The Consult'thing

After having spent more than 35% of the year interning, Pareto(Mr. 80/20) would be cross with me, if i do not write enough about it. With due credit to a friend of mine who once said : 'Unless you have the courage to make fun of your profession, you would never enjoy it.'

For laymen: The job of consultants in plain English is to compare Apples with Oranges. No wonder they travel back and forth from Shimla to Nagpur. Fondly call them Client Locations. There is less to Consult'thing than borrowing from other industries and countries to facilitate firms to climb the right ladders in a game of you know what.

Again for laymen who question their very existence: A consultant, they say is one who takes away sheep from a shepherd for counting his sheep. The question remains why the shepherd needs a consultant? Can't he count his own sheep? He cannot. A shepherd falls asleep as soon as he starts counting his sheep. Consultants do not. In fact they wake up at 4 in the morning and start out on an expedition to count people's sheep.

There is also a popular view that consultants speak in the air. They sure do. A quarter of their life is spent at 25000 metres above mean sea level. They are the ones who actually use all that useless stuff you report spam from yatra(dot)com and other travel sites. A consultant without a frequent flyer number is like an oil company without a forward. For some of my less geekier friends, both these situations are equivalent to a computer without auto-sleep. Very uneconomical.

Consultants love to sell old wine in new bottle. The older the better. They know the best cures to any problem come from grandmothers book of recipes. Old wine found. Now for a new bottle, just create a D.A.D.I framework. Deploy. Analyse. Develop. Integrate. There you go. A framework that could pull wool over ears of even the most native speakers of hindi.

A consultant without laptop is like fish without water. The laptop search history itself is worth a million pounds. The hard disk is filled with pptx. The mail box is filled with travel details. The trash box is filled with mails from IT department. laptop hang is next only to heart fail.

While making statements, I now ensure that they are equally applicable to shirt button manufacturers, dog kennel painters, rain-water harvesters and precision rocket makers alike (Read Globe). To a great extent, thats how we ensure we are always on the right track. And that is how we handle so many things back to back.

Internship was great. The classic case of - Firm recruits Intern. In Turn it expects power-points. The principal-agent problem. But somehow at the end of it all, I do have a positive answer to learnings from internship. Project mentor ensured work was interesting. Co-interns ensured boredom was at bay. A metallic box of chocolates made up for any glitches. Work place had its fair share of diversity. And I could happily cross off Delhi on the places-yet-to-visit list.

Delhi - The tale of A Fine city

Delhi is a fine city. You get fined Rs.200 for spitting. However it doesn’t concern me. Seems I can afford it. The concern would be if everyone is able to afford it. The rising personal disposable income.

Adds a friend Visky: There is a fine of Rs. 200/- for smoking in Palika Bazaar and you know you can bargain everything here for 1/10th the price.

Delhi fines you Rs. 500/- for walking on the metro track. That is if you are caught alive. (Otherwise your legal heir receives a sum of Rs. 50,000/-) Considering a metro rail speeds at 100 kmph with a 2 minute frequency, I would be reporting Guinness for beating a bat at what it does best. Fines are no way to treat an aspiring Batman. Totally explains the sorry state of Indian Super-heroes who i believe have to pay hefty entertainment taxes too. To some extent also explains the sorry state of Indian Athletics.

Travelling over the roof attracts a fine of Rs. 50/-. Understood what LCC (Low cost countries) meant in the economics class. All, a bollywood director has to do is buy a smart card worth Rs.50/- each for the cast. Under 5000/- you have a pretty decent action shot/dance sequence as the (nonde)script demands. Totally explains why so many movies now-a-days have Delhi in their name. They all shifted base from the costlier Bombay.

Unauthorised graffiti (Assuming politician’s vote-me campaigns are authorised graffiti) will lead to imprisonment of 6 months. What is easier to get out of this mess. Unauthorised graffiti in a prison cell of course, where you can get away with a fine of Rs. 1000/-(Read Bail)

Gurgaon (Pronounced Grr..gaon) - Another fine city. Named after the Fine layer of dust that settles on your skin after a minute's walk. Buildings are tall and slender in the ratio of a 15 cm scale. In spite of the busy schedules people respect each other a lot here. But not so much to replace the tip of tongue Indian slang 'Teri...' with 'Aap ki...' followed by referrals to female blood relations.

People said public transport was worse than Tusshar kapoor movies prior to shor in the city. But it is so easy to get a lift here. People in Audi, Skoda and Mercedes stop and invite you in. The catch however is that they need a local person to guide them along in the annoyingly confusing roads. Don't worry if you are not a haryanvi. Who doubts as long as you speak Hindi with a sense of temper.

Wake up One fine morning to catch the early bird and the lazy worm. Delhi is so fine before the sunshine - that is before you get an overdose of Vitamin D. The remaining vitamins you easily gather over a voracious meal in Old Delhi. Delhi makes a fine dine. (Btw Gurgaon doesn't)

Fine. I stop the whine. I have no complaints. I am only :) at all the places I visited in my first ever visit to the national capital. Delhi keeps me well engrossed in the 9 week stay otherwise dominated by .xlsx and .pptx. Three more weeks before I can tag an album The Fine Nine.

The 9 month Nemesis

At wimwi, you live in analogies. If you look at the 9 months you spent as PGP1 and the 9 odd months in gestation, you beat thousands of competitors to be where you are, yet you feel out of place in the womb. Slowly, you settle, the size of the Globe bulges and the pain increases. And then at the end of 9 months, there is something called 'LIFE'. The PGP1 Survivor.

Strange it is how a place changes you faster than the speed at which you adopt it. And hence you are left asking yourself Why after you have done it. This place has Forever:

• Changed the way I express my appreciation
• Changed the way I consume and prepare Juices
• Changed the speed with which I turn the pages
• Changed the speed with which I walk on grass and concrete
• Changed the way I express my words(Read: Bullet Points)

When I look back I see, some of my most cherished moments have a time stamp of xx:59:59 and some of the most humorous moments had a GPS Location: classroom. Attendance norms ensured it was almost always filled, and like one professor says, it is saturated with knowledge, because only the most talented students enter and when they leave they know nothing. True story.

