IIM-B : Bong-wronged...

And finally, I was running the concluding lap. The long and winding road was nearing its last few bends and as I approached Bangalore for yet another time, I could not help but pause for a minute and think about the whirlwind, the last six months had been. I remember the days before it all began, January 2006 – the initial euphoria of having surpassed expectations, the high of the investment having paid off (oh come on! The guys who know me would agree – getting up for 6 a.m. ‘midnight’ classes was not my idea of a joke!) - all that, allayed with the fear of the wish-train getting derailed prematurely. February 2006 – the struggle to keep the conscience clear and putting up one helluva show for the office party in the first week. All that traveling and ‘holidays’ which didn’t really agree to my definition of the word, the pub-visits skipped, the circumstantial camaraderie of a bunch of anxious MBA-aspirants, the interviews baits pitched, the gaffes masked, the sheepish ‘I’m-sorry-I-don’t-know’ grins unmasked. We don’t realize it, till we’re though it – but there’s no missing the truth behind it all. It changes you.

For most aspirants who I have had the opportunity of interacting with in the last year or so, the CAT experience resembled a journey akin to walking a tightrope over burning coals. But make no mistake - it’s not the difficulty of the journey that dissuades most, it is the uncertainty of the result. Now, this is where I failed to see eye-to-eye with most of them. Figures are meant to intimidate – 150,000… 99.99… 6… 1:110 – and with media and peers serving as a constant reminder of how high the stakes really are, the selection process takes on the ominous avatar on being more of an elimination process. So, is it always the survival-of-the-fittest? Fitness is not a one-day wonder – it’s the outcome of a regime that has been perfected over time. But for most of us, we teeter dangerously close to burying ourselves in a plethora of self-indicted ‘what-ifs’. But is it even justified to be unduly worried about the results even before embarking on the journey? Unchecked, it breeds in the mind and saps the confidence out of our successes, magnifies the despair in our failures. Justified – yes, maybe for the peers. After all in a competition as intense as this, there’s nothing that would possibly stop you from benchmarking yourself against your thickest pal.

March 21st, 2006 : My IIM-Bangalore interview @ Bangalore

The first thing that dawned on me as I woke up to the unfamiliar alarm of Bikram’s phone (I’d forgotten my own in good ‘ole Hyd) - was that it was the day of redemption. Now, in retrospect – I should have seen the warning bells, and cautioned myself against my old enemy, complacency. Why, frankly I had had quite a few ups and downs, but somehow I seemed to be at ease with the way the ‘A’ and ‘C’ experiences had shaped up. Personal opinion, of course – this might not have any bearing with the way things finally result in – but maybe, there was a part of me that simply wanted to believe that where it mattered, I would do well. Even as I put on the grey Turtle for one last time, even as I glanced through the day’s headlines on the Monday TOI, even as I made my way to Banerghatta road for my final interview - I was guilty. I was pre-empting the result before even re-visiting my PPTs for the Bangalore stint. 7 – I thought of the number of interviews I had been though, and convinced myself that after being through such a diverse bag of questions – they probably wasn’t any question that could upstage the apple-cart. It was Bangalore, after all wasn’t it? (There, again!) Looking back, this turned out to be one of those learning experience you’re really too guilty to talk to others about - but the lessons remain, of course.

IIM-Bangalore had four panels scheduled simultaneously on two different floors. The surprise almost caught me off-guard – I was listed with eight unknown names!!! Somehow, this certainly seemed off the normal scheme of things. Maybe the fact that IIM-B has the most unpredictable call-list of all the Indian MBA institutes had something to do with this, I told myself, as I decided to break the ice with a couple of others in my panel. There was who I thought was a demure CA-girl, who turned out to be a diametrically opposite all-32 baring well…umm…situation, if you please. The over-excited fresher who reeked of trouble – the reticent one, the playful one. In short, I was treading in unfamiliar territory. There were a few with the lone ‘B’ call – it’s a thing IIM-B’s famous for – and in all fairness too. An amazing number of applicants who would have otherwise missed the IIM-MBA bus altogether – oh come on, anyone can have a bad day! Bottomline, I was up against stiff competition and it was difficult ignore the fact that I would have to prove myself amongst the unknown – yet again! I felt tired at the thought – definitely not the kind of mental-setup you would want to be in when you’re about to sell yourself in the half-n-hour tryst with one of the top two b-schools in the country.

The Bong Identity…

Having faced quite a few three-member panel, I felt ready for whatever was in store for me. In fact, I had half-expected the panels to have three, if not more – as in, how much does it take for the odd prof-on-a-chai-break to step in for a few minutes to get himself some grade ‘A’ entertainment (might even be R-rated at times, who knows? Refer to my XLRI experience!). After all it was home ground, and we were the visitors! Well, not that we had much cheerleading for the others [:)]! But it turned out to be only two of them.

Uno - I recognized the gentleman even as he stepped out of the discussion room to cross-check our names with his copy. Hey! It’s a BONG!!! [to be shrieked in the same pitch as that of that crazy its-a-boy-nurse in one of the earlier Pulsar ads] In fact, with his round viewfinders(on further inspection - specs), skeptical frown and important gait, he so resembled the quintessential Calcuttan, I was half-sure that I could engage him in a MohunBagan-EastBengal discussion – right there! What I didn’t know – is that he would have won hands down. Convince him? Next to impossible. And reason with him? Impossible. We shall refer to him as Imposso. No,not related to Picasso – to the best of my knowledge.

