From Indifference to Ignorance to Apathy - Salaam Mumbai!

Before you read any further one fact about me - I am very proud to be born and brought up in Mumbai... Like my orkut profile says - I am a Mumbaikar to the core... But there are many things I do not understand about this city... You wonder and you wonder but you dont put a thot to something; till you experience something that forces you to give your mindshare to this issue/event... So, here goes - the cliched melting pot called Mumbai - saw the city come to the rescue when bomb blasts hit the trains - and also saw the Jayabala Asher incident where no one helped and the J W Marriot incident where everyone kept quiet... And while I praised and ridiculed the city when these incidents did happen - tea time conversation - thats all they were...

But then the other day I came in the 8:41 Virar fast from Dadar and I was forced to think... On a different tangent - Mumbai mein everyone runs... U see me running everyday at 7:39 in 3 inch heels to take the 7:40, I see an old lady running to get the bus and I see a bus driver slamming the accelerator to make it through the signal as it turns red... So, yes - it is a fast city... And now this very haste also results in some unwanted acts by Mumbaikars... So, back to my story - 8:41 at Dadar which is 8:55 at Andheri... Day would have been a routine mumdane day if 2 men wouldnt have entered this WOMENS first class...

For all those who do not know the legendary Virar - even if its 1 am in the morning that train is crowded... So, yes this train was crowded and here is the apathy that I witnessed - only one lady was opposing it - fighting with them... asking them to get down... Finally, when they dint pay heed to her - I said something... another girl started... They said - "hum log staff hai - we can come here coz we couldnt get in the gents first class..." I was so irritated... They had the gall to say this... Imagine what nerves they had when they stepped onto this compartment... They would ve thot "Chalta hai... Ladies hain - kya karengi..." And which to some extent is true na - for starters - how many women spoke?? Next - they did travel to their detination in first class... Third - nothing we did served to get the right thing done...

The point of the blog to ask all you people - what are your limits? how much of beauracracy can u take? What all things can you tolerate? I tried to do my bit - try and be a responsible citizen but in the end - beauracratic procedure won, my tolerance gave up... Makes me feel terrible inside - then should I assume that those ladies who dint leave their seats (afraid to be standing till their destination later) are dead inside? would they have kept quiet if it were their daughters instead of me and that girl? and when will i keep doing something and then finally end up dead inside... and if this continues - will this city ever see someone doing something just for the welfare of others? Pareto principle - making yourself better off without making society worse off - can this happen ever in Mumbai again? I am a pessimist and the sad state of affairs only fuels this further so what I would do instead is tell you how this story ended and then as usual I will end this on questions coz - i for one do not have answers to those... may be someone reads and helps me figure things out for me... so this is what I did -

I asked for his IDs - he flashed them but for a time where no details could be taken... only for a fact that his first name was Jayaprakash and that it was indeed a Government ID... we tried to take snaps so that we show it to the station master at Borivli and they leaned outside showing us their backs... I called the 24 hours railway helpline - to call security at Borivli Station (the next station where train was supposed to tkae a halt)... They assured me that someone will be there and when the station came no one was there... Those guys got down and stared straight into my face and smirked at me... I felt puny.. Helpless... The Virar train started and all those ladies went back to their soap discussions and other conversations like nothing ever happened... There at the station were these 2 girls who started the fight for everyone feeling shitty about themselves... Still not giving up - we went to 4 office - station master, railway security, station manager and finally the deputy... no one did anything... kept passing on the buck... finally on insisting - that they check if these guys were police atleast (off duty may be) he said police station jaake aap check karo... I did get the details but at that point is where my patience wore off... after a 12 hour day at office, I really dint want to then get hassled by a policeman... I asked the girl if she needed the details coz I knew I would not pursue it further and she took them from me...

I dunno if she will do anything about it, but if she does -kudos to her spirit... as for me - I am currently wallowing in self pity... :( But tomorrow again - I will be running at 7:39 to take the same 7:40 train...
The main question then remains: Am I still really PROUD to be a MUMBAIKAR?
Beats me!!!

No time but just couldn't stop writing

My time here @ IIMB has been terrific... I mean, yes - it does have its downs (a lot of them actually at times) but the ups more than compensate for it... So, while I have been cribbing that I do not have the time to write anything, today I just could not resist as I browsed through my blog... I have 3 unwritten blogs - First Week @ IIMB, Summers experience, life in general at IIMB etc... So, finally I decided to put an end to this eternal wait for getting a right moment to write a blog and just started typing (so what if FinDev is staring right at my face)... So, what I am going to write about is this one aspect of IIMB students life - Bidding... We do that for eveyrthing... Bid for hostel rooms, bid for courses, bid for the number of students in the club, bid for money you want for your club - everything... And mind you, every such bid is associated with a lot of tension and hajar emotions... So, last 2 days in a row we were subjected to THE BIDDING process...

Day before yesterday - ACAD Council Opens the Bid At!!!!!
What do you do when you want a course very badly and 100 others want too and the professor is ready to only teach 75 students... The only fair way to get those rightful 75 is bidding... So, I was the lucky one with only 2 out of 6 courses to be overbid (overbid - numer of applications exceed the cap placed by the prof)... There were people with 4 courses overbid and some unfortunate ones who did not get their course floated (course is not floated when the number of students applying is les than 20)... Amidst these extremes, here was I who prayed that 2 students somehow drop from the BFMS course which I wanted... The other course prof was nice enough to extend the cap and thus was normally bid...

So, stage one mock bidding - everyone gets an idea of what is the general preference of the batch (in terms of which courses they want and which they dont)... Stage 2 - actual bidding - same results... Stage 3 - voluntary swapping for students who change their mind and go for underbid courses (this is where I was waiting for 2 students to opt out)... Stage 4 - After stage 3, we still had 4 courses overbid so bidding process where you allocate 1000 points you have on the subject you desire the most... Its like auctioning - highest bidder wins... So, if you have more than one subject overbid - your points split amongst those subjects and you stand to lose... Stage 5 - tie between people who have same number of points bid... the subject still overbid... So, random allocation... Thanks to excel for the RAND() function which came to the rescue... Finally, Stage 6 - here the top 70/75 (depending on cap) are taken and granted the course... The misfortunate ones go to Stage 1 for a new course...

Agreed finally it did come to luck but there is no other fair way to give courses to students... You could do something like US Univs have - first come first serve or prof selects the students etc... But they are very subjective and do not give every student the same chance as this method (however cumbersome) gives.