Time flew really fast. Time flew a full cycle. At about this time last year, done with the interviews, I was busy reading random blogs by seniors about life at iim-x(x is a variable and not a city in the series of newly installed iim's), anxiously waiting for updates on Pagalguy, enjoying x versus y fights, taking advice from biased and unbiased mentors....

And it's almost time to welcome a new batch of Fachhas. On any day, you will be handling no less than a few millions of dollars of company's assets. On some days, you would go speechless, for you would have exhausted all your words in an over-night assignment. On some sundays, all you do is refresh your facebook page. On yet another, you are busy surveying people for a project.

On one No moon day, you might be hell-busy mixing colors to win a Rangoli competition. On yet another, in Prof's words, busy torturing data trying to get it confess something. On some 14th, you might stand embarrassed, with dear friends deciding to play a prank on your crush. On yet another, you might be giving a quiz, unannounced, unconvinced, unsure and unable.

PGP-1 changes your name forever and literally teaches you how to EXCEL. PGP-1 changes the time you sleep, the food you eat and the bare minimums you need. PGP-1 helps you understand your potential. Helps you calculate your modulus of elasticity.(Engineers Read: makes you realize how much you can stretch and yet return back to original state.) PGP1 ensures that every word written on this blog makes sense as you read it.

. . . . . . . . . When I look at my womb for 9 months, I see that the chairs were right there throughout. Every year a few feet sit together. At the end of the year they part ways. Very rarely are twins born. Very rarely are triplets born. Very rarely is life going to be as safe as the womb and as cosy as the room. Very rarely is the same experience relived.

The closest way any to relive them will be to read, like and comment on the incoming fachha's status updates and custom messages as they travel along these 9 wonderful months of Life. :|

Eyes Into Eyes. !!!

Eyes Into Eyes

Yet to Break the Ice. !!!

Eyes Into Eyes

A Hidden Glance. A Guise. !!!

Eyes Into Eyes

Anxious. Rolling like a Dice. !!!

Eyes Into Eyes

Caught on. Paid the Price. !!!

Eyes Into Eyes

Once Bitten. Shy Twice. !!!

Eyes Into Eyes

Yet they yearn & Rise. !!!

Eyes Into Eyes

Unsure & Shy. They Realize. !!!

Eyes Into Eyes

Broke the Ice. !!!

Number Nostalgic

There are a few alphabets in everybody's name. There are also a few numbers in everybody's life. Numbers that bind you with memories. Your first room number. Your Dorm number. Your roll number. Your board examination total. Your B'date. Someone special's B'date.

At Wimwi, you are supposed to come prepared to class with Number-Work. NPV, EOQ, Working Capital, Payoff of a Call Option, Demand Forecast, Market Share, P/E - Everything is a number. Everyday you run into numbers - sometimes 3 places past decimal point. They stay in mind till the class ends or your attention ends - whichever is earlier.

There exists a different class of numbers stamped somewhere amongst neurons.

Over a game of bowling, I witnessed a number. 211. 4 Roommates on first day of the college. Each had a different story before we met. And then our stories overlapped. It remained the only room to have all 4 mechanical engineers. Now we live in all 4 directions of the country - Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jamshedpur & Bangalore.

A few months earlier 178 turned out to be net bill of a Big Bazaar Outlet. For very long in my life it was Just another even number. Came July 2005 and it was my identity. Must have written it some 1000 times in 4 years on exam papers, library book issues, event registrations, fee receipts, doodling randomly, etcetera.

19 was just another prime number. It already isn't. A few years down the line, It could turn up in strange ways. The price of a kilogram of tomatoes. An article of constitution. Points scored in one turn of Scrabble. Minimum temperature on a pleasant day. First Innings lead of team India. Group Size of your Workplace. It could touch you anywhere.

Then there are numbers you are sub-consciously conditioned. 3.14, 22/7 can mean only one thing. 273 will mostly remind you zero kelvin. 9 will be the number of planets. 101 will always be Dalmatians. 200 will be Sachin Tendulkar. 12 will be the signs of Zodiac. Inspite of Ophiuchus.

I do not believe in numerology. I don't care what it predicts. It is so open-ended, I could fit in anything that happens to me in it. Truth is you feel about some numbers consciously or sub-consciously. You Catch up on some old friends and memories and your day naturally turns out to be good (or bad).

The Facebook Diary 2010

So, 2010 died. I knew it for 12 long months. Looking at the facebook over the past year... In a moment injects you with the year gone-by. With due respect to my Dorm name here, Retrospecting Month by Month:

January : Zed hates working on sundays. Zed hates working on any day. Zed hates working. Zed loves working for sponsorship. Any Day. Zed loves Wheels. :)

February : Zed is mad at movie releases. Zed is still valentine hunting two weeks into the month. Zed hates people's horro(r)scope in the news feed.

March : Zed is reading volumes on PagalGuy. Zed watches KCK after a long A-Day interview.

April : Zed hates lack of summer holidays for first time in life. Zed posts 'A' on Apr 26th 2010 at 18:00 hours. Zed is busy replying ThanQ's on his facebook page.

May : Zed is enjoying Taureanism. Zed wishes he had a real WALL with all the scraps on it. Zed realises 'Earn a living' & 'Get a Life' sound similar but are not. Zed resigns. Zed gets his new Cam.

June : Zed gets his Dell'ivered. Zed enters A. Zed updates blog on a sleepless night. Zed enjoys under artificial rain in a leading Indian B-school's campus.

July : Zed is cross at Kathy Engel. Zed learns the power of W(ha)T(i)F Analysis. Zed Witnesses Wetness at Wimwi. Zed is looking for a washing machine REMedial. Zed carries a few coins, a deck of cards and a pair of dice to an open book probability exam so he could experiment even if he cant make out anything.

August : Zed is part of a historic T-riumph and a true EchhadharEE. Zed sets the alarm clock at 6 A.M to go to sleep. Zed played a game of Dumb C where 'Shawshank ka Badla' was guessed as a movie name.

