Been meaning to put up a post that sorta reflects what being in IIMB is –
Time – 0300 hours
Snapshots –
1)One leafs through his eco textbook for the class next day, after having watching Syriana on the intranet.
2)Another returns from the block party, promptly pings above guy for dope on the fin acc assignment.
3)A group is taking a break from a case analysis/project report.
4)The block parties continue unabated.
5)Confused facha sits with his PGP2 mentor, getting some gyan on the intricacies of QM.
6) Couple of ppl on their mobiles whispering sweet nothings… distance does make the heart grow fonder.
7)A PGP2 returns from his jog.2 fachas set out for a walk after mugging away to God’s glory.
9)A DML types sets the alarm clock for 6:00 am and hits the sack.
10)Inter section tournaments are on in full swing with future CEOs slugging it out on the futsal court under floodlights.
The above is just a small sample, of what goes on here. If you thought getting here was tough, you my dear friend are in some rude awakening. CAT and GD/PI are the easy part. And did you think getting a %ile of 99.85 made you a stud or something? Wait till you get in. Some junta here, get 99.85 on their bad days.
With the kind of activities that keep going on around, you have run flat out just to remain where you are. You sometimes do end up surprising yourself. I, for example never thought I could keep hitting the sack at 3 and be up by 7, but here I am. All this when I am just 20 days into IIMB. On the positive side, hey, it actually is fun.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
Its been quite a while.....
A month and 21 days since I landed in IIMB. Lots of factors contributed to me not posting -
- Acad and other pressures in IIMB
- Govt's rather pig headed move to bar access to blogspot
- Laziness on my part, that prevented me from going to other proxy sites
Hope to start posting more frequently. May be, if my writing skills improve sufficiently, I could even publish this crap that I dish out as a desi "Snapshgots from Hell" or better enter into a tie up with the Rapidex folks and publish a " Learn how to get into IIMB and survive in 30 days"
Have to get going.... but all I can say is this - Getting in was the easy part, the "fun" has just started :)
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Chennai to Bangalore ...
Just finished packing up my stuff for B. Dad insisted that I clean the toxic junkyard that is also my room before I scoot. Mission accomplished in 8 hours flat. Yup, It took me 8 hours to undo the damage inflicted over a period of 9 years. That’s less than 1 hour for every year, eh!
The good thing about cleaning up wholesale is that it allows you to get unemotional about stuff. You tend to view things as junk and non-junk. No more staring wistfully at the farewell card given by your colleagues in the organization before last. Especially not at 1:00 am, when you have been slogging away for the past 6 hours. You know it is junk and there it goes.
Now that I am all set to bid farewell to the city that has been my home for quarter of a century (and man, why do I suddenly feel old), what is it that I will miss –
1) Masala kadalai & Milaga Bhajji by the beach – my definition of paradise.
2) The beach itself – nothing like sitting on the beach all by yourself n just watching the waves.
3) My colleagues in St.Gobain. The guys were clever… very clever and a joy to work with.
4) The public transport system. The MTC buses for all their faults are thoroughly dependable and cheap. I will feel the pinch in B, as it does not have any public transport worth mentioning.
5) Watching English movies dubbed in Tamil on Vijay TV. Wholesome entertainment. Where else would you see “Holy shit” get transformed to “Hey, Kadavulae”(Oh My God!!) or get Jackie Chan to sing that immortal classic – “Raakamma Kaiya Thattu”.
6) The heat of Chennai. People visiting Chennai do crib quite a bit about the climate or the lack of it. For me though, give me Chennai’s heat and it’s occasional rainy spells on any day.
Going on to what I definitely will not miss –
1) The company bus – the driver who is other wise a very nice person, becomes Schumi’s guru when he sits on the drivers seat. The bus suddenly transforms itself into a F1 truck and the race begins. The company bus is a menace on the roads and I am only too glad not to be riding it. The fact that I am alive today only goes to show that miracles happen even in lives of people who call God all sorts of names.
2) Spending 3 hours everyday in a bus commuting to and from the place of work is idiocy.
3) Autowallas of Chennai – they fleece, period. This from a guy who has been in the city for quite some time. God help anyone who does not know Tamil/Chennai and lands up in their clutches. And about their notorious road habits, the lesser said the better. While we are on the topic, scientists may want to study the unique fuel used by these 3 wheeled chariots and patent the same. I just cannot get myself to believe that driving skill alone could result in such acrobatics on the road.