Dos – Hey! I’d almost mistaken him to be an applicant! Surely, he seemed to be too young to be interviewing us? But oh well – it’s not that I could do anything about it. With close-cropped hair, a smart air about himself and a Thinkpad lying ostentatiously on his side of the table, I was unsure of what to expect. For the time being, Smartie he was – and so he shall be in this episode.

As Imposso read out the list, we realized with considerable amount of relief, that one amongst the eight had decided to skip it. Hmmm…. Seven, now that didn’t seem too bad! In a flash, I remembered my IIM-A interview where one of the seats was left vacant by some kind soul, and OH! – apparently, there were more coincidences than just that. The discussion room turned out to be the same room as that of my IIM-A interview! We trooped in as our names were called out in order… and as I looked around the familiar U-setting, check this out - the seat, which I had been allotted for the Case Study was also the same as that of the ‘A’ interview! OMG! On this day, we were seated from the left – me being the 4rth in order. Come to think of it - the other day we were seated from the right – and I was the 5th!!! As I indulged in momentary parallelisms and basked in the fleeting idea of my interview season ending with a grand finale – Imposso, cuts in. Oh well, that was just the beginning in any case.

Imposso and Smartie – God bless their souls – began by giving us an informal introduction of themselves. Now this felt good! For the first time, the interview panel had considered us worthy enough to give their introductions to. I was flattered… but maybe for a nanosecond. Suddenly, it struck me! Smartie – in his intro had mentioned his surname as… oh no! BONG again! See if you’re confused – lemme explain, with Bongs – it’s like that old proverb where two’s company, but three’s a crowd. And little did I know – that it would be worse than that – FFA. Back home, they call it a free-for-all, if you know what I mean!

Imposso: You will be given a case-study to go through and the first ten minutes will be for you to go through the case. 10 minutes?! Wow – that’s generous! You will have the next fifteen minutes to discuss the case, at the end of which you will have to arrive at a conclusion. Woah?! Conclusion – so this is gonna be one of those where we simply have to conlude? Dangerous. In the last fifteen minutes, you will have to write a summary of the group’s discussion – lemme repeat, not your own points, you will have to write what the group discussed.

Fifteen!!!?!? To write a summary?! OMG – there at the other interviews they’d hardly give us anytime for the summaries! I’d had to submitted incomplete sentences… and fifte- no! maybe I had mis-heard them. I clarified by asking Imposso, and by jove – 15 it was! Man, I was rolling in excess time - little did I know then, that when it matters most - you never ever seem to have enough time.

Imposso: Now before we begin, we will have one round of introductions. Please start from this end (pointing to the girl at one end) – something in brief. About 2-3 lines or so…

Ah, now this reeked of an opportunity begging to be taken. The first time the group and the panelists get to hear you. I was determined not to make a mess of it and decided on a 30-second ‘sound-bite’ ­– branded, of course! While most of them began with a pretty informal “Hello/Hi friends”, I decided on an assertive ‘Good Morning’ baritone. Touched upon the three brands that I knew would sell – Don Bosco, BITS Pilani and Oracle! Okay… now this was weird. I had finished – and where were the admiring stares? Leave alone admiring – I hardly received a look. In the next few minutes, my questions were answered, of course. This innocuous little group of seven had 4 IIT-ians and 1 Chartered Accountant. Need I say more?

Yes. I say - Damn!

Laissez-faire a.k.a free-market

It was a tough case – the toughest of all the ones I have attended or heard of. Also, I suspect that in this case – this market was selling fish, fish and only fish.

The Mongolian govt. has spent its budget building a bridge which the people of the residential half of the city use to commute to the commercial half of the city. But now, everybody seems to be using the bridge and the congestion has reached alarming levels. Now there are three people with weird-ass Mongo-names... one is the economist who pushes the idea of levying a tax on people who use the bridge. This incurs the wrath of the socialist who says that the rich and the poor cannot be taxed the same amount. Another person in trouble is this lady - politican-counselor, I think - who doesn't want to lose the next elections and thus cannot levy a direct tax and at the same time has to do something about the congestion. She also knows that levying an income-based tax will not work as it is not possible to accurately determine the actual income of a citizen. What is the solution?

To add to the confusion, some suspicious-looking numbers were also thrown about - Mongolia has a population of 10 crore and with 10000 men working per day it takes XYZ amount of money to build the bridge… and so on, and so forth. And that, to it was given separately – right at the end of the passage, which almost mandated us to use it.

Now it had been a while – a good three weeks, since I had practiced my last case study – I thought I’d be pretty comfortable with the McKinsey MECE grid and the incredibly useful logic tree. Negative. It hit me hard, as I struggled to find ways and means out of the mess. We were not supplied with any extra paper and had to do with the unused half of the GD-sheet – in fact, although I didn’t realize it then, I was developing a dislike for the case. I guess it might have something to do with the fact that I wasn’t able to spot any giveaways – easy insights at the first go. And then…. the circus started.

Imposso: Okay…. Begin.