Yesterday - Hostel Room Going, Going and Gone!!!
This is where we first year students select the rooms where we want to live in our second year after we come back from summers... Like in most issues, here too there is a demand supply mismatch... I owuld not even venture into guys hostel allocation which is nothing but huge... So, sticking to that fraction which is one fifth the total population - 51 girls in 51 rooms... Now, the process goes as 8 girls ka groups get allocated first, then 4 girls and then those hapless souls who are with no group... So, initally we were a group of 4 girls frantically trying to get the number to 7,8 or 9... MBA really spoils you because for something as simple as getting a room, you start applying probability theory, game theory etc... So, using one such theories 2 groups of 4 combined (Neha, Reema, Kinjal and Sharmili with Ritu, Aastha,Smriti, NikkySoo) to get the highly coveted K block... First there was a system which said - you give your first preference and if no one bids for it, you get it... The theories were at its best in this phase but to no avail... We still ended bidding for a block which was contested by anohter group... Then some sense prevailed and the bidding for hostel rooms came down to lottery system... Each group nominates one person to go and pick the chit... Who goes from our group now? People asked me to go but just picture this - 7 girls are looking upto you to pick one of the first 3 ranks in group of 8 and you end up picking rank 8... Would you live in peace the rest of your life??? Knowing this fully well, that I cannot do it - considering my luck (there was high probability (here I go MBA again) that I pick up 7 or 8).. So, we had the Jhansi ki Rani of our group Ritu Mittal daring to get us those coveted K blocks... And man she was lucky... We got rank 2 and hence K first which was NICE!!! The group who picked rank 1 could not stop cheering for their group leader... And so couldn't we... Then the hostel secretary wrote - Ritu and Group againt K first and we were so happy to see that one cannot imagine... Of course, there were downsides were groups 7 and 8 got wht they did not prefer, some spilt... Hue and Cry about how our hostel secy sucks (which always happens.. We Indians very easily blame the system and people in it when we dont get what we want), how the process is not fair etc. After the girls rooms were sorted out, guys started which was even more messier...
But at the end of the day - I had the block I wanted, with the girls I wanted the block with and with the guys of our group just a floor below...
Alls well that ends well people say... So, atleast for me these 2 days ended on a high note... And with this content feeling I came to check my mail which had our QAG (a sort of monitor but for a partiuclar subject) mail saying our FinDev marks are out... Now, you know that every crest is followed by a trough... Without even looking at my score I am certain its a trough that I have to face :(
So, thats all for now...
FinDev awaits and guilt feeling is already cropping up for wasting so much time instead of reading FinDev...

Kudos to the most spirited team I have ever seen!!!

I would classify today's tug of war event as by far the most important event of intersection sports and one of the most momentous moments of my life. I could not stop writing about this event, one because I have never gotten so excited post Samhar and second because I have never seen such highly spirited team - like EVER!!! It was a game that was packed with so many emotions that I cannot begin to tell. Some of the highlights of the event - if anyone had missed it.

The Team Selection

So, the normal day starts with the usual cop fin lecture, continues with MPPO group having 107 slides to be presented and then by a marathon marketing lecture. Little did we know that this seemingly long commonplace day had loads of energy and ethusiasm in store for us. At 7:30, the team was in throwball court for the Tug of War event. Trials were carried out to get the best 6 players - who were within the weight limit to play for us. Poor Gauri was the one against whom everyone was tried and tested. Sec C was on court and suddenly PMS enters and displays her might. Last minute subs and Kinjal was replaced with PMS. We won the match against B fair and square.

The Problem

As PCN would say - Shit hit the roof after the match. Yours truly displayed her complete lack of mathematical skills because in the heat of moment of getting the best team, we crossed the weight limit. We were the first ones to admit our mistake, apologised our mistake and waited for the sports council to give a decision if it was a re-match or a disqualification. Incidentally, it so happened that Sec B was also overweight and therefore, it was unanimously agreed that we would have a rematch. Before the rematch, there were some bickerings about parllax error in weighing, availability of flat surface, zero error adjustments etc. So, along with my maths skills, my physics fundaes were also revised today :)

The Rematch

Match 2 started with Shruthi not playing the first pull. We gave in to the sec B team but this did not dampen the spirits. Shruthi agreed to play and resumed her position in the front and pulled victory away from sec B team, when they were only a few centimeters away. Hats off to this girl's spirits to one - not have given up realising that we were almost out and two - come and play disregarding her health and keeping the team above it. Of course, hadn't been for the support of the other 5, the front person could not have succeeded alone. After the impossible win (as many spectators later called it) the third pull was a cake walk and then the look on all these 6 girls faces was priceless. I wish at that point in time I had a camera to capture - the victorious smile, the satisfaction of winning fair & square and the determination that we have to teach a lesson.

The Finals

There was a really long break before the finals started. We were playing with no substitutes and not with the winning team combo. In addition, the fact that they had 6 pulls as opposed to 3 that the opponents made things even worse. This game requires hajar strength and we had exhausted ours in these 6 pulls. Yes! the things did look difficult at that point in time and I was dying of hajar guilt. For one, I kept blaming myself for making them go through the torment of a rematch and second for actually thinking that instead of playing the finals, we give them a walkover. Gold glitters the most when it is heated the most.The girls fighting it out (for whatever position) in today's event would have been the only befit ending to this trial by fire. And this was where I learnt the third lesson for the day - place the team above an individual. Kudos to Kinjal to place the team over her beliefs, to come to aid when the team needed the most and finally to NOT give up whatever happened. I'm not sure how many would have done the same thing you did for this section. First pull - Aastha displayed an awesome initial pull to make sure theu get a run for money. However, luck did not favor us and we lost. The bigger problem was Tanu got hurt in the process and we were thinking of calling it off at that point to prevent injuries to others. Thats when the entire team amazed me again - because not only did they play but they won. Aswathy in the front did an awesome job of not letting go and Devi anchored superbly from behind. I almost saw PMS, Gauri, Aastha and Kinjal at 20 degrees to the horizontal to get maximum force. The determination paid off again and we got the final chance to win the event. Similar effort again, this time sec D got a wee bit closer to winning but the team proved their mettle and won...