4) Cooum - You see some, you hear some and then in case of dear Cooum, you smell some. The once proud river is now an open drain. Sporadic attempts have been made to set things right, but to no avail.
5) CAS – Chennai is the only place where Conditional Access System has been implemented. That means we are asked to pay for watching TV. And why is it that i am glad to escape CAS?
a) We Indians hate to pay for things. Guess, it's a part of the national conscience and there is nothing we can do about it.
b) It sucks even more when the entire nation is getting the stuff for free, while you alone are asked to pay.
c) It sucks biggest when that country cousin of yours living in a God forsaken part of Tamland walks in and gives you the latest dope on the your one time fav show on STAR World.
Going off on a tangent - Free tip to any political party that wants to romp home in the 14 assembly constituencies of Chennai - Promise to remove CAS and thou shall rule (at least in Chennai).
So, that’s that for now. Leaving for B tomorrow. This is my last post from Chennai for the next 2 years. So long Chennai … I will miss you.
The good thing about cleaning up wholesale is that it allows you to get unemotional about stuff. You tend to view things as junk and non-junk. No more staring wistfully at the farewell card given by your colleagues in the organization before last. Especially not at 1:00 am, when you have been slogging away for the past 6 hours. You know it is junk and there it goes.
Now that I am all set to bid farewell to the city that has been my home for quarter of a century (and man, why do I suddenly feel old), what is it that I will miss –
1) Masala kadalai & Milaga Bhajji by the beach – my definition of paradise.
2) The beach itself – nothing like sitting on the beach all by yourself n just watching the waves.
3) My colleagues in St.Gobain. The guys were clever… very clever and a joy to work with.
4) The public transport system. The MTC buses for all their faults are thoroughly dependable and cheap. I will feel the pinch in B, as it does not have any public transport worth mentioning.
5) Watching English movies dubbed in Tamil on Vijay TV. Wholesome entertainment. Where else would you see “Holy shit” get transformed to “Hey, Kadavulae”(Oh My God!!) or get Jackie Chan to sing that immortal classic – “Raakamma Kaiya Thattu”.
6) The heat of Chennai. People visiting Chennai do crib quite a bit about the climate or the lack of it. For me though, give me Chennai’s heat and it’s occasional rainy spells on any day.
Going on to what I definitely will not miss –
1) The company bus – the driver who is other wise a very nice person, becomes Schumi’s guru when he sits on the drivers seat. The bus suddenly transforms itself into a F1 truck and the race begins. The company bus is a menace on the roads and I am only too glad not to be riding it. The fact that I am alive today only goes to show that miracles happen even in lives of people who call God all sorts of names.
2) Spending 3 hours everyday in a bus commuting to and from the place of work is idiocy.
3) Autowallas of Chennai – they fleece, period. This from a guy who has been in the city for quite some time. God help anyone who does not know Tamil/Chennai and lands up in their clutches. And about their notorious road habits, the lesser said the better. While we are on the topic, scientists may want to study the unique fuel used by these 3 wheeled chariots and patent the same. I just cannot get myself to believe that driving skill alone could result in such acrobatics on the road.
4) Cooum - You see some, you hear some and then in case of dear Cooum, you smell some. The once proud river is now an open drain. Sporadic attempts have been made to set things right, but to no avail.
5) CAS – Chennai is the only place where Conditional Access System has been implemented. That means we are asked to pay for watching TV. And why is it that i am glad to escape CAS?
a) We Indians hate to pay for things. Guess, it's a part of the national conscience and there is nothing we can do about it.
b) It sucks even more when the entire nation is getting the stuff for free, while you alone are asked to pay.
c) It sucks biggest when that country cousin of yours living in a God forsaken part of Tamland walks in and gives you the latest dope on the your one time fav show on STAR World.
Going off on a tangent - Free tip to any political party that wants to romp home in the 14 assembly constituencies of Chennai - Promise to remove CAS and thou shall rule (at least in Chennai).
So, that’s that for now. Leaving for B tomorrow. This is my last post from Chennai for the next 2 years. So long Chennai … I will miss you.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Coasting along ...
Quite some time since I posted, so what have I been up to –
1) Serving out my notice period.
2) Handing over stuff that I was doing at workplace and KT (knowledge transfer – One thing I still cannot get myself to believe is that I actually have knowledge to transfer. But then, if people want to labor under that illusion, don’t blame me)
3) Orkutting.