C-R-A-Z-Y, and that is if you want me to spell out what happened in the next fifteen minutes. In fact, it was more of a Kumbh Mela, to be precise – and sadly, it wasn’t one with the happy long-lost-brother reunion. No sooner was the green flag waved, than the one to my right – sped off on a monologue, which I suspect – only he understood. Amidst all that incoherency – Fresherboy starts strutting his stuff… okay… now that’s it – 1 up – 2 up…. And there’s the thir- ! HEY !!!!! Jabberlady on the other end of the table had butted in with her two cents… wwwhat? Three down and I’m not even there? Oh come on, this was not how it was supposed to have gone! And even as I thought this angry thought – the fourth person had squeezed in his view. This was turning out to be quite a nightmare!

Panic gripped a part of me as I barged in rather angrily with my ‘key-entities’ point, which by then had become stale meat. I shifted gears to stakeholders – and much to my vexation, was interrupted even before I could make my points! And that guy had the nerve to talk about stakeholders! Whoa!! Suddenly, it was as if the tables had turned – and I was on the receiving end. What next? Nonstop-Fresher decided jump onto the solution in the second minute, that’s what! Boy, I could have pummeled him to the ground right then! Grrrr….

Jabberlady, meanwhile was on her own trip, which was – time-dependent one way traffic. ON A BRIDGE!!!! And to add insult to injury, she quoted an example of Calcutta! WTF!? It was almost like an unwritten rule in my mind – if anybody had the right to quote an example about the City of Joy, it was me. Apparently, the lady thought otherwise! Once - twice – thrice… and the same one-way point. I had to interrupt her – it’s a different thing that her voiced boomed over mine for a good five seconds before we tag-teamed her out of the ring. But I had hardly contributed any original points as such – and flagging this off as an emergency situation, I had to resort to an old trick of mine. I like calling it – ‘ethical piggybacking’. Make no mistake – you’d hate me if I’d do it to you. But what the heck – it was a question of survival, so I guess the usual disclaimers apply… lol! [:)]

In the melee, somebody mentioned the word ‘boat’, as a substitute for cars. Fortunately his voice was drowned in the commotion and by the next break, I was prepared. I ethically built on his idea to talk about 'ferries' for cars. Hah! So listening does have its merits, I guess! NonstopFresher spoke about infrastructure cess and "equitable distribution of wealth" – once, and the other time ‘inequitable’… not that anybody was paying any attention to what was being said! Somebody brought the point of commercial hubs being built on this side of the bridge. Good point! Darn it – I should have thought of that!

My problem was the at the start of the GD I had just one point - instead of same tax, or varying it based on income - we could vary it by the time, that was people who HAD to travel during peak hours would have to pay the toll tax - others could very well reschedule their journey, if it wasn't of utmost importance. And then came the wacky ideas – having cars of specific colours pass on specific days! NonstopFresher cheaply brought up my sole point some five-minutes later under the garb of a new point! I couldn’t help but cut him short with a rude ‘Yes… that has already been discussed of course!’ Boy- was he pushing it!

I had my time to payback all that when he started – “Also if it is a big vehicle…” My mind was on fire – more with irritation than anything else! ACT NOW!!! Hmm.. I thought - WHAT TO DO?! Well.. give it a high-sounding name! Well - OKAY DONE... what next?! SHOOT! And then, finally - I had my twenty seconds of fame. “Vehicle-specific taxation” – don’t ask me what it means, it sounded good – and apparently meant that the small cars had to pay less. Along the way, we also drifted to the point that lorries, trucks and heavy-goods vehicles could be taxed higher during the office hours so that they could schedule their operations. Well, if anything, we had a surplus of points - getting corporates and commercial houses on the other side of the bridge to sponsor a second bridge... and also , apparently - I wasn't the only one thinking about 'well-sounding-names' – NonStopFresher barged in with "staggered work timings". Oh well, it reminded me of Kiran Mazumdar Shaw's biocon - but I had been advised to keep real life examples away for case studies - and I forced myself to do just that. Overall – considering the kind of group discussions I was conditioned to, you’d agree with me if I say that it was wholly unsatisfactory. There were few overtly aggressive players - not a group where you could break free from the pack to make your mark.

Thankfully, in the minutes that followed, I managed to scribble my summary all the way to the last line. And I finished in time - WOW! Well, in any case - this was new. Usually - the GD/case study went off well. So by the time I was called in for my interview, I was pretty much at ease. Today, I knew that the PI would play a key role in my selection. About interviews, there were two things that hadn't been touched in any interview till date - a) the stock markets, and b) the "venture" I keep throwing at every second interviewer - nobody till date had asked me about what that venture could possibly be... oh well. They had warned me against it – and I was sure that as long as I didn’t get into specifics, I’d survive. Well – mea culpa. I did, and I sure as hell paid the price for it.

The Bong Massacre…

Before I knew it – the three applicants ahead of me had finished their time in the trenches. Feedback seemed encouraging, indeed – cordial tete-a-tete minus any offensive questions on probability or statistics.

Smartie, in the meanwhile had stepped out to relieve himself, I suspect. Dunno why this keeps happening to me! As he summoned me inside on his way back, I stepped into the room and closed the door firmly. Well, this was it - and as I walked up to them, I started on a very confident 'Good Morning Sirs' note.