Aftermath

I do not know how the team would have performed had Shruti been there. I do not know if I would have made any difference, had I been there. I do not know if we had not gotten the weight wrong in the first place, whether we would have felt better after winning the finals. All I know is that if any team deserved to win - it was SEC C... And I do not say this because I belong to this section. Sportsmanspirit and Skill are the two most fundamental things that are tested in any field (events, rules etc become secondary then) and that makes a sportsperson. I proudly say that I have met 8 such true sportspersons who come 10 on 10 on both these parameters.

PROUD OF U!! You were responsible to get a smile on my face and owe you one for that :)

Memorable Samahar!!!

This is not my article but a snippet from the article a friend from IIMB wrote... Its about the Basketball Match between the IIMC and IIMB teams @ Calcutta... The Girls' Baski Team rose like the Dark Horse towards victory adding their bit in the 7 - 4 win over Calcutta!!! Here is how the snippet about Baski Girls goes:-

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Basketball (Girls):

Arguably, the fate of Samhar 2007 was decided by this memorable performance displayed by our Girls Basketball team. Purely going by the average height or weight of the two teams, no one would have given our girls a chance. But our ‘5-feet-someones’ displayed steely resolve, relentless stamina, and exemplary grit to overcome all their “short”comings to register probably the finest moment of the Sports Meet.

Led from the front by Nupur Kalgaonkar, the “Girl from Kolhapur”, the team had a clear mission: don’t let the ball reach the opponents. They snatched at the ball, jumped in unison and did a lot more than what had been seen on a Basketball court before, and, importantly, never gave possession of the ball. In between all the drama, Anjali scored from a free throw to take an early lead in the match, and the score after 2 quarters was 1-0. Another free throw in our favour, and this made the score 2-2 at the end of the 3rd quarter, with everything to play for.
The 4th quarter had some heart-stopping moments but nothing to add to the score. Just when the spectators were getting ready to go into extra time with only 28 seconds to go on the clock, the ‘oh-not-so-shy’ Sharmili Phulgirkar somehow stole the ball from the opponents, raced towards the basket, defied all odds, and actually put the damn thing in the basket, a feat she never achieved during any of the practice sessions!

A special mention for Nidhi Gupta, whose defence was impeccable, and whoever she marked visibly felt awfully stifled! The match was also memorable for the celebrations after every basket, which reminded one of goals in footer matches! (this comment is coz the score was 4-2; yeah! yeah! i know reminds you of a football match score!!!)

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The entire sports meet remains a memorable experience... The girley gossip we indulged the first night, the practice sessions we had a week before that, the cheering squad and its importance, the bonds that were made stronger after the meet, the rain dance in the end where we let our hair loose and finally the BIG cup in the team's hands which just made the entire exercise worthwhile and bore sweet fruits for the pains we put in....

Three Cheers for IIMB- Hip Hip Hurray!! Hip Hip Hurray!! Hip Hip Hurray!!

Aila - Kya match Tha!!!!

The first event at IIMB which really got me excited :))))))))) The names might not be familiar but the mood is!!!!
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The phrase - A cricket match is not lost till the last ball is bowled actually proved its verity in yesterday's match. The girls' cricket match between the PGP1 and PGP2 girls was not only very exciting but also surfacing of hidden talents of our batch... For all those people who missed the extremely captivating match, here is a small account -

Amidst the confusion of having the event or postponing it, I finally got a message from Parul (lot more about her later) saying the match is @ 11:30 pm and the team is ready. As budding managers, we meet just about every deadline perfectly, so both PGP1 and PGP2 girls brought in their teams on time.

The match began with Parul and Ragini opening. It was nothing short of Virendera Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar opening. Sixes, Fours, Running between wickets was fantastic. Then on Shruti's (PGP2) bowling, a stupid tree came in the middle giving Nidhi a very easy catch and sent our very own Ragini back :( Then came Madhumita who gave the same support to our captain (Parul) who only spoke the language of 4s and 6s. The highlight in their fielding was a spectacular catch taken by Mansi Gupta (sideways, lower than her knees) which unfortunately was on a no ball. This stroke of bad luck proved deadly for the PGP2s, since Parul was unstoppable after that. She had got a chance and she meant business!! So, finally after 6 overs we were 119 with the fall of one wicket.

With full confidence, our side came to bowl. We had set a very difficult target and that only boosted our players confidence. Mansi Gupta and Saumya were their openers and Sarbjeet our bowler. Mansi hit 6s in first 2 balls and after which Sarab changed her bowling line. Mansi came ahead and tried to hit the ball which happily went into Madhumita's (wicket keepers) hands who was prompt enough to get her stumped. Third ball and one wicket (one of their good batsman) down and our confidence was on cloud number nine. Then came Saumya who miraculously changed the game from 12 for 1 in 1 over to something like 88 for 1 in 4 overs. Man!! would we lose the match :O Tension on both sides. With the huge number of 6s hit, 32 in 2 overs and Saumya being there, it seemed feasible.

Next over by Sarab and the scene was 19 off the last over. Parul came to bowl in this high pressure moment. The first ball bowled and a 6. The second one went off to the boundary. 9 runs off 4 balls - VERY doable. Neha doing everything to ensure Saumya is on strike and here she was. then the next 3 balls were dot balls. Parul finally got the length right. So, one ball and 9 to win - the match was ours. The celebrations already started among the PGP1s and just then, Saumya hit a 6 on a no ball. The result - 1 ball to go and 2 runs needed. And just when we thought the match was lost, Parul came up with an awesome ball, bowling Saumya off the last ball to get us on the road to victory!!!!!!!

Kudos to the entire team! A special mention to all the guys/girls who stayed up after a looooooooooong day to cheer the team... It DOES make a difference!

Expressions

You go to any card shop - archies, hallmark - and you are bound to see one section called - Expression Greeting Cards... The cards of this genre - express things that you never verbally say (lack of courage or opportunity)... I found myself going to that section when bang came a mother's day, father's day or sister's day etc.... Was it coz I wanted to give flowery cards with poems or roses or Anne Geddes babies??? But this might not be the case since more often than not, I ended up buying a very simple card - its crux being - thanks for everything you did in my life and for being there or a plain I love u... Funny, aint it! These are the very people closest to me and I cannot say a simple thanks to them or a I love you to them!

