Saturday, January 06, 2007

Dummy's guide to the IIMs...

I have been getting calls from people who have made it to GD/PI stage of the IIMs seeking gyan. Felt the need to collate the FAQs in a single place and hence, this blog -
1) How do I start the preparation?
Get started on reading at least 2 newspapers (one business and the other normal) everyday. Attack the editorials with gusto. Develop atleast 2 view points on any and every topic of current interest. Reading of news magazines never hurt anyone. Develop good and well thought answers to the questions asked in the forms sent to you by the IIMs.
2) My undergrad insti is not known outside it. What can I do about it?
Honestly, nothing. It definitely is a disadvantage when your competition comprises the likes of the IITs, NITs and the BITS. But please note that at least 50% of the batch comprises of people from institutions such as yours. so, if they could shake off the disadvantage and get in, so can you.
3) My undergrad marks/acads suck. What do I do?
Nothing. Apart from coming up with a convincing answer that is. Work on it for the next few weeks and make it as convincing as possible. A few pointers - Let it not be defeatist / Dont ever blame it on the academic rigour, for remember you are trying to get into an institution that prides itself in its academic rigour. It helps to note that people with a not so great lustrous academic record do make it.
4) Extra-currics for me has been to date, a dirty 11 letter word never to be used in decent company.
While having extra currics never hurt anyone, the IIMs do have a fair number of people who do not have extra currics/hobbies worth the name. Question is how you present yourself, when faced with competition of the likes who have rockstar profiles. If you are able to come across as a person who is confident about oneself even faced with such competition, the battle is half won. On the other hand, if you do have decent extra currics or hobbies, be prepared to be grilled in it. Friend of mine who studied music for 8 years was asked to sing a song while a karate enthusiast was asked to demonstrate a kata.
5) What if the GD is a fish market and the PI is a stresser?
Well, first of all - best of luck. Having said that, a stresser and a fish market if used in the right manner could also turn out to be ur passport into the IIMs. The key is not losing ur cool in both situations. Please remember that the panel is more interested in reactions rather than your actual answers to the questions asked in a stresser.
6) My CAT score sucks or I have got only one call. What are my chances?
Would like to pass up this question for I have no idea. But what I can say is that, now that you have got a call, the best option is to give all you have to convert it. Similarly, the fact that you have got call(s) inspite of the CAT score means that profs have seen something in you and want to see whether you actually have what they want. Now go tiger.
6) Any other gyan?
Please remember that
a) The profs who come for the PI are extremely well read and are among the most accomplished in their respective fields. They possess razor sharp intellects and you would be better off treating them with deference and respect.
b) Avoid untruths completely. The IIMs and the faculty lay a lot of stress on integrity and even a perceived lack of integrity during PIs will ensure your non selection. If on the other hand you believe that you are better off lying about something in the PI, go prepared for it. Do not rely on your improvisation skills.
c) The most important thing is to convince the profs that you are equipped to handle the academic rigour and that you are genuinely interested in the course. Try to communicate these two aspects during the whole process.
c) The GD/PI stage is that of selection and not elimination. The panel would gladly select you, if you were to give it enough reasons to do so. So, just go ahead and give them what they need.
p.s. - this is my last blog from Chennai before I head back to B-School. Current visit turned to be very hectic with no time left for doing any of the stuff I had planned to do. Lets see what happen next time. Au revoir!
p.p.s. - hope to continue blogging even after I land in IIMB, but then if only good intentions could blog...

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Mah new lappie rox ...

Second blog from Chennai and the first one from my new lappie which I won at BT Acumen. Its a Lenovo thinkpad and to use a much abused IIYumBee slang ... me thinks it is very pseud. Thanks to Pabbo for forcing me use the new lappie. It required him and Mausa to barge into the room and open the package to force me out of my sloth. Another thanks to GeeBee for installing some of the required software. Transferred the stuff I had on good ol' Dell to the new one. Appa will be using the Dell from now. Efforts on to make him and Amma computer literate in a space of 3 days. Fight are there. So long and thanks for all the dosas ....
p.s. -
1) Songs of Mani Ratnam's Guru rock. Vintage ARR stuff.
2) Statutory warning - do not watch Vallavan/Thimiru/Dhoom 2/Vivah, unless you get kicks out of self induced migraines.
3) Pls note that the last mentioned movie might also induce a pathological and irrational phobia against marriages. So if you are the marrying kind or even better newly married, this might just be the film for you.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

In Chennai ...