Imposso: Morning... please sit.

I made myself comfortable in the hot-seat - as comfy as I could with 2 Bongs staring at me.

Imposso: Your marksheets, please.

Well, I decided to hand them the entire folder which had all my certificates. Of course – give me the slightest opportunity and I’m gonna do a Japanese fan-dance of all my extra-curricular certificates. Well, it’s a different thing that you might not see them after you’ve seen my BITS Pilani grades-sheet!!!

Smartie in the meanwhile seemed transfixed to his Thinkpad, which I suspect had the details of all the candidates...

Imposso: So - Kaushik, tell us a little bit more about yourself.
Aami: Of all the clichés… tsk! tsk! Sir, I was born and brought up in Calcutta - and I did all twelve years of my schooling in Don Bosco School, Calcutta...

Smartie: Interrupts. Park Circus, or Liluah?
Aami: Woah... they knew stuff about Calcutta and the two different branches of the school! Hmmm…another born-n-brought-up-in-Cal, I suppose. Park Circus, Sir.

Smartie uttered a 'hmmmm...' and shook his head with the obvious pleasure of having established his familiarity with my profile. In any case, I decided to continue.

Aami: As a result of spending such a long period of time with my family I have developed strong ties with them. My father is an electrical engineer and currently working as the Deputy Manager (again, I missed the word 'general' - I dunno why, I keep goofing up my Dad's job profile) in Techno Electric, India. My mother's a Geography teacher is Shree SharoDa AashrOM Balika BidyalOy - I was using cheap tactics here - deliberately using the Bong pronunciation - to strike a chord - well, it failed - and if anything, miserably. My sister's in her second year of Engineering. I've always thought of myself as very goal-oriented. For example, I was never really a class-topper, but I wanted to get into BITS Pilani and set myself that goal - and finally, did end up getting there....

Smartie: Cuts in again, with a snide look panning his face. Yes, and that is all you seemed to have done. Get into it...

Uh-oh! Unwarranted attack!!! And that too, way too early in the interview! Very very unexpected. I glanced at him nervously - forced a smile.... and mumbled a ‘Sirrr…’

Smartie: You joined and then your grades went decreasing and decreasing... and then in the third year especially...
Aami: Get up Kaushik, fight! Get up, you dog! Sir… that was not just because of academics - I had jaundice - for which I could be on campus for only two months of the five that a normal semester spans. (This is where I should have taken out my marksheet and showed him the withdrawal 'W's - but I was handcuffed - I couldn't - the second sheet had a rainbow of D's - which given a chance, I would not bring their attention to - I decided to continue.) I'm not saying that this is the sole reason - however, this did play a part...

Imposso: Meanwhile, he had arrived at my marksheet - and was looking very intently at the first page. Well, in all honesty – that’s all that was visible to him - the four pages were stapled and inserted one over the other in the sheath - would be pull it out? Would he? Your Maths - you seem to made poor grades in all your maths-based courses...
Aami: Oh no! I forced an incredulous look! - Sir....not all...

Imposso: Boy, did he have me on a platter! No... no... I'm seeing here - Maths I - C.... Maths II - C.... Maths III - C.. Optimization - C...

Oh well, didn't I tell you I was consistent? The moment, he said Maths II, I was almost tempted to say - Sir, thank heavens, it's not a D! It's called Death by Linear-Algebra… LOL!!! [:)]

Imposso: Only Prob-Stat you have made an 'A'...Ah! salvation! Awrite - lemme hear it, fellas [:)]

Now what... would he ask me a question on Probability-Statistics? He was pouring over my courses - a part of me wanted to offer to take out the whole transcript - but seeing the kind of reaction C's had on him, I decided to stop. D's would obviously kill him, if not bury him altogether.

Imposso: Principles of Management.... what have you done in it?
Aami: Ah! the circle of life! if you remember, I first faced this question in my first interview - K, and now, my last. This time around, I decided to do justice to it. Sir, it was a course where we were introduced to the basics of management principles - we learnt about various analysis tools such as the SWOT analysis and had modules on HR-related issues, ethics, marketing and strategy...

Imposso: Okay Kaushik - please do a SWOT analysis of yourself...
Aami: WWWHAT????! I'm sure for a second - my face would have had a BIG “OH-FUCK!!!” scribbled all over it. I quickly masked it - and thought for a few seconds. Strengths...okay. Weaknesses..okay. Opportunities... umm, still okay. Threat?! Umm - bong interview panels, I suppose. [:)] Sir… would you like me to use a paper to draw it for you?

Imposso hesitated for a quick second, but Smartie quickly pushed a paper under my nose and egged me on – “Sure, sure... use this.”

Hmmmm...now what?! I drew the cross and labelled the four quadrants and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. And then, I had to start!

Aami: Blabber-mode on! Sir, first my strengths. One - I would like to mention my ability of performing diverse roles. My ability to fit into any given responsibility - I would label that as one of my strengths. Second - I paused for a while, as I was not really sure of how to word this - my ability to empathize with others - to put myself in another person's shoes - this has helped me immensely in the past - in conflict diffusion and enhancing communication channels between people (Say what ?!) Thirdly - I would also mention my Determination - to perform under pressure - and achieve a goal I set for myself…

No reaction. There could have coconuts in front of me, for all I cared. I had to go on.