What kind of a coward am I; I need a card made by a stranger and a day started by another stranger to tell them that they are appreciated, that they are special!!! To add to this miserable feeling, I am not even sure why did the firangs come up with this day... Every year I decide to check it up and every year after the card is given - this mission goes into oblivion! This makes me such a bad person - doesn't it? And given this very logical fact - why aren't these people doing anything about the bad person in their life??? Hasn't my mother completely lost it with my cribs and my ingrate nature? Hasn't my father lost his patience with my impertinence? When will my sister quit shopping for me - despite me not showing any enthusiasm for what she shops? And a scary thought comes to me - what if all this I mentioned above came true? The answer to this is very evident too - I'll DIE!!! Coz there would be no support system that helps me survive... Not remotely belittling the presence of friends and relatives in my life... But when the central existence of your life loses meaning, nothing else can help...

And so its very easy to take them for granted - Coz they are there - ALWAYS... A strange kind of love that has developed, over the years, with the sense of belonging and the knowledge of blood ties that bind us all... This love is well aware of its destructive power as well as its constructive powers and this makes miracles happen... There is this very sticky glue of acceptance that is the core of these relationships! So, if I move on to the next THE MOST IMPORTANT relation in anyone's life does this theory hold true? The relation is Spouse, isn't it? So, can we actually expect someone who has lived the formative years of his/her life in different surroundings to reach the same comfort level w.r.t how much to be expressed? Everyone, in their own right, does the same things to their families - then - can they do the same thing to each other and survive?

How important is expressing in this case? Does expressing on only few occassions suffice? If not, what is the point when you know that you have expressed enough? What if these points dont match? How do you cross these turbulent times to reach the ultimate halcyon in your lives? I know the answer of most of these questions is going to be - its dependent on the people involved.... Also, simple maths tells me that for this relationship there are more means to express (physical and emotional) and more time (considering average life of 60 years still gives this phase 35 years...)... Yet, we hear an anomaly - increasing rates of divorces, fights and misunderstandings blown out of proportions along with decreasing number of long lasting relationships...

Why does this happen? The simplist in me begs the answer to the following question - Why cant equations just be as simple as they are with our family... Why do we complicate the matters when a new person enters the core... Family and Friends just seem to do fine with or without the expected levels of expressions - then why does this ONE relationship get affected so much by it.... It works for family coz of the reasons cited above... In case of friends, even if they do get affected by this - I believe the repercussions of a broken friendship are a layer above the core and this helps absorb the undesirable change much better...

A dear friend always tells me - its easy to point of faults, its even easier to ask questions but what is difficult is giving a way of handling the same... I am not going to be presumptuous and trivialise this issue and come up with some scotch tape solution... But I feel what i say below works as a solution for everything.... I feel that just going and shouting helps - Go out there people! Talk, set your expectations right and make sure there are no loose ends coz they would then take the form of unrequitted EXPRESSIONS that cant close the loop.... And the argument will begin all over!!!!!

Jolted back from Inactivity

The inactivity was partly due to a sudden transition on a personal front (moving from a professional to a student) and partly due to my uncanny knack of getting things done in a complicated way... Gimme something that can be easily done and be rest assured that I can easily complicate it by introducing hajar variables... Sad story of my life but true...

A trip to Singapore had been planned since April first week... It was May last week that I finally made it there... But, this trip was wrought with hajar complications...

First - Tickets!!! My agent (ticketing one) suddenly got very busy and could help me out only by Monday (which was 21st May) I strongly believed that this is very late considering a 30th flight I wanted to take and the visa wasnt stamped... couldnt possibly book before that (as you all must ve wondered) coz my last date was not getting finalised... So, till those formalities were done, I could not go ahead with the booking... So, I asked Vraj to get it done for me on a Friday!!! (since monday seemed too close to the departure date) Smart, you wud think! But, the stupid Malaysian Airlines have no E-ticket and they courier tickets only to US addresses forced Vraj to order to his addr and then courier it to me (which reached only by Friday).. However, the itenary was sufficient enough to get a visa and it served my purpose...

Second - Visa... By now you would have thought 21st I shud ve started the Visa process right.. But, my agent (yup this is not the same person...) had to go on a 2 day leave the same week :( Net Net - no visa process till 24th and tickets were in USA... Finally Visa process was about to start (meaning docs were all given) and my agent says it would be better if Sudha sends a signed invitation... She sends... But her affinity for June (her bday) and July month (my bday) came into picture... Instead of saying 30 May to 6th June, she writes, 30 June to 6 July... So, poor thing had to fax the copy again... Many such docs made Sudha run in Singapore and me run from bldg. 14 to bldg. 1 a lot on the 24th... Finally, everything came thru and Visa was supposed to be with me Tuesday (29th May)

Third - Perhantian trip (highlight of the trip - one of the top 10 most beautiful places to visit as per TIME magazine) - This required me to start a Malaysia visa process.. Docs should be same except for ticket difference n that invitation letter... Everything was in place but one issue... Passport in SGP consulate and we cannot start Mal visa till we get it... It takes 7 dys to get Mal visa so in no way could I start visa process for Mal... But good news... I can get on entry since I am going for only 2 days!! Great luck I thought... Told Sudha and waited for passport to come through...

Fourth - ECNR - Chat with GS... on 28th May

Me - "YEEE! I am coming to Perhantian... Cool na"
GS - "what about visa???"
Me - "on arrival"
GS - "Cool, so have an ECNR right..."
Me - "excuse me - ECNR?????"
GS - "arre, its a stamp - blah blah blah - you need it to get Mal visa.. Should take around an hours time"
Me (slighltly panicky but firmly) - ok! can do it on Wednesday.. (confirmed with agent - personal presence not reqd)

Fifth - Forex - Cannot get till you get a Visa... So, cannot happen before Tuesday! But, got everything arranged so that it wont be a fight on the last day...

Finally the events that followed were -

1. got the SGP visa on tuesday but in Mumbai...
2. ECNR process was supposed to be started by Girish with an authority letter from me.. But, Mal e-ticket was not allowed, train tickets were not correct, personal presence wasnt there, TIME wasnt there... SO, after a fight (in SGP, Pune and Mumbai) we realised we cannot get it done :((((((( As depressing as it sounds but the Perhantian trip got cancelled... All the snorkelling dreams went into drain... And to add to my variable list, passport was with Girish in his office in mumbai...
3. Forex did not come thru to Pune in time before I left... So, had to collect it from Mumbai house...supporting docs copy (passport, Visa and itenary was with me in Pune...)
4. Last day at work was incidentally the same day of my flight... So, major running around happened and finally finished all formalities by 3:00 pm only... which made it impossible to reach my house by 6:00 when forex came to my house...