September : Zed is dyslexic now. Zed learns the power & usage of Globe. Zed is knee deep in deadlines gasping for breath. Zed hates the inventor of snooze.

October : Zed identifies himself with Kotler Keller koshy & Zah. Zed cant make out what is LONG and what is SHORT - Be it Financial markets or Goals in Life.

November : Zed is :) in Unnees - The concept on Diwali Day. Zed is part of a week whose result was 378 :D 's. Zed involved in a huge Status Update War. Zed turns Tintin on Facebook Cartoon Week.

December : Zed completes an academic requirement named Leadership. Zed's Dell keeps him warm in winter. Zed has a lot of enemies and is excessively tagged on facebook for no fault of his. Zed turns a Zebra.

2010 : Zed is happy he is part of a Golden Jubilee Celebration of A college and an alumnus of another that is celebrating one in the same year. Zed is happy that a T-shirt design is worn by someone somewhere in campus daily. Zed is happy at the views generated on the college's Golden jubilee Video. Zed is happy at the Laser sized Life show at IIM - A.

Zed is happy that he could witness both Sachin's 200 and Sachin's 50th Test Century.

Zed is happy that he happened to meet a few special people.

Zed is :) Zed is :D Zed is :P Zed is :( Zed is :| Zed is :)

P.S : Zed is happy that he chose to write this blog over what is yet another Assignment.

Young at Heart !!!

Yesterday, was a field visit day. We witnessed a 100 experiments in Rs.1000/- initiative. Simple experiments to demonstrate simple facts that make you scratch your head. It was fun reliving the good old school days.

At Wimwi, this was not the only day we put ourselves in Class 5 shoes. The last time I played Four Cups (as popularly called in my part of the country) was Standard 5. 12 Years later I happened to play it again. Yes, The same game where you write colors on one side and a secret message on the other. And you get ready to be teased the rest of the day.

With the medium of instruction using management exercises & real cases over long laggard lectures, it is fun to actually be a part of the system. In the past one month we have made close to 2000 boats, 600 jumping frogs, Airplanes and other weird stuff hard to put a name to.

After all, most things that you learn here is something human brain is conditioned from birth with. There are so many things we as kids behaved rather than deciphering why.

When we were young, we played Name Place Animal Thing. The guessing game. Guess the same as the opposite player and you get 5 points. Guess differently and you get 10 points. Weren't we sub-consciously applying Nash Equilibrium (popularly Prisoner's Dilemma) when we actually chose a strategy to maximize our pay-offs.

When your elder brother wanted something, you wanted the same thing. You perhaps knew Operationally Standard product is easy to get over Customized product.

When someone asked us to choose between two options by pointing fingers at us. We playfully caught both fingers and said "Both of Em..." Weren't we actually hedging??

When we made Sand Castles at the beach, wasn't the work a piece of art without any product development analysis? It was purely judgmental.

We were young. We were creative. We didn't fear What is Next. We just couldn't spell the Jargon. Now, we pronounce the jargon. We lost the former. But being young at heart is a choice you can always make.

I started with the field visit. So it is only logical I end with it. This happened to be one of the most beautiful pixels on an eventful day less the long transit time.

Summers in Winter

Before I came to WIMWI, I was on PagalGuy. I was sure I was going to meet a lot of people who had too strong opinions on too strange topics and if you get the flow right, people whose messages read, "I attempted 57 out of 60 questions. Remaining three questions were wrong. I think the cutoff will be 58 out of 60. The system is so unfair." I did meet some of them.

Summers at Wimwi happen in early winter. Climatically it isn't cold enough. Emotionally very hot and intense. The name is somehow apt. Summers is celebrated with a lot of opinions here. Before entering one of the group-discussions my friend advised me to look up the horoscope. Taurus said that I was going to meet a lot of self-centered people today. Well, it predicted right.

If u observe closely, In any GD, you find the following characters:

1. The Ice-Breaker - His job is pretty similar to the tube-light starter. Chip in when everyone is hesitant, show some leadership and relax for the most part.
2. The know-it-all - Every alternate word spoken in the GD comes out of his throat.
3. The know-it-none - Frequently uses 'Adding to...', 'Building on...', 'Supporting his...',
4. The Tangent Thinker - Wanders away from the original topic by usage of words like "Thinking tangentially', "Radically different", "Looking from a new perspective..."
5. The De-digressor - His job is to chip in with "I think we are digressing from the topic" every 5 minutes.

People who do not believe in Class participation also fight to insert a point. There is always one individual whom everyone hates post the GD.

Interviews in many ways are the reverse of the pre-placement talks by firms. You face questions like "Tell me something about yourself that is not on your resume" and "Why this particular firm". The firms are just taking revenge of their ppt sessions when you asked Why are you here and Tell me something about yourself that is not in your ppt. This said, It is the most student-empowered placement program i have been through.

As the process progresses, facebook updates reach a peak, Usage of :D 's and :) 's. and subtle status messages rise. You find African nation 'Congo' in the trending topics. Perhaps due to excessive usage of abbreviated Congratulations. There are always comparisons. There are some backbites. There are some frontbites. Fortunately it isnt cold enough for a frost bite.

But there are things that bind us more than just placements. At the end of cluster 1, when a DayZee wimwian was asked, "Hey, Did you get placed?", the reply comes, "No, We aren't."
That is how we define 'You' and that is what defines us as a batch.

The Golden jubilee Batch - Wimwi 2010-2012 !!!

It comes once in 50 years and never again. You have to be a part of it to experience it.

The pursuit of HappEness

Some people blog just because they have it on their resume. Some others to express. Yet others to impress. The reasons do not matter. The blog does. And I decide to resume something that i classify as interests on my resume.

Life at Wimwi is cruelly awesome. For Cat Aspirants who assume we are all nerds wearing spectacles 5 diopters deep, Good news : The batch average goes less than 1 diopter deep. Pretty much in the reach right. Not the best of analogies but all the best for CAT 2010.

Life at Wimwi is gruelly awesome. You get to see the early bird catching the worm daily. Literally. Once you witness it you go safely to sleep. And then you wake up before the bird digests the worm.