Aami: Amongst my weaknesses, I would first mention my ability to be euphemistic in situations which demand tough-talking. Sometimes when what has to be conveyed is not really the best of news, I have sugar-coated it to make it seem better - this is not necessarily the best thing to do - as I have seen in the past - people to tend to take you for granted. Of course, these have been learning experiences and I have improved over the past few years. A second thing I would mention is my tendency of getting too attached to tasks I might undertake - this is in specific reference to an incident from my college days - (will they ask?) - sometimes if we treat things on their personal worth to us, we might not deal with it in the best way possible. In my case, I ought to have decentralized power and delegated responsibility to handle it better...

Imposso: So you're basically telling me that you're not a very good manager.
Aami: Shocked! They were actually trying to stress me out. Or maybe, I think I stressed them into stressing me out. No Sir, what I'm trying to tell you is - that I have identified these weaknesses and learnt from past experiences to make sure I don't repeat them, and that I would make a very good manager indeed.

Imposso: Hmmmm... and having uttered that profound syllable, he looked down.

I had to continue.

Aami: Moving on to Opportunities.... what the hell do I say?!.... I think I am in that point in my life where a two year management course would fall in line with my long-term goal of launching a venture of my own.

Imposso: Starts digging… What kind of venture are you exactly looking at? – my grave!!!
Aami: Unsuspecting poor old me. Sir... it would have to be something where I can leverage my present experience in the software field - so in all probability, a software company to cater to segments that are yet to be tapped.

Smartie: Jumps in - I could literally see the excitement in his eyes. So what will it be - a products company or a services company...?
Aami: I was walking a fine line between what I knew and what I didn't. I knew I had to be careful. Sir, it would probably be a products company. The recent trend has been that of a shift towards services companies - and that sector is inundated, if I could call it - (seriously Kaushik - wouldn't flooded been much simpler...) - so if it has to be in service, it would have to be in niche segments. In products - there are not many companies in India that have a product to sell -

Smartie: Do you know of any Indian companies that have products?
Aami: Uh-oh - no, I didn't. But I had to try thinking - suddenly, almost like a flash of lightning - I knew I had the answer. [:)] Yessir, there are a few products like say Finacle - the banking software product of Infosys - and then we have Flexcube by I-flex...

Imposso: With an impatient look on his face. Okay... so what would your product do?
Aami: Oh dear - he was asking me for a business plan... no no, where did I lead them to? And that too - I really don't remember committing to a product plan at all! Sir, today most of the software India makes is exported abroad - because that is where the money is. But in about ten years, India would be able to invest in software products which might leverage some of the otherwise uncommon segments....

Imposso: Boy, I couldn’t have named him anything else! Yes... so tell me. What will your product do?
Aami: Jeez. This was insane - I began feeling like a newbie trying to convince two VC's of the sense and sensibility of my idea. I waged on. Sir to quote examples from the top of my head - we could leverage them in fields like health and education...

Point to be noted - SO far, I always tried baiting the panel. This was one case - I might as well call it - the revenge of the panel - no idea why, no idea how - but they had successful managed to drag me into a slipstream, where I was going too fast to stop.

Imposso: Six feet under. Okay - so what would you product do?
Aami: Now, there was no turning back. Okay, Sir - let me try explaining this. I might be a little biased because of my backing in a database company. Let us take the health sector - we could have an interface where the a patient's details could be stored in a central repository - and this would span across the country - so no matter where the patient is - he could get a check-up done... and...

Smartie: Cuts in - But what good is that? I could simply buy an Oracle database and then install it...
Aami: With a knowing look. Ah... but Sir-

Smartie: Interrupts. And then... I could access the database anywhere and get information...
Aami: With a pleading look. Yes… and if you-

Smartie: Again! And I could use any existing service to do that - that would not exactly be a product!
Aami: Kept quiet for a while - and let him finish. Done? Good, phew! Sir, this would be different - this would be a light-weight application which would have an integrated interface - so that when I, say - Kaushik Mukherjee – peace brother, do not kill a fellow Bong! - I go to a shop and ask for three doses of Insulin - the shopkeeper enters my name and enters the medicine bought - and this connects to that central repository so that even before the medicine can be billed - there might be a message flashed across the screen which says that - 'Kaushik Mukherjee is currently under such and such medication and three-doses of insulin could prove to be potentially harmful to him' - so in this way, we could sell it to every vendor.. We need a system where from the time a person is born - we can store his profile and keep updating it with data - as and when he undergoes treatment...

Smartie: Obviously, in no mood to listen. But do you think it is that easy to get a drug... you need a prescription for it…
Aami: Now where did that come from?! Sir... I could go to a medical shop to buy so many things – ahem, of course! - but not all medicines need to have a prescription.

Imposso: Looked quite disbelieving. No... but for the kind of drugs you are suggesting, you would need prescriptions. Also… it is not that easy... and in any case, how do you think a management degree is going to help you?
Aami: Could I get back in the game? Sir… a management degree would help me understand the many factors affecting a business. Today, I have contributed as a developer and a designer - but to actually run a successful business in a competitive environment - I would not like to be stuck in a desk job. I need to go beyond - and understand the scenarios that leverage the software that we code at our desks - the business and economic factors behind it...