So, the vairables involved in this trip -
- Me in pune... had to make it to airport by 9:00 pm sharp as that was checking time (despite leaving 1.5 hour after the planned time)... On my way, volvo bus broke down, AC stopped functioning in the claustrophobic bus, landslide happened at the ghats on the way - leading to a major traffic jam...
- Girish in his office with my passport... I think its somewhere in South Mumbai...
- Dad with forex and bag - Coming from Borivli.. Now, getting forex also was a herculean task for my father and stud that he is - he could get it done... No docs were present at Borivli... So, finally after some phone calls he got it done.. Btw, my phone battery drained out - so during this time I (who had all the information) was out of reach...
- Namu coming with my clothes that I had to change (was in office formals since came directly from office) from Borivli... Clothes needed some altering and were at the tailors place till 4:00 pm...

I am sure by now who survied this account of terrible planning have concluded that I havent made it to SGP... And even if the optimistic folk believed that I made it, they must have thot - with the highlight trip out of the plan, the trip wouldnt have been too much fun... And all must have agreed the dire need for me to do some management course... C'mon - I must have got atleast one right ;))))))

But, here is the reality...
All variables converged @ airport at 8:40 (before time - in my case - is a big deal)... Me changed into jhakas clothes and got all the things in place... Came to SGP in one piece (despite this my first flying experience, despite having connecting flights - not direct ones and despite the fact that had Sudha not come @ airport I would have been completely lost... But nothing that my pessimistic brain suggested happened and I reached safely... Today is the third day (this was when I was supposed to be back from the ful-filled Perhantian trip) and the fun hasnt still stopped... Is it because of the place, the people, the excitement or just a change - I do not know... But, fact remains - that I am having fun and am all geared up to learn management lessons after a refreshing, badly-managed break :))))))

And finally the winner is!!!! (Part 6)

Its amazing how you can remember something despite the huge time gap between the events... I was supposed to write about my interviews as and when they were done but superstitions prohibited me from doing this... I wondered how could I conclude these interview excerpts until I know the definitive result... So, after I got my results I started to write about my interviews... I thought this effort would not be as comprehensive as compared to writing about the interviews immediately after they happened but I was surprised with the outcome...

When I started writing about them, I was actually reliving those experiences... If I believed in time machines then I would have thought that there is one in my house... Coz, it had transported me back to that place and time when I was taking the interview...

I am not sure if this experience helps anyone but just writing about them gave this 3 year journey a perfect end... A perfect result where I was in the b-school I always preferred... A perfect example of how never-say-die attitude works for anyone and everyone... And finally a perfect feeling in my heart...

So, brace yourselves gentlemen - this dudette is all set to rock IIM Bangalore :)))))))))

Pit Stop 3 - IIM Lucknow Interview (Part 5)

This blog should actually be called - "What not to do in the interview..." coz this penultimate interview in reality and the last blog of this interview series was the worst interview ever... This one was on 3rd March @ 10:00 am @ Dadar... Reaching there was no problem since I had already been there for the Bangalore interview... However, the scenes from the past haunted me (IIM B interview experiences) when I realised that this interview is also in the same room as the first one... A little scared (superstitions took over the practical mind) and completely feeling inferior (just before the GD/PI I met people with 100 percentile and 99.97 percentile which cause dmy 99.63 to look puny..) I entered the GD... The topic did not allay my fears... It was "The first myth of Management is that it exists..."... Ok, this was not only a weird topic but the people around me were so loud that this weird market turned into a fish market... Fish Market - When everyone screams and makes themselves heard but heart-of-heart know they are talking crap.... So, basically it transforms to who can make bull shit heard more in the people who are talking the same... And it did not help that the group consisted of 11 people...

Spoke something - its my nature to not keep quiet; if there is crap discussed I discussed the same, if not i let him be... Came out of the class with a completely frustrated feeling... Have you experienced that feeling when you are completely dissatisfied when you indulge in a colossal waste of time argument... Yup! thats what the feeling was outside room, after the Lucknow GD... I was 10th in the group and since the interviews were in order, I had a looooooooong wait ahead of me... But to my great surprise, every interview lasted maximum of 15 minutes and in about 1.5 hours it was my turn for the interview... I was happy that finally my turn came and I was happy... But little did I know - 'happy' was last thing that I should have felt for the kind of interview that I had...

I - Good Afternoon, so Sharmili - do you know that there is a movie of your name?
M - Yes sir!
I - who are the actors?
M - Shashi Kapoor and Rakhee
I - who is the director?
M - I dont know
I - Producer?
M - I dont know...
I - would you agree that the word 'sharmili' is used in many songs
M - yes sir!
I - so sing 3 songs with word 'sharmili' except for 'o meri sharmili'
M (well I know hajar songs - great ones, good ones and crappy ones... But suddenly I blanked out... I couldnt recollect any) ummmm...
I (waited for exactly 20 seconds and went ahead) - Ok, leave that... Sharmili I see that you have not made good use of your abilities
M - I am not sure y are you saying this.. I do not understand...
I - well you go 90 in tenth, 93 in 12th... But only 73 in engineering... You did not use being in VJTI to your advantage..
M - Sir! I have been in top 5 when I scored 90, top 5 when I scored 93 and also top 5 in engineering... So, I believe that I have utilised my potential...
I - I see you have done business french... What is it?
M - explained..
I - ok, tell me what would you say for, "I want to do business with you in French"
M (French is very confusing but I had an A grade... I was not best but this I should have got it) - Je voudrait vais business avec vous... Sir, I do not remember what is business in French... (Btw, this sentence was completely wrong... This roughly translated means I wish to go business with you... :(((...)
I - So, what is the conversion rate between rupees and francs?
M - Dont know
I - Rupees and dollars?
M - 43.95 (full to guess kiya..)
I - are you sure or just bluffing?
M - sure (I wish he had not read the paper... Later on found out it was 44.90.. I was close I thot.. Did he buy it was my next thought)
I - Infosys is taking a big loan from world bank - what is it regarding?
M (I had read that infosys is looking for an acquisition in Australia.. So, figured it would be for that purpose) Told this reason...
I - oh, so world bank gives loan to infy???
M (wanted to hit myself so badly...) Oh no sir, World bank gives loan to central banks of the countries - not individual companies...
I - Hmmm... So, who is the chief commissioner of india?
M - dont know
I - who is the deputy then?
M (thinking if I dont know this one, would I know the deputy duh!!!) - Dont know...
I - take a guess
M - Renuka Chowdhary (who I realised in few seconds after saying was Women's welfare minister...)
I - Thats wrong... But if you took her name.. tell me 3 women CEOs of the world...
M (gettting excited coz this would be first question I would answer correctly and he broke my thoughts by continuing the sentence...)
I - tell me 3 women CEOs of the world except - Indra Nooyi of Pepsico and Kiran Majumdar Shaw of Biocon...
M (laughing outwards, cursing inwards) - Sir, you took the names of all the ones I knew :(((((
I - Ok, tell me any one...
M (still couldnt answer..)
I - Which was your favourtie subject in Engg?
M (I had prepared this one..) - Logic Circuits...
I (interviewer confused... he did not expect this answer...) - Ok, Ill ask you a maths question... Gave me a 2 X 3 matrix and asked me to find the determinant...
M (now I knew, I couldn't find the determinant.. It was not possible but I could not tell the reason why... So, I tried to use my brains... (extra shanugiri is what I did in short... Thinking aloud...) Well, I cannot find the determinant.. So, I would mutiply this matrix with an identity matrix (since A*I = A) and convert it to 3 X 3 matrix...
I (an amused look on his face...) - What are you doing??? You know you are not close to giving me an answer, right...
M (completely exasperated..) - Sir, I know I can solve but there is something thats not correct... But, I cant tell you what...
I - what is the requirement for finding the determinant?
M - It should be 3 X 3 or more...
I - Right, it should be a square matrix...
M (Oh, ya.. thats what it is called... I knew it but did not know how to say it... what a rubbish thing to do...)
M - trying to still smile despite a disastrous interview...
I - ok, Sharmili you can go now... Please send the next person in...