Today, one such morning, I happened to witness this.And then I realized the importance of having a camera ready at hand. :)

More importantly i realized what I wanted to be. Deep down I am still a boy who likes to stare at a speeding airplane till it disappears in thin air(Literally). I am still the one who likes to throw water from the terrace and hear the sound as it taps the ground. Still the one who loves the distinct smell in the air after it rains, still the one who loves to experiment with the size and shape of shadows in the dark, still the one who loves reading old letters from friends & relatives ...

Somewhere in the rush you stop realizing it. The little things that make you happy.

Its festival time and a great opportunity to revisit old friends. Friends are like bank accounts. There is a savings account. There is a current account. You spend the whole life with your current account. You peak in to the savings account sometimes. Life goes on with the current account. All good memories are etched with the savings account.I have decided to send these memories (read photos) as part of an individual level 'Is diwali Aap Kisko Khush kar rahe ho' campaign.

The pursuit of HappEness is more than just a phrase. And there is more than one reason for the 'E' in HappEness.

First view of IIM - A

Finally after a 36 hour long journey I had my first step in IIM - A. Only to see that the college is full of steps. Perhaps it has its own way to teach u things. Life is full of steps. Lets leave philosophy here. The next important thing you will notice is brick. Like someone said that this college was built brick by brick by the people who happened to study here. The next amazing thing is you are lost. Yes, you are. You feel like a rookie on Counter Strike and to top it, the lift here has an G, A and B point instead of 1 and 2. You enter in one direction and exit in the other. Large diametric holes seem to be result of a grenade attack. But will soon realise that its no lesser architects marvel.

As historical as the moment seems they allotted me a number which read '1943'. The best thing i can co-relate myself with 1943 is that I am in WIMWI and 1943 was the time of WWII. Alas !! No other historically significant event i can think of without using google. The previous occupant of this room was a ghajini of sorts from the scribblings on the wood to remind him of things that one might forget after 15 minutes of loosing oneself completely in the awesome campus. Inspired from 3 idiots a 'mm' comes into your room. It becomes clear that he knows the place in and out. Perhaps the one stop shop for all your hostel needs.

One thing u realise very soon here is that your existing GSM/CDMA provider is running deep debt under roaming and you go looking for advice for a new connection. Here everyone has an offer for you. Uninor says that it gives 5% to 60% discount based on which tree you are standing under. tata docomo says that you will be charged on nano-second pulse. Idea gives easy connections as it wont take applications this time to save paper of course. virgin mobile trying to compete in saving paper is not even willing to provide recharge vouchers. Reliance thinks a picture speaks a thousand words and has life-sized hrithik posing with a flute. Sad story there is no ready pick. Students are on the look out of an operator who gives discount proportional to their cat percentiles. Alas.

A few other trivial and unimportant things to notice. The tissues you use inside the campus are themselves branded. They bear the logo and are branded for life. Yes, until they reach the 'Use Me'. The trees here are etched with their own scientific name, perhaps to entice the few of those non-engineer non-commerce people who somehow make it here. Magnifera Indica and Azadirachta Indica included. The college is mainly inhabited by three creatures. The homosapiens, avians and the canines. They bark at the CAT'S that come in but soon make friends. Avians however love being photographed and appeearing in subsequent college brochures. Homo sapiens are the ones that buy SIM cards and implement great ideas. For instance using solar panels to capture energy. A great idea to a place that is generally very hot by the grace of god. And to go green further you have a special place called 'Joos'. And it sells the same things it pronounces. But all organic fresh and healthy. If appy fizz and grappo fizz are 'Two cool drinks to hangout with', Joos is 'Too many cool drinks to hang out with.' Also the best bet in a dry state. Calling it a dry state would be a misnomer. It actually is pretty humid. And locationally the power to follow a time zone of its own. People coming from other side of the subcontinent do not find it easy tracking time just by having a look at the sun. Unlike their territory the moon comes out much before it is dark.

Finishing a post needs a power statement and I have none at my disposal. So i guess this post is going to have a sequel.

The serial Twitter !!!

Women have this extra ordinary capacity to take in minute details of as many as 10 clients in a single day. The capacity to lend an ear to each one of them and give focused attention while not neglecting any household work surprises me. And the fact that they attend these clients between 7 pm and 11:30 pm is incomparable. Okay..Yes, It's about the daily sops. But I tell you this is no mean feat.

I was just wondering how an advanced serial addict would use her twitter account :

7:12 pm - Kanika ropes in experienced truck driver to kill her husband's ex-love.
7:47 pm - Thakur banishes his son for falling in love with a BPL(Below poverty line) girl.
8:13 pm - Manav divorces archana to save his friend's brother's cousin in law's marriage.
8:37 pm - Laali bribes doctor who forgot to take the hippocratic oath to produce a false pregnancy report.
9:04 pm - Abha turns out to be an akhand saubhagyavati. (Beyond my English)
9:49 pm - Shashtriji curses vaishali for mixing poison in her mother in law's milk.
10:21 pm - Mukhiyaji locks up his daughter in the room for reasons to be declared soon.
10:42 pm - mihir supposedly killed for the last 2 seasons returns as a memory lost fisherman
11:17 pm - Anandi's lighted candle(Read 'diya') which signified the life of her husband was put off due to heavy wind and a possible danger to his life.
11:35 pm - There is so much of evil in this world. Let us sleep ourselves to peace. R.I.P to all the serial victims who lost their lives today. Good bye Tweepalikas !!

Like someone said - Anyone who disturbs midway through the serial is called a serial killer !!!

P.S : This post is not to be generalised. Negative Assumptions are not to be made. Strictly for Fun (Read Truth !!!)

Scratch to Staunch !!!

Post school when we parted we had Slam Books. Yes, Those colourful diaries with questions from favorite toilet soap to darkest unrevealed secret used to be circulated among friends. Their birthdays, contact numbers, favorite cuisines, first crushes all safely stored.