4) Reading up some stuff – trying to get back into the student mode. Working (in my case at least) has reduced my ability to sit in a place and read any printed material. At best I just skim through it and move on to something else. I have been spending the last few weeks trying to get back my studying habits.
5) Getting in touch with friends and renewing acquaintances. It struck me, a few days back that I was losing contact with my friends and I started a conscious effort to keep in touch with them. Happy to note that they do remember me :)
6) Browsing PG. Don’t spam like the pre CAT result days but I do keep browsing.
7) Visited the dentist and had my tooth set right.
8) Started getting together stuff that would be required for my stay in B.
9) Calling up future classmates and cribbing about life in general and notice periods in particular.
10) Reading up stuff on reservation in higher education.Honestly, I have not been able to form an opinion about it, but one thing I am sure about is that the UPA government screwed up big time with the way it went about the whole affair.
Pretty dull post, eh? But that’s the way life has been for the past few weeks.
1) Serving out my notice period.
2) Handing over stuff that I was doing at workplace and KT (knowledge transfer – One thing I still cannot get myself to believe is that I actually have knowledge to transfer. But then, if people want to labor under that illusion, don’t blame me)
3) Orkutting.
4) Reading up some stuff – trying to get back into the student mode. Working (in my case at least) has reduced my ability to sit in a place and read any printed material. At best I just skim through it and move on to something else. I have been spending the last few weeks trying to get back my studying habits.
5) Getting in touch with friends and renewing acquaintances. It struck me, a few days back that I was losing contact with my friends and I started a conscious effort to keep in touch with them. Happy to note that they do remember me :)
6) Browsing PG. Don’t spam like the pre CAT result days but I do keep browsing.
7) Visited the dentist and had my tooth set right.
8) Started getting together stuff that would be required for my stay in B.
9) Calling up future classmates and cribbing about life in general and notice periods in particular.
10) Reading up stuff on reservation in higher education.Honestly, I have not been able to form an opinion about it, but one thing I am sure about is that the UPA government screwed up big time with the way it went about the whole affair.
Pretty dull post, eh? But that’s the way life has been for the past few weeks.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Pagalguy
This blog was long overdue. A thank u note to www.pagalguy.com (PG).
If I am in IIM-B today, its because of PG. Sure, I did put in some serious effort, but it was PG which guided me through out. Right from sustaining me through the mock cat debacles to telling me that IIMB results page was behaving funny, it was PG all the way. More than anything I owe 1 great freind to PG - Opiate. But for PG, I might have never met such a wonderful person.
PG showed me that it actually was possible to believe people who you may have never seen before and may never even see ever. In some ways PG operates on trusting the inherent goodness in each and everyone of us, and surprisingly it worked most of the time. Given my rather caustic attitude towards life in general and human behaviour in particular, this was a pleasant surprise.
So a big "Thank u" to PG, to all the people who make PG such a great place and to Alwin ... the guy who built it all. Hope to remain a part of this community and give back in whatever way I can.
If I am in IIM-B today, its because of PG. Sure, I did put in some serious effort, but it was PG which guided me through out. Right from sustaining me through the mock cat debacles to telling me that IIMB results page was behaving funny, it was PG all the way. More than anything I owe 1 great freind to PG - Opiate. But for PG, I might have never met such a wonderful person.
PG showed me that it actually was possible to believe people who you may have never seen before and may never even see ever. In some ways PG operates on trusting the inherent goodness in each and everyone of us, and surprisingly it worked most of the time. Given my rather caustic attitude towards life in general and human behaviour in particular, this was a pleasant surprise.
So a big "Thank u" to PG, to all the people who make PG such a great place and to Alwin ... the guy who built it all. Hope to remain a part of this community and give back in whatever way I can.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Travel time
My workplace is situated about 40 km from city. That means I spend more than 3 hours traveling everyday. That I am the first to get into the bus and last to get out doesn't exactly help either. Having put in my papers and being all set to scoot by mid June, I decided to calculate the total time that I have spent traveling under my current employer. So here goes - I would have worked for 472 days by mid June. This is after eliminating all weekends and holidays. I have assumed that any leave that I have taken to date would be more than compensated by the weekends and holidays during which I worked.