Imposso: The look turned an irritated purple. No... even this empathizing and MBA and all - how will it help in opening your company?
Aami: I was hanging on for dear life. Sir... when we run a company - we deal more with people - we have to bring out the best in the people who work for us - and most of the work would be done by the people who you employ - so it's imperative that we learn to be very responsive to the needs and requirements of people around us- BANG! Interrupted!

Imposso: Shaking his head. No... but that you can do even in your present job - work there for a while - rise up in your company - you'll deal with people, you'll understand the many aspects of your business as well - why a management degree in this school ?
Aami: Sir... thing is - I believe an MBA degree is a two-way exchange. You have to bring your experience with you when you join a school - and learn what you can from the school - use it along with your experience, to gain a competitive edge in the industry. I believe I have the experience - having seen a product almost through it's entire life-cycle... a management course would definitely help me know more about the other aspects of business and running one's own venture.

Imposso: He was shaking violently. Scary, very very scary. No... no... but still - how would an MBA help you ? Why an MBA...?
Aami: I had to stick to my guns. Sir, my motivations for doing an MBA are very different from that of most of the people around me. Most people do an MBA simply because of the herd mentality - because they find people around them doing it. To me, an MBA is more than that - it's a bridge between the present and the future, where I want to be. I'm not one to be swayed by the most lucrative offers - I don't want the highest paying job on campus. I don't want an I-banking job. (Oh boy! This was getting more fantastic by the minute!) I don’t want to do this just for the sake of the money. What I am looking at is leveraging my experience in this field to learn more about running my own company some day...

Imposso: He looked as if he’d found the net to trap me in. But - no no... you say you don't need the money. But you have to agree that money is the - one of the critical factors of any business...
Aami: Yessir - one of the things, all ventures need to start off...

Imposso: With a self-satisfied grin. Yes... so have you thought about the money - the finances, where is it going to come from?
Aami: I felt – ummm… just about 223 kms from home. [:(] Sir, as with most ventures, we would have to convince Venture Capitalists about our plan - we could arrange for a loan - or convince bigger companies or the government to invest in this... Today, most of the software we develop is for exports because that is where money is - in the next ten years, this country will be rich enough to invest in software for health-

Imposso: Cut me for the umpteenth time. But that is just one thing...what do you think are the main problems - or difficulties you might have to overcome.
Aami: Think, boy! Think! Sir - one would definitely need funding to invest in the development of the software - for that we might have to look at an initial investment-

Imposso: No... no... - he was back to his irritated purple - what else - no funding, that is a problem in any line of business.
Aami: For God’s sake – where were we!? Sir - then again, our software would need machines - and since installing a computer would be much easier in urban locations - the first phase of the project might target only a section of the customer base - in rural locations - not only do we need machines, we also need people who can operate these machines. Also... we need to make sure that the process is being done in the right way.

Imposso: So… investment and machines - but all you're talking about is the financial aspect of it… what are the other problems...
Aami: What on earth did he want? Martian attacks!? Sir - we need to follow bundling process - we can bundle the billing and the data entry to mandate the steps involved - for example, in a shop a person might choose to skip entering the details to directly generate the bill, but when we integrate it all in the same application, he has to go through the first step to go through the billing-

Imposso: No... no…no... - Well, you’ll understand it the day you try convincing a Bong - you're not getting it. It is not that easy - what are the other problems you can think about?
Aami: Sir… doctors...I ventured in a rather uncertain tone.

Imposso: Eyes lit up - ah, yes - what doctors...?
Aami: Was that it? Sir, we need doctors - we do not have direct exposure in the health field - so we would need qualified doctors to develop a repository of drugs and medicines...

Imposso: Crossface! But why do you need a doctor for that...
Aami: HEEELP!!! Sir, we need both people from medicine and the pharma industry to store data about medicines, their effects-

Smartie: Decided to sock a few from his side. Do you know that individual hospitals already have a database where every detail about their patients is stored... and that they use it...
Aami: I wanna go home! Sir, I know that - but as of today - they exist in isolation. Although, it might sound unthinkable at first, we could come up with a system with connects all the hospitals and medical centres across the country.

Smartie: With a decidedly intellectual look. Have you heard about 'Doctor-patient confidentiality' ...?

Now, I was taken aback by this - we had started on a note about entrepreneurship being a long-term goal and these guys had taken me for one helluva ride. I decided to let him continue...

Smartie: The medical history of any patient is confidential and with the doctor whom he consults... how can that be made public?
Imposso: Adds to the symphony. Only that I was the one who was facing the music. See... for such a long time, you described your plan - but you did not mention this 'doctor-patient confidentiality' - apparently very happy at this new term he found - even once...
Aami: I was tired – bruised and battered. Sir, at this point I have not thought out all aspects of my business plan - in fact education… sorry, health sector (?) was just one of the ideas...and I was trying to give a possible scope where I could launch a venture...

Imposso: With that dissatisfied look, his face seemed to be permanently set in. No..no.. but I'm not convinced. You don't seem to have thought of all the issues relating to your business plan...
Aami: Oh, man – gimme a break, it's not like I'm gonna start my company tommo. Sir, but I was trying to give you an insight into what I thought might be a lucrative sector to launch a venture in... as of today, it's difficult to predict otherwise...