Post Grad when we parted we had diaries. Real diaries. Pages of White. No questions just feelings. Long testimonials written in the form of 'How i met my best friend' unending hate for the mess food and love for maggi and the CS and the AOE and the mass bunks and the mass drunks and the etc; Just feelings. All material data stored safely on orkut & facebook and the etc;



When i joined work though, I never thought that anything even similar could be experienced. The long process of making friends. From Scratch to Staunch !!! I never thought close friends could be made at this stage of life. It seems close friends can be made at any stage of life. And beyond a particular stage you do not need slam books or diaries or orkut or facebook or etc to store them. You just do.



Now leaving on another journey, from east to the west (No, I am not going abroad), towards another stage of life, towards another long process of making friends. From Scratch to Staunch !!! Knowing names. Knowing hometowns, grad colleges, work places, making fun of it, coining nick-names, knowing each others strengths and weaknesses, pursuing hobbies, discussing nonsense, playing pranks, gossiping, interlinking,... and on and on and on... !!!

CAT 2009 Analysis for Pests

There has been a lot of hunky dory on CAT, the mouse and its effects. Mr.Chidiya (Name changed) has come up with some real cool tools for CAT aspirants:

1. Who said cheat codes do not work. Click XYZSPOON on your keyboard and your timer will rises up very rapidly. Since time shown is the 'time left' therefore it is good to have your time increasing.

2. Who said water was not allowed. You just had to type 'WATER PLEASE' and Aloha 100 units of water are allotted which is indicated at the top left corner of the screen. And what is more - you can have food, wood, gold and stone too by the same proces. Everything is allowed.

3. You can always refresh the timer by pressing F5.

4. You can always dismiss a question by reporting it spam and you wouldnt have to play such difficult levels again.

5. Cellphones are not allowed inside but yeah you can always log on to indyarocks.com. Complaints that players who already had an indyarocks account had an unfair advantage over those who did nt because it took a good amount of time to register.



Mr. Chideeya (Name changed twice to maintain anonymity) also claimed that the game had been very good to him coz it gave him an unfair advantage over others in aspects like:

1. Due to capacity constraint some had to do with camlin pencils and some apsara and those who got the former benefitted due to extra long nib life. However it had a free eraser (and free things suck), so you couldnt rub anything. but that was manageable.

2. While some got A4 sheets for rough work, some got A3.9 sheets which left them with approximately 1.2 cm2 less paper to work upon.

3. Some candidates who had strong vitamin A content prior to the game - i hope you get it. Claims are on that in the biometric check prior to the game should even gauge vitamin A quotient and subsequently scores normalised. (Candidates of Bengali domicile whose staple food is fish, the most important source of vitamin A will automatically see 10 marks deducted from their net score. Other coastal region students will also witness 5-10 marks deduction depending on the topography and fish price index)

4. Candidates in second slot also had an unfair advantage of vitamin - D and NIN, hyderabad is working out on a formula to normalise slot 1 and slot 2 points/scores. (However CAT convener dismissed all claims regarding the effect of vitamin D on performance as false.)



Some more news from prometric regarding steps to be introduced next year:

1. Taking into consideration the different physical levels of candidates, they have to come to the test locations 5 hours prior to the test where the candidates will be verified and then fed so that their protien/vitamin/mineral content are equal before going into the exam. (Coaching institutes are already claiming that they are geared up for this new version and would hire dieticians to boost their students performance.)

2. However no normalisation would take place between those who pray to God more ferverntly than others because 'Right to religion and expression' are alreasy present in fundamental rights of india. However foreign nationals applying have to go through a 'What percent do you believe in GOD' test on facebook and submit the results with the url duly attested by MD, facebook india.

3. However there is no returning to the paper-pencil format as amount of paper that comes into usage has drastically reduced. Only pencils are used for working on rough sheets given in any slot. They will be taken back and rubbed using an eraser and will be recycled in the subsequent slot thereby minimising wastage further. (Candidates can apply for the post of 'Chief Rough sheet rubber' on or before CAT 2010 and they will be compensated in the grade 8000 - 12000 depending on prior experience).


Well, Thats CAT 2009 - Analysis discussions for pessimists out there. You get a chance and you critify(good word) anything. Unless you breach non-disclosure agreement how do you even know that questions repeat or get copied. Personally i think it is a step forward and everything should go much smoother next year.

A decade ago !!!

Well, I saw this old Complan Ad of Shahid Kapoor and Ayesha Takia on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-fysFHfBYM and couldn't stop wondering how big actually i have grown.

So, I decided that I'd make my own list for all of us, who are now in early twenty's and our childhood spent in India, This must be true for most of us:

1. Unlike our younger siblings, we have seen a sparrow and have chased squirrels
2. It was mandatory to buy tinkle digest at railway stations
3. There was conflict on whether mercury or pluto was the smallest planet.
4. 50% of our grandparents always fought with the other 50% (grandma Vs grandpa)
5. We have seen a million distinct coconut trees (More so for Southern India)

6. Udit narayan sang the majority of songs but sonu nigam was the hot favorite.
7. Our grandfathers had newspaper cuttings of 1960's and 1970's.
8. Sales of babool gum and boomer were due to the free tattoos that came along.
9. Essel world was the place to go.
10. Veerappan - We know who he is and what he is

11. We know what Asian sky shop is
12. There was infinite stock of nebasulf powder at home to spray on our wounds.
13. Mangoes came not in multiples of 13 but in multiples of 50.
14. Akshay kumar was someone who could do only action movies like perhaps sunil shetty and sunny deol.
15. NRI's(primarily from US, Dubai and sharjah and sometimes singapore) who came to visit our house had to bring chocolates.

16. Only half of these foreign chocolates were tasty enough to eat.
17. Unlike daily sops we had to wait one whole week to watch our favorite program.
18. William shakespeare ruled the English text books.
19. An imaginary tooth fairy came to pick our broken milk teeth.
20. Election day was a welcome holiday not on the calendar.

21. We had some really insane Michael Jackson Fans as friends.
22. Shahrukh khan movies were watched atleast twice.
23. The pink candy at exhibitions and fairs was the tastiest thing on earth.
24. We somehow did not like mahatma gandhi over other freedom fighters
25. However we were surprised that our social teacher gave him so much credit.