My daily travel time is slightly more than 3 hours. But then, it would be wrong to take all of it for the purpose of my calculation, given that I would have anyway spent some time traveling to my workplace. For the lack of a better alternative, here I take the traveling time under my previous employer - 80 min.
U don't have to be a math whizkid to arrive at the total incremental number of hours spent traveling - 826
In terms of 24 hour day - 34 days
In terms of 8 hour man day - 103 days ... phew
Moral of the story - Next time I choose a workplace ... maybe commuting time ought to be given due importance.
My daily travel time is slightly more than 3 hours. But then, it would be wrong to take all of it for the purpose of my calculation, given that I would have anyway spent some time traveling to my workplace. For the lack of a better alternative, here I take the traveling time under my previous employer - 80 min.
U don't have to be a math whizkid to arrive at the total incremental number of hours spent traveling - 826
In terms of 24 hour day - 34 days
In terms of 8 hour man day - 103 days ... phew
Moral of the story - Next time I choose a workplace ... maybe commuting time ought to be given due importance.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
IIMB Campus Pics
Was scouring the net for some info on IIMB when I chanced upon this blog - http://guha.blogspot.com/ maintained by a B student (who should have passed out by now). Apart from the rather interesting observations on life of a PGP1, it had a collection of superb pics which I have posted here ... all credit goes to Guha - PGP2005
Classroom Cluster
Hostel Block ....
Hostel Entrance
Faculty Blocks
Library Exterior
Library Corridor
Main Corridor
Classroom Cluster
Hostel Block ....
Hostel Entrance
Faculty Blocks 
Library Exterior
Library Corridor
Main Corridor
Having stayed there for a couple of days, all I can say is that the campus is awesome. The pics above hardly do it any justice. Suffused with the grandeur that one would associate with temples and monuments of the yore ... the place does leave an inedible impression upon you.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
I am a PGP1 now
“Made it to the base camp. Climb to the summit starts…and then the summits after that…” These precisely were my thoughts when I sat staring at –
“ Status of application to PGP 2006-08 at IIM BangaloreCongratulations! You have been selected for the PGP 2006-08 at IIM Bangalore. The official offer letter is being despatched. Please contact the IIMB admission office in case you do not receive the offer letter by April 18, 2006. To secure your seat you are required to do the needful as per instructions in the offer letter by May 8, 2006.”
7 months of single-minded pursuit resulted in this and what was it I felt? A feeling of relief at having crossed the first hurdle and possibly the easiest one at that.
The last few days have been excruciating to say the least … F5-ing and spamming PG…. ignoring the mounting pile of high priority stuff on my desk…. hoping that I convert at least 1 call…. getting rude with all and sundry. Honestly, never has any exam result had this kind of an impact on me.
Speculation as to the D Day was mercifully laid to rest by the IIMA director who named 13th as the date on which all IIMs would come out with their final lists. C was the first off the block with results coming out on 12:01AM. A large number of PGs had made it. Sent a couple of congo PMs and went to sleep. The rest of the results started trickling in around 10:00AM and so did the disappointments. Both A and B danged me. While A’s reject was clear enough….B’s reject was rather cryptic – “Data entered does not match with records”. Shaken, I waited for K, which came around 13:00PM. Phew, I was through. I had made it to an IIM … finally. True, it was not the one I would have preferred…. But hey! Things could have turned out much worse. Opiate msged me about something being wrong in B’s results but I didn’t bother to check. Next day … the day after the storm … checked my mail…and saw a mail asking me to join the Y! group for the IIMB PGP Class of 2008. Surely, there was a mistake…. Me … PGP Class of 2008 … Bah … My data did not match with their records!! But then hope floats … so logged into B’s website and keyed in my details … Got the msg which I have pasted in the beginning of this blog. Spoke with the admissions office and the seniors to confirm the news the next day.
So, Its now official … I am now headed to B to pursue the PGDM course. It’s been quite a ride and it’s nice to taste success at the end of it all.
Relaxing and girding myself up for the experience that is B School!
More gyan later …
“ Status of application to PGP 2006-08 at IIM BangaloreCongratulations! You have been selected for the PGP 2006-08 at IIM Bangalore. The official offer letter is being despatched. Please contact the IIMB admission office in case you do not receive the offer letter by April 18, 2006. To secure your seat you are required to do the needful as per instructions in the offer letter by May 8, 2006.”