Back in Chennai for term 2 break. Bangalore may have its climate and all that jazz but undeniable fact is that Chennai rocks. If you were to ask me for any specific reason, I would be hard put to come up with a logical answer, but the simple fact is that the place grows on you, until it becomes an integral part of you as a person. One of the charges laid against us as a city is the fact that we as a species do not bother about the plight of the person next to us. In other words the concept of Vasudevya Kutumbam is sorta given the short shrift in the roller coaster that is life in Chennai. An instance was recently brought to my notice that helps dispel this notion. A lady and her husband (both senior citizens) happened to get into a rather crowded bus. Even as the lady was trying to buy a ticket, the next stop came and a ticket checking team boarded the bus. The lady promptly told the checker that she hadnt bought the ticket. Having said that, she requested the checker to permit her to travel (after buying the ticket, of course). She reasoned with the checker that it was very difficult to buy the ticket as the travel time between 2 stops is hardly 30-45 seconds and the bus was crowded. In fact the lady in question had already passed on the fare money to one of her co passengers for buying the ticket. The checker obstinately refused to believe the lady and asked her to cough up the fine (Rs.500) or get down from the bus, accusing her of travelling without ticket right from the beginning of the bus trip.The lady's husband noticing the commotion tired to reason it out with the checker only to be rudely put down by the latter. The lady, at this point had two options. Swallow her pride and pay up or fight for what seemed to her, a very just cause. Fortunately, for us, the lady chose the second option. The moment she refused to pay, albiet in a polite manner, the checker let loose a stream of abuse. Even as the lady and her husband kept appealing to his better senses, the unrelenting checker kept up his crude verbal tirade against the couple. Now, a curious thing happened. A girl (copassenger) who had been silent till then, turned to the lady and asked her not to pay the fine. This simple act released what seemed to be a flood gate of support in the bus. Every passenger on the bus started arguing with the ticket checker about the reasonableness of the woman's stand. Seeing the obstinacy of the checker, the passengers threatened to step off from the bus en masse if the lady and her husband were made to get down.The ticket checker, clearly taken aback by the public outcry, started to reduce the fine demanded, starting from Rs. 500 to Rs.400 to Rs.200 to Rs. 100 and finally to Rs.50. With the passengers not backing down, the ticket checker threw back (literally) the original fare money that had been tendered by the lady and got down from the bus.The rest of the journey proceeded uneventfully, with the lady thanking her co passengers for their support. The public outcry in favour of the lady who was "technically" on the wrong side of law, does go a long way in showing that we chennaites do care for others, as human beings. While the ticket checker was right to ask for the fine, he could have -
1) exercised his discretion
2) asked the conductor (who was incidentally was studiously silent throughout the entire episode) if the lady had indeed got into the bus only in the previous stop
3) asked the co passenger if the fare money had indeed been handed over to him by the lady and above all else
4) been polite to a senior citizen couple
What probably galvanised the crowd was the sight of an old couple being harrangued by a boorish government servant, when they were clearly not at fault. Once again, hats off to you, Chennai. And yes, thank you ... for that old couple were my parents. It feels nice to know that there is an entire city to take care of them when I am busy mugging in Bangalore.
p.s. -
1) I continue to believe that the public transport system in Madras is very efficient and rocks. In fact my exposure to Bangalore's (non existent) public transport system has only strengthened my belief.
2) Just travelled on the TIDEL Park road. Awesome is the word!
3) I am very much against ticketless travelling.
4) Happened to travel on the bus with plastic chassis running on 47D route. It was a delight to travel in and very comfortable. Hope it is replicated in more buses.
5) This is the last blog from my trusted Dell lappie. Goodbye HAL, its been great working on you. More about it later.

Monday, January 01, 2007

I am back!

Wokay, this is in response to the ever increasing number of people/fans (acshully 2) who have demanding that I start blogging again. The question I beg to ask - when did I ever stop? Now that I back in Chennai for my term break, I hope to come out with some profoundly disturbing ramblings before heading back to the loony bin/heaven that is IIMB. It sure feels great to play my small part in desecrating the web!

And oh yeah, wish ya all a very happy new year!!