26. We would run to the terrace as soon as we hear a helicopter/aeroplane engine chugging.
27. We loved and feared the view atop the giant wheel.
28. Amitabh Bachan still did lead roles for films.
29. Cricket matches were held in sharjah also.
30. We were prohibited from climbing a ladder for fear we would fall.

31. We did climb the ladder atleast once.
32. We started experimenting our signature we hoped to use when we grew up.
33. If Amrish Puri is in a movie then he is the villain.
34. It was mandatory to be awake until midnight for newyear.
35. Cartoon network rocked. Tom and jerry Rocked.

36. We wished we had alladin's genie and magic carpet kaleen.
37. Our first spinach lunch was after we watched the popeye show.
38. Mowgli and his jungle was mandatory every sundays.
39. We played WWF cards atleast once.
40. April Fool was done by showing a lizard which wasnt there.

41. Fathers were allowed to go only to 'The Office' without taking us children.
42. We waved at the trains at the rail-road crossing.
43. A 5 story building could easily be the tallest edifice in our town.
44. Aishwarya Rai made us proud when she became the miss world.
45. We knew how to make boats and aeroplanes with paper.

46. The school principal was someone to be afraid of.
47. Newton was the jack of all trades - Science , social , maths What not..
48. Goats were real cute creatures to feed.
49. Shankar dayal sharma was answers to one of the G.K.Questions.
50. Finding a 25 paise coin on the road was also profitable.

51. Empty tooth paste boxes and broken bangles were also things to play with.
52. We know the rules of kabaddi and kho-kho.
53. S.Radhakrishnan was a hero on teachers day.
54. We had our own collectin of hotwheels/barbie dolls.
55. We hated to share this collection with other kids.

56. People came form nowhere and pulled our cheeks and asked if we remembered them.
57. The number of ambassador cars were countless.
58. The way to choose who played first was In-pin Safety pin.
59. Penguins and Zebra's were fascinating but never found in a zoo.
60. Arabian sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian ocean all seemed the same.

61. Spotting France on the world political map was an achievement.
62. Knowing more than 100 country capitals stood us a marvel.
63. Identifying these country flags too and we were a child prodigy.
64. There was a bottle of rasna at home always.
65. Titanic/Jurassic park was the first English movie we saw.

66. It was fun to read station names from a speeding train.
67. If Pickles were not home-made they were 'PRIYA Pickles'
68. The only way to drive away mosquitoes were good night mats.
69. We have seen movie posters on stick-no-bill signs.
70. Oxygen was indeed 21% of the composition of the air.

71. Photosynthesis was the longest word in English
72. School bus was the longest way to reach the house.
73. Popcorns in theaters and eclairs in groceries were mandatory.
74. Hibiscus was a flower that every neighbour grew.
75. DD National was full of programs starting with 'S' - Shanti, swabhiman, Saboot, Shaktiman and even NEWS was Samachar...


This list is endless. I bet there are lots more....

How to Leave ??

When you start working, you will realise that 'A leave' is something that becomes as precious a commodity as water & electricity. Use very sparingly. And when you really need to have one, there are fewer than a few ways of getting them without any tricks.



#1 Donate Blood -
What you do - Sell blood to get a leave
Advantage - You get points for Social Responsibility
Disadvantage - You loose good amount of blood.



For those who are too afraid to be pierced with a needle, I'm sorry, Science is yet to find a method of transferring blood via BLUETOOTH.



#2 Fall Sick -
What you do - Pretend to fall sick
Advantage - You get free medicines out of company cost
Disadvantage - You could actually be fired for lying(if caught)


For those who are too naive to lie, Act fast before science finds it way into corporate houses, you could be caught lying on the phone through voice modulations.



#3 Have a baby
What you do - You know !!!
Advantage - (Optional) You get married.
Disadvantage - Works only for women.


Again a word of caution before trying this : Cross-check the family details your HR has and give at least one year gap between two consecutive such leaves.



#4 Get IOW(Injury on work)
What you do - Wait for a 5000 ton press to 'Nearly' fall on you/ 'Nearly' suck yourself in the compressor fan/ 'Nearly' manage the metal chips to cut you through/ etc etc;
Advantage - Straightforward - you can enjoy a leave of as long as a month
Disadvantage - You can do nothing much on a hospital bed, can you?


Again here, Not taking the word 'Nearly' seriously could prove to be Fatal.




Anybody has better ways of having a leave please do communicate.

Online Cat - Suggestions !!

Well, this is an open letter to T.I.M.E , the pioneer in CAT coaching to resolve some of the issues bothering its students. Hope it catches the right eye :|

To
TIME,
Across India

There are certain issues many CAT aspirants have been discussing of late and there are some things that we are very unsatisfied with. The first and foremost being the large test window for writing the AIMCATS. Unlike the paper-pencil format where we had the option of re-doing the questions/ attempting the unsolved ones once back home, in the online format there is an alienation for almost 10 days. Even a test window of 7 days seems very long. When finally the paper was released after the test window what we find is that the questions and answers are provided together. I believe you too would know there is vital difference between solving a question whose answer you do not know and whose answer is clearly visible. And add to it the adoptation of online AIMCAT by various centres across INDIA - with the staff themselves not completely trained for the online version-, aspirants are very cross. The infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired.

However We believe that shifting from paper-pencil to online mode in such a short span is very difficult and TIME has been very generous in its decision not to burden the student with an increase in fees. The approach to online CAT itself is very satisfactory. We belive everything cant be gained and we have to make a few compromises or rather take time to adopt for online version but there are a few things we would like you to think upon and make the process of exam more benifitable.


For example, it is very difficult to provide very good infrastructure to each test centre for online CAT but providing a very sound software can easlily be done.

Atleast the attempted questions should be saved every 1 minute. The current pulse seems to be 15 minutes. We dont attempt more than one or two questions in a minute. The Timer should be such that if power fails and one has to relogin, the time should continue from the exact second.