7 months of single-minded pursuit resulted in this and what was it I felt? A feeling of relief at having crossed the first hurdle and possibly the easiest one at that.
The last few days have been excruciating to say the least … F5-ing and spamming PG…. ignoring the mounting pile of high priority stuff on my desk…. hoping that I convert at least 1 call…. getting rude with all and sundry. Honestly, never has any exam result had this kind of an impact on me.
Speculation as to the D Day was mercifully laid to rest by the IIMA director who named 13th as the date on which all IIMs would come out with their final lists. C was the first off the block with results coming out on 12:01AM. A large number of PGs had made it. Sent a couple of congo PMs and went to sleep. The rest of the results started trickling in around 10:00AM and so did the disappointments. Both A and B danged me. While A’s reject was clear enough….B’s reject was rather cryptic – “Data entered does not match with records”. Shaken, I waited for K, which came around 13:00PM. Phew, I was through. I had made it to an IIM … finally. True, it was not the one I would have preferred…. But hey! Things could have turned out much worse. Opiate msged me about something being wrong in B’s results but I didn’t bother to check. Next day … the day after the storm … checked my mail…and saw a mail asking me to join the Y! group for the IIMB PGP Class of 2008. Surely, there was a mistake…. Me … PGP Class of 2008 … Bah … My data did not match with their records!! But then hope floats … so logged into B’s website and keyed in my details … Got the msg which I have pasted in the beginning of this blog. Spoke with the admissions office and the seniors to confirm the news the next day.
So, Its now official … I am now headed to B to pursue the PGDM course. It’s been quite a ride and it’s nice to taste success at the end of it all.
Relaxing and girding myself up for the experience that is B School!
More gyan later …
Friday, April 07, 2006
The waiting game....
The last PI of IIM B gets over today and the waiting game for results "officially" commences today. For me however, it started on 31st of March......the date on which my B PI got over. Honestly, it wrecking my nerves. While I may seem this ultracool types outside, spouting lines of "having given my best shot" etc, only I know how much of a bundle of nerves I am now. I keep checking PG every other minute to check for that one thread !!!
God help me!!
God help me!!
Saturday, April 01, 2006
GD/PI - IIMB
Venue - M Block(room M14)
Date - 31/03/06-0900 hours
Panel - P1(bearded,long hair,smoked a lot,spoke accentless english...the BBC types and looked like...well, will come to that later) and P2 (youngish, light accent, sardonic grin always in place).
GD - Case study abt director of edu insti wondering who among 2 profs is to be the next Dean. P2 gave the instructions.1) 10 min to digest caselet contents2) 15 min to discuss - No fish3) 10 min to summarise. Summary and not your viewpoint.4) No sms lingo in summary. Should has 6 letters.5) No bullet points. This is no ppt.6) Keep the parapharnalia(files) down unless you wanna refer to them in the GD.
GD started with 2 ppl starting together and keeping at it.In the first min we had a mild fish in hand.P1 who was watching stepped in to warn we were not listening to each other. Duely chastened we settled in for a decent GD. Towards the end, P2 stepped in to ask-"so what should the prof do?" Group guided itself to a solution. Put in decent participation. Coming in whenever I wanted. Thecky though was the star.
Summary went off w/o any major incident though my handwriting was illegible to say the least.
Came out and chatted with Thecky and Opiate. Had rasna and hogged krackjack offered.
Was the only non engineer in group of 6. 3 ppl with workex of more than 18 months each.
PI - Third in order and went in after Thecky. Thecky and the guy b4 him came out mouthing the word "stress" I am B(bakra).
P2- Why MBA?
B - Current job description. How MBA will help me get exposure/expertise to achieve my future goal.
P2- You have said ur goal is to b the CFO of an Indian MNC. Care to explain Indian MNC.
B - Flashback as to Indian MNC.Also agreed it is very difficult these days to categorise any company wrt any country.
P2- Name any Indian MNC. Infy?
B - As of now, Yes.
P2- Think you can make a difference in Infy?
B - No. Reason - Infy already has its share of CAs, Engineers and MBAs,. Difficult for me to distinguish myself.
P2- Where do you think you can make a difference...KVIC..which is actually bigger than Infy?
B - Can achieve what I want, in a new company ...also in manufacturing company. Some gyan here.
P1 steps in here
P1- Whats unique abt Infy's accounting? They have many firsts to their credit.
B - Have not studied their accounting practices, but is it human resource accounting.
