir.

CG: But our bolwers are inconsistent. How can we win it ??

ME: Go on about recent form, Dhoni as a captain, Zaheer's form and maturity, T20 being a good platform for One day bowling...He seemed happy..

CG: Know about any recent rankings of Indian legends?

ME:I dont know..

CG:Very Surprising...Based on Statistics...

ME: No Sir.

CG: What is a top spin delivery?

Me: Gave fundae( I am a leggie...so was easy)

CG: Googly??

Me: Answered.

CG: Doosra?? Difference between both??

Me: Explained satisfactorily.

CG: Name a great Indian googly bowler..

Me: Anil Kumble(No)....Laxman Sivaramakrishnan(No) .......B. Chandrashekhar( No)

STUMPED!!

Guys and Gals....Any clues???

CG: What is the International Date Line and where is it located??

Me: Fumbled horribly..got most of the details wrong..

CG: Ok...What is this West Indies?? Is it a country??

Me: No Sir... Group of islands...named them..

IG: You forgot Cuba? Is it not in the Caribbean?

Me: Its on the Caribbean Sea..But its a par to of S. America??

IG: Sure??

Me: Yes Sir..

CG & IG share a laugh...Ok You can Go..

Thats It....Thats all I can recollect...It lasted for half an hour ...my longest interview....I'll post the rest shortly

P.S.: I have no idea how any of my interviews went....Your evaluations are most welcome..

OF CUPS AND PUBS...

Sampras' endorsement, Laver's presence, History beckons.....but a fighter from Mallorca huffed and puffed Federer's dreams away. Never has the Swiss master resorted to such an overt display of emotion as in the presentation Ceremony after the match. Not since he turned Champion, at least.
I remember a match at Monte Carlo, I think, three or four years ago between Federer and Nadal...Nadal was leading 2-0 on sets and had broken Federer in the third. After a wayward shot Roger smashed his racquet , a most Safin-like act. He was at a crossroad then....You see, unknown to many, Roger was not always great. He was said to be a great talent but did not have the temperment or so the experts claimed. Believe it or not, he was once fined by the Swiss Tennis Federation for breaking too many racquets!! But then things changed, Federer changed, hot blood had turned ice...curiously enough it coincided with his meeting Mirka, a fellow tennis player in Swiss team for the Sydney Olympics....maybe a woman is behind every great man ;)......So, back at Monte Carlo, Federer could have lost his temper and his composure and hence the match. But the emotion of breaking the racquet stirred him up. He rallied to win the third and decimated Nadal in the next two.
Oh, and It was on clay.

On Sunday, I felt that Federer was at such a crossroad again. The ice, it seemed, had melted to flow through his eyes. This may be the point where he decides to shrug off Nadal, Murray, Sampras etc and claim his rightful place at the top of tennis or slip off into oblivion or as far away as people with 13 grand slams can slip off to. The onus is on him....or Mirka,perhaps. Maybe the lady has to work her magic once more ;).

Speaking of ladies, I can't let the events in Mangalore slip me by. The moral police were out in force wielding the big stick of culture. The victims were young women and men and the Indian culture!! The Ram Sena workers took law into their own hands..no....they became the law. Mr. Muthalik and many others felt that whiskey and women are too dangerous a cocktail for us. The NCW came dangerously close to sounding pitiful for the perps. they said that the poor guys were just emotionally outraged that their women were indulging in such a moral travesty. Talking of culture, Is beating up women a part of ours? There is a moral brigade out there against the rising hem lines and dropping necklines and women drinking and the "pub culture " in general. But if you care about women so much, why not stop prostitution and eve teasing first? And if you want to shut down the pubs then shouldn't we start with the liquor shops? Oh, its fine as most are state-run...The revenue helps and its only the men doing the drinking??
Moral policing should stop at the doorstep....Maybe its time we came out and talked about this in the open. Supressed emotions are not good, be it for Federer or the Ram Sena.