The question paper (without solutions) after the exam should be available on the student home page of those who have given the test and in such a way that there is no provision of copying it to the computer. There still are ways to copy it by using external sources but not everybody knows these.

The net score of each individual should be given at the end of test with no mention of sectional rights and wrongs. The student if he desires can look at the questions and figure it out himself where he has gone right/wrong. (This will improve the reasoning skills of students too...)

Provision should be made for writing the non-invigilated online aimcats at respective test centres for those who feel they cant get the exam environment at home. It is possible there will be interruptions at home from curious siblings or a post man at the door.

If TIME is afraid releasing the question paper just after the exam will give way for misuse, it should remember that no honest-aspirant of CAT will try to know the paper beforehand and attempt. And with respect to dishonest takers, TIME need not worry as they serve them no purpose. The only thing that can deviate is the ALL-India Ranking which i think one can compromise for an instant score card.


One more thing is that both aimcats 1017 and 1016 are not allowed for those who enrolled only for the test series. I think for most of us who are giving CAT for the second time it is both economically and strategically feasible only to enroll for the test series. So, why is it that two consecutive aimcats are not allowed. But perhaps TIME has something in mind when it has taken this decision and is not of as much importance when compared with the earlier problems we put forth.

All of us (mostly previous students of TIME) still believe TIME is the best for CAT coaching. One should never curse the driver of the vehicle one is travelling in. So we hope TIME rectifies these little things for the sake of it's own standards that it has set over the past few years.

Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
CAT Aspirants

P.S : The problems i put forth largely might seem from those who are giving the CAT for the second/third time as they compare it with the paper-pencil format that has from long existed but these little things will be of valuable use for the first timers of CAT also. Morever among those who get iim calls the percentage of repeaters is higher than the first timers.

Room Excavation !!!

It is sad but you have to pack your things and go back. And when you start this final packing, you will unravel lots of interesting things that sat in the corner of your room till today. You look at them and listen to each of its stories while slowly packing.

1. A Doctor prescription dated 14th november 2007 that gave me spectacles for the first time and for life.

2. Two Citi residency discount coupons whose validity was over in August 2008.

3. A birthday card from Uday given 2 months after my bday and which read :

Some B'day cards are flowery and frilly,
Some B'day cards are goofy adn silly,
Some B'day cards are cold and sedate,
And some B'day cards like this one are,
.
.
.
Late !!!

4. Autumn 07 edition of Deja Vu- college's newsletter and My Article in it.

5. 'One love' song lyrics which i gave my junior to write during ragging.

6. A 40 page CAD-CAM assignment that took a whole day to write back then.

7. A ninth class computer text book i brought here to learn html which i never did. And also a logarithmic tables book.

8. A college letter that ordered us to refrain from ragging and get a signed letter from parents supporitng it. All of us forged it. No one will travel/courier 1500 kms to get a piece of letter signed.

9. The first question paper i set as part of Maths N Tech club, set of 30 questions to solve in 30 minutes.

10. A january 2006 calendar of events, that month I dont know why but i recorded everything, prominent of which are

Jan 15 - Gulti family rejoins after winter
Jan 21 - the first real session of ragging (which meant seniors beat you)
Jan 25 - Seniors asked me to propose shruti coz she was a telugu speaking girl
Jan 28 - Session got cancelled luckily.

There are a lot more things to look at and smile and upon.... Life always gives you memories. They dont come with pictures. They come with real things that you can touch and reminisce.

Final words !!!

This post is all about ME ... ME - Mechanical Engineering

It's good when things come to you when you least expect it. The departmental farewell was something that came so.

There were highs and lows in Dept of Mechanical Engineering and both were memorable. We gave two grand viva's that showed our real calibre. We were cross questioned by Professors on things we had no idea upon. We were dipped into CATIA when we least wanted to.(But this was of great help...). We just managed to get out alive from the Electrical machines laboratory. We sold 'Chededeen' to our professors. We minted marks for nothing. We were fined 25,000 /- rupees for NOT breaking a vernier height gauge. (It was cancelled after a month luckily...).We manipulated values of the Standard Units to get answers. Things like Simply Supported Beam and methods like Simplex Method were too complex for us. We painted our drawing sheets instead of Engineering drawing. We gave seminar's on each other's topics and project on senior's topics. But we were very decent. We didn't give mis-calls to the very professor who was teaching us in the class. We din't fling chalk pieces at them. We didn't comment them in their presence. :D

On the occasion of Farewell, I would like to record words of our professors in their final address to us:

Prof. I. Basak : Points at the banner behind that reads 'FAREWELL' and says " FARE WELL IN YOUR LIFE"

Prof.B.Halder : A chicken needs to come out of its shell to grow. But it should not forget the shell because it was what provided witht the initial nutrients for its growth. Never forget this shell - NIT Durgapur.

Prof. A.K. Pramanik : I taught you thermodynamics and it is my habit to deal with ideal processes and ideal cycles. You have been in such a state till now. You are going to go out of the ideal case into the real world. All the best.

Prof. N.Hui : Do not continue your future the same way you read Air conditioning and refrigeration (The toughest subject of ME), You need to control your life properly. And every time in life try to optimize and achieve maximum efficiency.(He teaches Control systems and operation research)

Prof. N.Banerjee : I will tell you a story. There was once a stone statue carver. He was selling his statues while a passer by asked him about another statue that was kept at the back of the stack. The carver said that it has a small hole and is defective. The man said that It wouldn't matter because when this was mounted at a height of 30-40 metres it wouldnt matter. No one would know its defective. The man said " I would know that it was defective." Similarly only the college and the professors know whatever defect is in you. Outside this world no one knows you. You are just 2k9 Mechanical Pass out. Use this oppurtunity to prove yourself inspite of what you were in the college.

Prof. A.K.Saha : The 2k5-2k9 batch rocked. It was a batch that took a lot of initiatives and that achieved a lot.

Prof.A.Layek : All the best for your future.

Don't know when the whole batch will meet again. It might not be long for there is a convocation. Hope we all make it and share our 5 month Real life Experiences.......