P1- Nope
B - First company to report in US Gaap.
P1- Any other firsts?
B - Dunno
P1- They were the first to go in for quarterly results/disclosure. Is it required under US Gaap.
B - Dunno. But required under SEBI norms.
P1- How many standards under US Gaap.
B - Dunno.
P1- With your goal, u r supposed to know.
B - Yes, but I have no exposure to it.
P2-How many Indian companies complying with US Gaap?
B -Depends on the number of Indian companies that are lsited in the US.
P2-Gimme a number.
B -20-30. But I am guessing here.
P1- Who is the CFO of Infy.
B - Mr.Mohandas Pai.
P1- He is well appreciated, isnt he?
B - Yes, was featured in the latest edition of Business Today as one of the most admired CFOs.
P1- What is Balance sheet.
B - Told
P1- Asset?
B - Told
P1- Liability?
B - Told
P1- Opportunity Cost?
B - Replied with example
P1- Another example?
B - Told.
P1- So where is Bakhra Nangal?
B - Punjab,on Satluj.
P1- Any other speciality?
B - Nehru called it one of the temples of modern India (dunno from where I got that)
P2- He referred to industries, didnt he?
B - Referred to dams and industries.
P1- Any other speciality?
B - Built with russian help.
P1- What abt Bokaro plant?
B - Also built with russian help.
P1- Capital of Turkmenistan.
B - Ashkabad (mispronounced it terribly)
P1- Wrong.
B - Okie
P2- Any 3 states in American midwest?
B - Havent been there..guessing...Milwaukee, Nevada.
P2- Nevada?
B - Guessing.
P2- Any city in Nevada?
B - Las Vegas
P1- What is privatisation?
B - Told
P1- What is divestment?
B - Told
P1- So what is the difference between privatisation and macroeconomic stabilisation??
B - Started off with privatisation.
P1- So, is privatisation = divestment?
B - Nope, divestment is a part of privatisation. Illustrated with examples of Modern Food, Balco and arbit.
P1- What was the consideration in case of Modern food?
B - Dunno.
P1- Dont you think divestment is just a ruse of the govt. to bridge the fiscal deficit?
B - Yes, It has been referred to as selling of the country's silverware.
P2-What kinda books do u read?
B -No specific likes. Recent reads include - Freakonomics, Straight from the gut, Snapshots from Hell, an Economics textbook etc.
P1- First time you taking cat?
B - Nope
P1- So is it secod, third, fourth...
B - Second.
P1- Why?
B - Work pressure. Come in at 8am and get out by 10pm.
P2- You wud be a disaster in HR.
B - Grin.
P2- Do you think it is ok to work so hard.
B - No issue at this age. Get to learn a lot.
P1- Your refrees seem to have written a lot abt you in the weaknesses.
P1- Reads out stuff all of which points to my habit of overworking/overloading.
P1 and P2 look at each other
P2- Okie thats it.
B - Sir(to P1), can i ask a question?
P2- Yes?
B - Are you Sam Pitroda by any chance. Asking as there are bets outside that you are him.
P2- Nope.
P2 and P1 grin.
B - Thanks for the oppurtunity stumble out.
Verdict - Honestly, no idea. At the end of it all, I came out feeling good which is surprising, given the number of "dunnos".
Date - 31/03/06-0900 hours
Panel - P1(bearded,long hair,smoked a lot,spoke accentless english...the BBC types and looked like...well, will come to that later) and P2 (youngish, light accent, sardonic grin always in place).
GD - Case study abt director of edu insti wondering who among 2 profs is to be the next Dean. P2 gave the instructions.1) 10 min to digest caselet contents2) 15 min to discuss - No fish3) 10 min to summarise. Summary and not your viewpoint.4) No sms lingo in summary. Should has 6 letters.5) No bullet points. This is no ppt.6) Keep the parapharnalia(files) down unless you wanna refer to them in the GD.
GD started with 2 ppl starting together and keeping at it.In the first min we had a mild fish in hand.P1 who was watching stepped in to warn we were not listening to each other. Duely chastened we settled in for a decent GD. Towards the end, P2 stepped in to ask-"so what should the prof do?" Group guided itself to a solution. Put in decent participation. Coming in whenever I wanted. Thecky though was the star.
Summary went off w/o any major incident though my handwriting was illegible to say the least.
Came out and chatted with Thecky and Opiate. Had rasna and hogged krackjack offered.