Learnings from this Interview -
1. Know everything about your name - and if you are one of the unlucky ones like me who have a movie with the name - then God bless you!!
2. DONT show your extra smartness by thinking out of the box when its not required...
3. Smiling and laughing with the interviewer doesnt help... If you suck, you still do... The only thing that can get you out is knowing stuff
4. Stress Interview (thats what everyone told me my Lucknow interview was) doesnt work out if you dont get stressed (which was also something that everyone told me - people who have stress interviews are tested to check if they retain composure under stress)... You still need to know everything they ask...

Needless to say, you guys must have guessed by now - I did not make it through the Lucknow interview...

Pit Stop 2 - SP Jain Interview (Part 4)

SP Jain generally has a group interview.. No GD so this was good... But they have 2 group interviews... Every year they had it on the same day but this year they had it on 2 different days... One was 24th Feb @ SP Jain and the other was 24th Mar @ SP Jain again... The first one was 8 am in the morning (which I feared that I would sleep during the interview - never a morning person).. the second one was at 9:30 am (which is still decent).. What made this entire process difficult was that there were 20 seats (for the course I had applied) and around 250 - 300 calls given out for the first round...

First one - Sleep me reported dot at 8... thanks to the Virar fast which got me to Andheri in 12 minutes else I would have been late... Document cheking... I did not have my score card... Man!!! this is the second consecutive time I do not have necessary documentation... Went to the students who are arranging this and asked them if the admit card would do... They agreed.. Phew!!! That was close... I was in the first group to be called... I had 3 marketing, 2 finance, 1 operations and me (doing IM) in the group... We entered... Again a smile on my face... I was first in the group when we sat in a semicircular arrangement... So, the first question... Tell me about yourself...
M (happy that finally this question which I had prepared around 7 versions for was asked) - told
Everyone also answered...

Now, the questions were asked to one person and then passed... So, there might be no connection in both the questions...

I - Ok, sharmili - tell me your most significant achievement in work?
M - told
I - What was the failure that you had faced and what were the learnings?
M - told (actually these were from the form we filled and were asked by the student @ SP Jain)
I - Sharmili you read right... Tell me 2 things you would do to increase speed of reading?
M - First you dont read out aloud... read in the mind... Second - increase the span of your eyes... This is a long term approach but works...
I - So, your hobbies include poetry... Can we hear one of them?
M (well I know she wants to check if I am bluffing but how the hell do I remember a poetry? - Made up a poetry on the spot... ) This poem was written after the bomb blasts that recently happened in Mumbai local trains... Its about a suicide bomber...

I am sitting in a train thats about to blast
Seconds away nothing will remain - not even its cast
There is happiness, chatter and laughter around
In a few moments - there would be no sound...

(Now, I am no Wordsworth... Cannot make more than 4 lines on the spot... But the madam seemed satisfied)

I - There is a project with no process in place... You have to put a process in place... How would you go about it?
M (Giving global gyaan) - I would analyse the pain areas... Then the reasons for the pain areas (gave some examples from personal experience) Use some already existing process and customise it if possible... But if not, I'll discuss the process to be started in detail with the team members and then unanimously implement one process...

That's it... The first interview was done and it was better than IIM B, I thought... I made it through the first round
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The second round started with me taking a panga with a senior student... My interview scheduled at 9:30 did not start even at 12:00... I went to him and I said if this frustration makes my interview go bad then its your neck on the line (not that could actually happen but said it anyway)... So, finally around 12:30 my interview started and this time a group of 4 people - all from IM - went for the interview... Now this interview was more of a discussion... The professor would give a topic and would ask all the 4 of us to speak...