A Rupee's story !!!

I was born in 1991 in bombay. I weighed 10 grams when I was born. I still weigh the same. Over the years I look the same but I lost some of my shine. And always My net worth was just one rupee.

The very first transaction that I recall is the one when a kind-hearted man gave me to his son on the day of Eid-ul-fitr. I was shining like silver that day.The boy clutched me tightly in his hands all through that day. At the end of the day however I went in exchange to a lolli-pop.

I was in the possession of many boys. Some were good enough to give me to their mothers. Some kept me in their pencil box. But some tied a thread around me and dragged me all along the road. I was frequently used by high school boys to draw a circle and that made my edges black. I was used to represent how solar eclipses occur. I was used to represent nuclear fission reaction. I was used to give a simple example of probability. However I was too small to represent Rutherford's atomic model.

I used to travel a lot. Today in bombay and the next in calcutta. I remember an international visit too. I had to bear all the seasons. I would be cold in kashmir, hot in rajasthan and almost always wet in kerala. I was 10 years old when a boy put me on a railway track to see what would happen if a train ran over me. I survived when someone suggested him to replace me with a 5 rupee one. I was thankful to the minting press for making me slim.

One day I entered the NIT campus. The first purpose I served in the NIT was to decide who would bat first in the cricket ground. I was often used in exchange for the 101 and 111 top-ups of Reliance and airtel. There was a place called TECHNO where I exchanged hands nearly 60 times in an hour between 10-30 and 11-30 pm.

I was touched by both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. I was licked by dogs and 3 year old's. I was the profit margin for a vegetable seller. I was the charity outside places of worship. I vanished under a magician. I was suddenly found in a bus-taker's pocket. I allowed people 60 seconds of chit-chat. I could fetch 15 marbles for a child. 2 of my kind could fetch 3 pani puri's to the teen. 3 of my kind would fetch protection for an adult. 4 of my kind would fetch a day's tobacco for an old man.


But now I am neglected. The two rupee ones seem to be everywhere. They are now circular and have taken my place in the geometry class. I don't fetch a newspaper anymore. I am not sufficient to predict your weight at the railway station. I don't know how many days before I loose my place in the bus conductor's pouch and the xerox machine's desk. May be in a few days I will not even be worth charity.


One day I fell in the hands of a 18 year old coin collector. He looked at the year inscribed on me. He loved the fact that both of us were 18 years old. And immediately I found myself in a dark box with a number of other coins. I suppose this is my death. And this box seems no less than a coffin. I have lost track of time since then. May be this is what it means to say '18 till I die'.


Everyone has desires in life. Even I do. I want to decide who would bat first in an India-Pakistan encounter. I want dhoni to take the call and I would willfully fall as per his wish. But it seems so far now. . . . . ! ! !

The Travelogue !!!

Usually travelogue refers to a place. But this travelogue travels in time. To my first year. To my first days in the college. Irrelevant though, the legal age for marrying in india is 21. Atleast for men. And my dear friend, RAJU GUGULOTHU, turned 21, some 4 months back, is currently married. Married on 13th of Feb. 2009, 9-35 A.M, IST @ Mangalabandi Tanda, Warangal.

I never expected that someone I would meet on the first day of the college as my room mate will marry mid way in his final year. I remember he received a call from a girl on 14th February 2006 on my number. I never expected though that he would be marrying her on 13th of February 2009. I remember he bought some bangles and ear rings from BIG BAZAAR in December 2005. I never expected he would be preparing his wedding suit in December 2008. I remember the first day he told me about her, way back in September 2005. I never expected though that her name would be scripted on their wedding card so soon.

I am his first year room mate, 4 year branch mate, 7 month ragging mate and an eternal friend. I have some little known facts about him. He would struggle with hindi sometimes, he would heat 3 buckets of water in winter to take a bath(which even i followed), he was fond of roll no : 05/166 atleast for a small period of time, and also recieved some festival bonus from Prof. Kumbhakar, dept of physics to buy sweets. He found a hundred rupee note on the road once, he got a Waitlist 265 ticket confirmed on a train once. we were 4 mechanical engineers in one room and it was the only room in the whole of Hall-9 which had 4 students from the same branch.

We would play cricket and chess in that first year room. Satish panda the other mechanical was a clear winner at chess. you can look at him and you would know how he earned his -5.5 power spectacles. Of course, the obvious. He was fond of a particular roll number too, but due to some special reasons I wont be mentioning it. The strange thing about him was that he had an airtel number which started with '9'. Okay Okay that's not strange. But the strange thing is that his balance suddenly falls by Rs. 50 /- for cricket updates which he never subscribed. He never complained about anything. I have so many sorry's to tell him, for things i dont like to recall. All these aside, he topped the room in the first semester with a grade point of 8.7/10. Though he spoke hindi, he had strange flaws in it. He used 'Main jaa raha hoon' for both 'Im going' and 'Im coming'.

Our fourth partner GOPAL SINGH, on the contrary was a hindi pundit. Flawless both in ascent and pronounciation. He would correct us in grammar and was ever ready with the meaning of any stringent hindi Vocabulary. I remember he wrote a 4 page essay once in ragging on a COW'S TAIL. He had seniors who changed his name to PALGO SINGH. And to-date he is also known 'palgo'. When i first entered our room, he'd already reached and had a really colourful bedsheet on his mattress. I don't recall him being in fond of any particular roll number. But i remember he suffered from typhoid for no fault of his. Like satish, he also never complains but he had a friend who always complained. They called him Alok khatiyar. He could curse the college, the mess food, anything he could imagine. But hearing him was fun.

None of us had a camera or a mobile with a camera and so we could never record our time together. It just remains in the neurons. But the pixels are large enough not to erase. We had weekly room cleaning sessions in which all the 4 participated actively. Every 15 days or so we would change the alignment of beds. If only we had paint for free, we would have painted our walls lavender.

It has been a long journey since then. We are about to complete our engineering. We have very little time left here in college. May be we will meet next in our convocation. May be Raju, the married man will be blessed with a child by then. The travelogue of TIME. Time will only tell....