Was the only non engineer in group of 6. 3 ppl with workex of more than 18 months each.
PI - Third in order and went in after Thecky. Thecky and the guy b4 him came out mouthing the word "stress" I am B(bakra).
P2- Why MBA?
B - Current job description. How MBA will help me get exposure/expertise to achieve my future goal.
P2- You have said ur goal is to b the CFO of an Indian MNC. Care to explain Indian MNC.
B - Flashback as to Indian MNC.Also agreed it is very difficult these days to categorise any company wrt any country.
P2- Name any Indian MNC. Infy?
B - As of now, Yes.
P2- Think you can make a difference in Infy?
B - No. Reason - Infy already has its share of CAs, Engineers and MBAs,. Difficult for me to distinguish myself.
P2- Where do you think you can make a difference...KVIC..which is actually bigger than Infy?
B - Can achieve what I want, in a new company ...also in manufacturing company. Some gyan here.
P1 steps in here
P1- Whats unique abt Infy's accounting? They have many firsts to their credit.
B - Have not studied their accounting practices, but is it human resource accounting.
P1- Nope
B - First company to report in US Gaap.
P1- Any other firsts?
B - Dunno
P1- They were the first to go in for quarterly results/disclosure. Is it required under US Gaap.
B - Dunno. But required under SEBI norms.
P1- How many standards under US Gaap.
B - Dunno.
P1- With your goal, u r supposed to know.
B - Yes, but I have no exposure to it.
P2-How many Indian companies complying with US Gaap?
B -Depends on the number of Indian companies that are lsited in the US.
P2-Gimme a number.
B -20-30. But I am guessing here.
P1- Who is the CFO of Infy.
B - Mr.Mohandas Pai.
P1- He is well appreciated, isnt he?
B - Yes, was featured in the latest edition of Business Today as one of the most admired CFOs.
P1- What is Balance sheet.
B - Told
P1- Asset?
B - Told
P1- Liability?
B - Told
P1- Opportunity Cost?
B - Replied with example
P1- Another example?
B - Told.
P1- So where is Bakhra Nangal?
B - Punjab,on Satluj.
P1- Any other speciality?
B - Nehru called it one of the temples of modern India (dunno from where I got that)
P2- He referred to industries, didnt he?
B - Referred to dams and industries.
P1- Any other speciality?
B - Built with russian help.
P1- What abt Bokaro plant?
B - Also built with russian help.
P1- Capital of Turkmenistan.
B - Ashkabad (mispronounced it terribly)
P1- Wrong.
B - Okie
P2- Any 3 states in American midwest?
B - Havent been there..guessing...Milwaukee, Nevada.
P2- Nevada?
B - Guessing.
P2- Any city in Nevada?
B - Las Vegas
P1- What is privatisation?
B - Told
P1- What is divestment?
B - Told
P1- So what is the difference between privatisation and macroeconomic stabilisation??
B - Started off with privatisation.
P1- So, is privatisation = divestment?
B - Nope, divestment is a part of privatisation. Illustrated with examples of Modern Food, Balco and arbit.
P1- What was the consideration in case of Modern food?
B - Dunno.
P1- Dont you think divestment is just a ruse of the govt. to bridge the fiscal deficit?
B - Yes, It has been referred to as selling of the country's silverware.
P2-What kinda books do u read?
B -No specific likes. Recent reads include - Freakonomics, Straight from the gut, Snapshots from Hell, an Economics textbook etc.
P1- First time you taking cat?
B - Nope
P1- So is it secod, third, fourth...
B - Second.
P1- Why?
B - Work pressure. Come in at 8am and get out by 10pm.
P2- You wud be a disaster in HR.
B - Grin.
P2- Do you think it is ok to work so hard.
B - No issue at this age. Get to learn a lot.
P1- Your refrees seem to have written a lot abt you in the weaknesses.
P1- Reads out stuff all of which points to my habit of overworking/overloading.
P1 and P2 look at each other
P2- Okie thats it.
B - Sir(to P1), can i ask a question?
P2- Yes?
B - Are you Sam Pitroda by any chance. Asking as there are bets outside that you are him.
P2- Nope.
P2 and P1 grin.
B - Thanks for the oppurtunity stumble out.
Verdict - Honestly, no idea. At the end of it all, I came out feeling good which is surprising, given the number of "dunnos".
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