I - Dont you think IT is so hyped up... I mean people do not have basic necessities and all you guys do is keep talking about IT as if its a biiiiiiiig thing... IT has not helped the actual India...
M - I do not agree sir... An instance where IT has impacted and helped the masses is how banks now work... IT has automated most processes, opening an account is easier, loans are made more accessible to people which in turn helps to provide for the basic necessities you just mentioned...
I (grilled others on this and asked a new question) - What are your views on child labour?
M (before me - this other person on my panel said that youth in the city is not as aware of this as those in towns/villages.. somebody else said that this problem can never be eradicated..) (Speaking when my turn came) I disagree with both the views mentioned... I hail form a city but I work from an NGO who works on educating under privileged children... We also conduct vocational training where we help their parents get jobs thus reducing the need to getting financial help from their children... and even if this is on a small scale now, continued efforts in this direction will help address the problem of child labour...
I - Pick a political issue all over the world...
M (everyone selected one thing or the other.. I selected India-Pak tensions)
I - what is the real problem?
M - The problem stems from the Kashmir issue primarily... Emotional baggage prevents a good decision making process... Some more gyaan on this topic...
I - What do you think of all these TV Serials that have come up... What kind of effect do they have on the people?
M - They have reduced the time families have togehter... They have reduced the playing time for kids who chose to watch TV over playing... etc...
I - Tell us about your family
M - Told
I - What is your idea of God?
M - It is a force for me which makes me believe that once I put in every effort from my side then the result would be taken care of by him... It is a belief that good things will happen to me coz I am a good person...
I - You are in a church and this one person is smoking while the sermon is on... What would be your take on this situation?
M (before me people said something like he has a freedom of expression so he can smoke but he shud realise that he is disrespecting the father... Someone else said if I am there for the sermon I would pay attention to it despite the disturbance!!) - (I again disagreed with both of them)... I said that he should not be doing that since he is not only disrespecting the father but also invading other people's space by disturbing them by smoking... So, if he intends to attend the sermon he shud put out the cigarette else should go out smoke, finish it and then come to attend the sermon...

That was it... They thanked us and we left... Felt a little better after the interview but later realised 90% of the junta had similar interviews and with 20 in 400 seats chance - I did not know how should I categorise my interview...

But, I got through so I guess what I did was acceptable...

The final pit stop... the next blog...

Pit Stop 1 - IIM B Interview 14th Feb 2007 (Part 3)

What a date to have the interview :)))))) And I do not mean it in a positive way... The first drawback... In our company we have something like a leave planner where we update our leaves... So, to my luck - 2 people from the team took leave on Valentine's day... The next unfortunate thing was - it was me and another guy from the team... Oh man!!! The team had a gala time bantering, badgering and teasing the hell out of us!!! If any of you guys thought that people in big IT offices act all mature and professional then you think wrong... These guys had a field time when both of us applied for those leaves on V-day...

Anyway, moving on - I thought the first thing in the interview would be why is Valentine Day celebrated? What is your idea of celebrating this day? What do you think about Shiv sena's reactions to this day etc... Well, Wikipedia and google were very handy and all these answers were done... Then why I would select IIM B, other typical MBA questions, Infosys news (which I kept feeling appeared often as if media knew it was my interview coming up so I be max occupied), some current issues etc...

Went to the interview (scheduled at 9:00 am at Dadar) decked up in a nice salwar kameez and looking my formal best :) After reaching there, read up stock prices of Infy, Sensex closures, Headlines etc... The group was called - case study was about to begin... Said the penultimate prayer and went in... The case study was about some people going to South Pole for an expedition - basically showing the different styles of leadership... Now, this discussion in the 17th century and we were asked to give advice to the next indian leader going there... My entire prep (in the first 2 min was with this assumption) and we were all set for the discussion... Just as it started - one guy assumed that this advice is present day and he pointed out a gamut of devices that can be used... And the whole group discussed that... Shit!!! I have no points - panic set in... Ordinarily, I can get groups' attention - I could have said we can look at it from this POV - but some mental block just debilitated me... I did not say anything... I was pretending to listen intently (coz we had to write the summary individually later) but racking my brain for a new point... 15 minutes passed and I realised that I have had a not so good GD... Tried to maximise in the written summary and wrote all points (MoM writing during telecons helped me here)

We came out (I was fourth to be interviewed) and I was trembling... Was it coz the AC intensity was high or was it coz of my performance in the GD - I do not know... But next hour or so went in calming myself... Read up all the papers present there... People came out and everyone pounced on them to ask what kind of questions were asked.. RG giri (a very IIM B concept - not helping or rather misleading your competitors) started here itself - coz they were very vague... Did not give proper questions... My turn came in - prayers again and I went in... A nice smile on my face...

Prof to me (looking through my documents) - "You have not got your degree certificate..."
Smile went away - color drained off my face...
What crap!! (in my mind) - Oh, is it (to the prof).. "Actually I checked the list and this was not specifically mentioned... I am sorry"... Prof - "Dont be sorry, just make sure your certificate copy reaches the institute asap..."