Imposso: As pointed as it could get. But how do we know that you actually mean all these things - and are not saying these things just for the heck of it - teaching ballroom dances - how will that help in opening a company...by when did you say you would like to launch your venture ?
Aami: Dances?!? Where’d that come from?! Sir... preferably by the time I'm 32-33.

Imposso: No - but you don't seem to have thought through the plan... fully (nodding a strong disapproval)
Aami: Dead man talking. Sir...it's not like this is a definite business plan - it was more of an example I was trying to furnish - I mentioned education - err... I did it a second time! - health, I mean - and I was trying to give you an example of how we could implement something-

Imposso: This was no way nearing its end. No... why don't you go into I-banking ?
Aami: Officer, lemme go..!!! Sir, simply because it is not in line with what I would like to do in the long run. I would like to use my present experience in the field-

Imposso: Smirks. Do you know what is i-banking...?
Aami: Yes, thank you very much! Humph! Sir… you do 'Finance' (oops! too casual a start) and get into one of the I-banks. Their primary role is in advising corporate bodies about their investments - mergers and acquisitions - for example, in case they want to raise capital through private equity issue, etc. Also they usually charge a fee of 0.5% to 5% of the transaction value and as a sign of affirmation - they also invest a small portion of their own money in the investment option that they recommend.

Imposso: Suddenly switches tracks. Hmmmm...do you have any role models - as in people whom you look up to ?
Aami: Brain-dead. Sir, could I ask one question - is this related to someone whom I know personally, or could it be anyone whom I know...

Imposso: Non-commital. No… no.... someone who you know something about
Aami: This was weird - I had prepared a Richard Branson - now could I pitch his name forward - no, must be someone personally related to me - who ? Mom! but they wouldn't find any link to my darned business plan - which seem to be the flavour of the day. Dad ?! Hmmm... lemme see. Sir - I would mention my father. Simply because he himself quit his job in the middle and launched a venture of his own - unfortunately that did not work out - and I have seen him through the entire phase of ups and downs and how he sustained through it - and got back into the service industry after that. Even though his own venture did not click, he never dissuaded me from trying to do my own thing.

Imposso: Inexhaustible!!! No... give me an example of something successful - you're saying this didn't work out..
Aami: Enough, I had to interrupt! Sir, it's not that. The fact that inspite of things not working out, he has discussed all that went wrong with me - so that I do not make the same mistakes - and actually learn from them. That says quite a bit.

At this point, I think he got a little wary about the fact the interview had taken a very personal turn - and he couldn't push me beyond a point. Smart-n-wily thing that he turned out to be, he decided to switch tracks.

Imposso: Okay - no... someone else - tell me about someone else who you look up to...
Aami: I decided to pause for a while. Not only did I look like I was thinking - I actually was ! Okay - Mr.Branson, this is where you come to my rescue. Well, Sir - if I can include people who I have not met personally but have inspired me - I would like to mention Sir Richard Branson-

Imposso: Jumped at my throat. Richard Branson- what do you know about Richard Branson?
Aami: What now?! Sir, as I mentioned earlier - my knowledge of him is limited to what has been published about him - but yes, inspite of all the media-bashing he attracts because of his unconventional methods - there are some characteristics of his which have definitely made an impression on me. After all, he started with a Record Mail Order company - and from there expanded into the entire Virgin empire. His theory of recycling the money to start a new venture proved to be very beneficial...

Smartie: Back with a bang! But this money - where did he get the money? It is after all the public's money right?
Aami: Preposterous assumptions! No sir, when he launched his Mail Order company, it was funded by a loan from the bank. It was only later when he branched into his airlines business that he decided to go for a public offer of shares... His theory was not to let the profits from any business lie idle - he always had a new plan to make his money work harder for him - so with the profits, he kept expanding his business. What was his Record Mail order company - expanded to Airlines, Books, etc.

Smartie: Not to be outdone - Yes... but to open Virgin airlines, he used the who's money? [mind you, in bonglish - this is perfectly permissible] public money - so don't you think he would have some responsibility towards his shareholders... so should he spend all the money from the airlines to launch new businesses ?
Aami: Talk my language, baby! Sir - I would say that instead of adopting any one path - what one should do is - return a bit of the profits as dividends, so as to retain the shareholder loyalty - and the rest of the profits could either be re-invested in the same business or used to launch a new venture. Also, if we used the entire profits to payout a hefty dividend, the shareholders might read it as the end of a bull-run for the share and book their profits. This could lead to them selling their shares. Rather than that, if we use a bit of the profits to invest-

Imposso: Upper jab. There... you're talking about investing. And then you say you do not want to be in I-banking?!
Aami: Okay, so I was Pinnochio and he was ‘puppeting’ me for all he was worth! Sir, I was talking about investing in the business or launch a business - it would all be under the Virgin umbrella, so people would either stick to the share or even if they shift to some other branch of the Virgin business, it would be under the same roof.

Smartie: Hmmmm... Kaushik - you seem to have a LOT of extra-curriculars - swimming, teaching western ballroom dances... playing the sitar, kung-fu - although you didn't mention the last one, I noticed that in your folder...