Ok, so tell me - What is the optimisation that you hav done in your project?
M (ok this is my turf :)...) - Some gyaan about reduction in time of delivery...
I - explain in detail
M - did that....
I - why management now - after 2.5 years at Infosys...
M (again happy that he asked something I had prepared) - Global gyaan on how betterment of profile, better opportunities etc..
I - So, how many of the founders of Infosys are managers?
M (first time cursing my company founders for not doing an MBA) - I said none...
I - Oh, there you go - it is not needed...
M - I said it was not that competitive then... It is very competitive now and this gives me an edge...
I - Oh, is it.. So, do u imply that in this generation NRN and others would not be as successful
M (getting defensive) - No! I did not intend to doubt their acumen...
I - Ok, let it go Sharmili!! So, if this is so important then why doesnt Infosys start a Mgmt Institute?
M - Coz it is a S/W IT company... the requirement is more for SW and not the managers...
I - Do you know Infosys is recruting people aggressively?
M - Yes, we just had a batch of 2000 people join Mysore DC (this was total fart...)
I - So, just as they have a prog where 4 years of engg is condensed into 4 months, they can have 2 yrs of mgmt condensed into 2 months and produce managers itself... Why wudnt they do that?
M - mgmt is a genralist stream.. The only reason they could condense this training coz it is stream specific... They only teach one stream and not the entire engg syllabus... But his cannot happen in mgmt...
I - Rubbish - Why would a HR guy need financial knowledge?
M - Coz he needs the knowledge of balance sheet to know how much he can spend on HR policies...
I - Ok, Marketing guy - why would he need Finance gyaan?
M - Same reason... He would need to know how much can he spend on his campaigns...
I - Just let it be Sharmili - you are not going anywhere with this... Ok, now tell me how has being in Infosys helped you evolve...
M - I have got the technical knowledge as a trainee, a testers knowledge in my first project (how I need to be thorough etc), and team skills as a team lead...
I - give examples?
M - gave
I - ok! tell me one thing... If you work for more than required hours in IT industry would you do a better job?
M - More hours need not mean good work... But if utilised properly it would translate to more work YES!
I - Ok, so when you hear that India is a services country... Her manufacturing sector is weak - then why do we not use this policy and help our manufacturing sector grow?
M - It does not only depend on the Labour factor... Utilisation of machines, demand of H/W etc all influence and hence we cannot use this model...
I - Ok, leave that too... Tell me, what is the advice you would give Nandan Nilekani to improve infosys?
M - I have seen that the rate at which people in company are growing - infrastructure is not... So, this results in many disappointments and hence reduced motivation levels.. At no point do I say stop recruiting but this skewed ratio of development needs to be addressed
I - What infrastructure is needed? Computers are getting smaller... (then he himself says) May be the people are gettting bigger... (laughs.. me join in too)
M - second reason is that if resource alignment... It is not addressed properly and hence it affects motivation levels again which results in bad work... Like freshers are in large number but trained on platforms differnt from the ones they are working on... Middle level management is extremely in low numbers etc.
I - Dont you think adhering to values is an issue?
M - I do not see that... I, myself, follow the company ethos with rigor...
I - Ok, tell me who would follow more rules? Senior Mgmt or Juniors?
M - Senior Mgmt..
I - Then dont you think this should be answered?
M - But this stems from dissatisfaction and that is due to reasons above...
I - But still you should enforce values... So, Sharmili you are into Social Service...
M (getting happy coz he again entered my domain... it was like a lalllu ball which I would toss for a sixer) - Yes
I - Tell me the names of 2 social reformers from Maharashtra
M (in my mind) - What??? Social reformers??? Names.. Names... (to the prof) Please give me a minute... I should be able tosay something..
M - Baba Amte (thanks to the tenth standard lesson... I remebered)
I - Good, so what does he do??
M (completely blank now... I remebered the lesson, its name, his name but no hint about what he did... Took a random guess) - He cleans (Man, what a lame answer...)
I - Cleans what???
M (thinking - arre wah, my guess was right... he does clean) - Streets - He cleans streets (crossing fingers)
I - No, No... I think you are mixing him with someone else... Ok, what about the second one...
M (gave up) - I really dont remember now...
I - Does the name Anna Hazare ring any bell???
M (well I did hear about him) - I have heard about him..
I - good, tell me what he does now?
M (arre, yeh mujhe mera kaam chhodke kya pooch raha hai?) - No clue sir...
I - ok, does <> (i dont remeber what he said - but it was some drive name that Anna Hazare has started) ring any bells?
M - No (my faking had gone too far... couldnt risk this now)
I - Ok, last question Sharmili... How badly do you want IIM B?
M (should I give a smart answer, a witty reply, an earnest reply??? think think think.. couldnt come up with anything funny or witty so just said) VERY BADLY sir...
I - thanks Sharmili, please sned the next one in...

And I came out... people pounced on me too... No presence of mind questions, no silly questions, no current affairs questions... Plain simple - they wanted to know me...

Did I give them a satisfying answer to their query? Did they think I was capable? Frankly, then I did not think so... All, I could remember were the mistakes I did and how I could have answered this better...

But I guess I did give them something concrete... Coz I converted the call... :)

Qualifying Rounds - (Part 2)

This section is the preparation for the actual interview... I had a series of mock interviews... The experience proved only one thing... That I am a very contradictory person - based on the answers I gave in the interviews... In one mock interview I was boring and in the other I was interesting... In one I was extremely clear about my career path in others I was silly and had no clue where my life was heading to... Given below are some excerpts from my interviews (of course the interesting ones - mainly where I acted silly)

Interviewer (hereon referred to as I) - So, Sharmili who is the vice president of India?
Me (hereon referred to as M) - Bhairao Singh Shekhavat(BSS)...
I - Sharmili, its late BSS...
M (gasping) - Oh!!! I did not know...
I - So, sharmili who is the VP of India???
M (confidently this time) - Late BSS...

Interviewer couldn't ROTFLOL (roll on the floor laughing out loud) otherwise he would have... All he said was Sharmili since when are ghosts presiding on important chairs...
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I - What is your favorite subject?
M - Maths
I - ok, tell me the remainder when you divide -17 by 3
M - remainder is -2
I - So, sharmili if this is the state of affairs in your fav subject then I wonder what it would be in the non-fav ones...

This came from the person who got a 98.50 percentile in Maths... Just for the benefit of those who are strongly on my side and think answer is correct - then no it isn't... Answer is 1... Remainder is defined as the first positive number after you divide which is less than divisor... So, 3 * -6 = -18 which gives remainder 1 for -17...
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I - what is the average annual income of an Indian?
M - 2500 USD (guessed)
I - well, if that were the case sharmili - we would not be called a developing country

Later on I found out it is 2500 Rupees = 350 USD... There is a limit to faking man!!!
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Of course there were management interview specific questions like - Why do you want management? How would you describe yourself? etc... I am not writing about them coz I knew those and I could crack them decently and would not be interesting reads....

There was others like where I was asked my idol, my role model, basketball dimensions (how will this make me a better manager??), conversion of inch to centimeter(yes, because at some point in time every manager needs to use this), how many steps I took before coming to the room (do you not realise that when a manager goes for any presentation the first question is how many steps did he climb...), how will I manage my personal and professional life after marriage(I wonder why only girls are always asked this question??? I mean, dont guys marry too??? What makes them better at managing personal and professional life??? Is it a fact or just assumed since we are a male dominated society??), mention all the stations between Virar and Borivli - in order (I want to tell them that if I really become a manager - 99% I would not be in that area and even if I am placed there then I would use a car ;)....) etc....

First set of questions - a sensible and an intelligent person should not answer the way I did... Wonder why my brain just blocked sensible responses and gave out completely dumb answers...

Second set of questions - no longer an indicator coz most of the students prepare this so well that you cannot make out who is being genuine and true and who is fake and rehearsed...

Third set of questions - I know it is for checking the presence of mind or how do they candidates react to stressful situations... I agree it is important for a manager but I still dont think this is a good way to check... Atleast I was flabbergasted to suddenly move from Indian economy to what is the dimension of the basketball court... And clearly this showed in the confidence levels with which I answered this question...

The learnings from every interview were - I am terrible, I have low confidence levels, I cannot lie - since my eyes reveal it, I need to work on my current affairs, I need to work on academic subjects, I speak in a roundabout manner etc... This evaluation, in a way, helped me since I did not become complacent - I kept working on my answers, working on my foibles...

But I keep wondering is would I be better prepared for the interview if I had one good post interview evaluation???

The actuals coming up in the next blog....