Woah - sharp! That was impressive. But I guess when you see a “semi-japanese-fonted” certificate with an orange dragon on it - chances are that you would remember it. He continued… finally one aspect where I could seek some solace.

Smartie: ...long-distance biking.... online share trading (looks up) - although I don't know how that is an extra-curricular...
Aami: (It was a bait, of course - would they finally ask me about the markets?!) Sir, it's a hobby - a pastime. Not an extra-curricular.

Smartie: So what is it that you are currently involved in... which of these activities ?
Aami: The usual routine. Sir... as far as swimming goes - I haven't been doing much of it in Hyderabad - I mainly did it during my college days when I was a part of the BITS team that took part in the district-level championship where we won the gold-

Imposso: I think he lived to interrupt me! yes... but what are you involved in these days !?
Aami: Drat - me and my big mouth. I did it again.. I thought for a split second - what do I say? Karate ? - nopes, they'll kill me - how does karate relate to your business plan ! [:D] I decided to play safe. Sir, I'm a part of the Oracle music band, Trisha - I'm the lead vocalist and I play the sitar and although I'm not the drummer, I do know how to play the drums as well.

Smartie: Hmmm… thinks for a while – okay, so what are the different kinds of...

What ?! Music ?! Drums ?! Sitars !??! Raags?!

Smartie: Swimming strokes ?
Aami: I tell - you ask a swimmer this question - and it's actually insulting. What the heck - you're asking a swimmer the styles? Sir, there are four primary styles - the freestyle, the backstroke - the butterfly and the breast-stroke. Besides this there is an unofficial 'crawl' stroke - which is what most of the newcomers learn first - it helps them get a feel of things before learning the other strokes.

Imposso: Oh, his penchant for off-track questions! ....okay – the swimming pools in India, do you have any ‘plan’ which could improve their conditions and the infrastructure?

I was dumbstruck. Apoplexy – at it’s worst, and I could not shake it out. How on earth was I expected to answer that? I looked distinctively at discomfort.

Imposso: Broke into a grin – oh that’s okay, you don’t have to make up a plan if you don’t have one… - unfair – Goddamit, unfair!!! - what is India's tally in the commonwealth Games?
Aami: Yes... yes... man, yes - the medals tally had just happened to catch my eye while I was waiting my turn outside. Sir...12 (or was it 8 - I decided to stick to 12) - India is currently third in the list (obviously, feeling very happy with myself)

Smartie: Grins. Is this the medals tally or the gold tally?
Aami: Eeeks! It was the gold tally - and that guy had asked me the medals tally - save situation! Sir, I'm, sorry - it's the Gold tally I was talking about.

Imposso: So - do you have any questions-

And this is exactly when I interrupted him. DAMN ! VERY VERY BAD THING TO DO.

Aami: Roobish. Most of the medals came from shooting and power-lifting...

And that drowned the 'any questions' question - I waited and looked at Imposso. Willing him to ask the question again...He didn't. Damn - I missed it. The only time any panel had asked me the question - and I had actually prepared two pretty sharp questions…

I was losing time. They were looking at each other - that look, which usually comes 5 seconds before they nod their heads in unison and mutter the 'thank you'. Should I bring up the topic - should I push and say that "I have a question" - should I barge in and say - "Sir, I think you just asked me if I had a question"

Think, Kaushik - decide. Okay, one of the questions was regarding entrepreneurial cells in IIM-B : I decided to chuck it – I’d had enough entrepreneurial talk to last me a while. The other question – IBP, International Business in Practice… should I? shouldn't I?

I had to take a call. I decided against it. A quick lookback said it all. Over the course of the last 20 minutes, I had been pretty assertive, if not forceful altogether - and I decided against forcing myself into another conversation. Things had not gone off as smooth as they should have, but I had stood my ground. Things were OK.

Sometimes, you just have to let go. It's not satisfactory, but you know when you HAVE to. I relented. As the customary thank-you’s signaled the end of my spate of interviews and I walked out to the questioning faces of the remaining applicants – I knew it was all over.

Now, the wait would begin.


In retrospect

If you’ve reached this far – I thank you, and just so that I know who has been this patient with my pensive ramblings - I’d request you to leave a comment. As a rule, I do not blog – simply because some of what I write is too private a shade of me to paint the town in. This is where I would draw ‘bedraggled’ to a close. The verdicts of course, would be updated as and when they are available…. Of late, there have been times when the odd well-wisher, the long-lost friend pitched in with a – ‘Hey! I’m gonna need you to guide me through the CAT maze pretty soon’. This gets me thinking - they’re unique in their own individual manner, each more deserving than the other, each with loads of talent in them to contribute to the lucky few who come across them. Unfortunately, we’re still in the collective. What is then that one thing that puts you miles ahead of the rest? I remember the time I first scribbled these words on the inner page of my Class XII school diary – the Commonwealth ’98 Games motto – ‘Aspiration leads to Motivation, Motivation leads to Determination – and that’s how new stars are born’.

Some things, they say - simply do not change with time. I agree.

Sing for the Moment

It's just sex and violence,
Melody and silence...

- Bittersweet Symphony, The Verve

Verdict : Selected for the PGP batch of 2006-2008.