It took me 7 years to see this day in life & write this post...

Many mocked at me,when I said I wanted to do an MBA.

Most of my batchmates said I cannot crack an exam like CAT or for that matter XAT...Everytime I gave the exam, I always use to feel, why dont people understand my aspirations..

2 rejects, it undermined my confidence..One guy wrote in blog as well that I might lack the quality...But today Iam happy that, some institute has finally understood my aspirations ....First MBA convert of my life...

.: !! CONGRATULATIONS !!:.

You have been selected in GMP Programme for which you have applied to XLRI Jamshedpur.Please wait for the official letter from the Chairperson, Admissions, XLRI Jamshedpur.
... Chairperson , Admissions

Transcript of my IIML PI :-)

March 25, 2009

Profile:Workex: 9 Years in IT Sales

Panel :1

Essay/GD topic: Money is a good servant but a bad master…20 mins Essay. No rough sheets are allowed..I explained why money was invented & wnet about explaining how money is important today. Also explained how money cannot buy things like affection, peace of mind etc etc..I also wrote how money is beyond servant as in how a person moves towards unethical things when he doesn’t have money & how money as master pushes a person to safeguard it…

GD: 20 mins

No of People: 12

Out of the 20 minutes, close to about 15 minutes it was an absolute fish market..More than 5 people were speaking at a time..I came in as the 4th guy..Even that time, 2 people started along with me. I increased my volume, pierced through & ensured the other 2 stopped totally. I entered 8 times J in equal intervals & my point was the last one to end the GD.Points I spoke:
I spoke about how unemployement forces people to go directionless & gave the article about Mangalore Pubs as an example where the author spoke about the unemployment as the prime issue.
I spoke about the Bernaud Madoff $60 Bn fraud.
I spoke how money can be utilized properly like Karnataka government spends 7 Cr for health Checkups for school going kids, Madhya Pradesh government has implemented Ladli Ladki project for the upliftment of Girl Childs & also in UP how the Government has spent the money for correcting the Sex Ratio (This complete things I spoke in 1 shot, 1-2 mins everybody kept quiet J)
When some body said about greed being the reason, I spoke about the recent Mumbai rape issue, where a father went about doing that atrocity as a tantric told him that his business will improve.
I spoke about how excessive money pushes a person towards insecurity ie forced to safe guard his money.
I also spoke about how animals survive .They don’t have money J (Somebody said Money is the atmost important thing for Life)
Somebody said our culture is corrupted. I replied saying that “We respect people from poor background in this country who have come up in an ethical way. Examples: 2006, an IIMA passout who is a son of an Idli shopkeeper. 2007, a railway clerk who got 6 IIM calls”.
Panelist said stop.

PI

Prof1:Prof.Saji.K.B.Nair, Chairman Admissions, Marketing Group
Prof2: Dr.Roshan Lal Raina, Communications Group
Me: Yours truly…

Prof 1 comes to call me in at 12.41 PM
Me: Good Morning Sirs.
Prof1: Its almost afternoon now (laughs)Me too laughed..
Prof2: Prem, what were you doing from 1995-1996 (I have a break after my 12th class)
Me:Sir, In tamilnadu, we have a provision to improve our 12th standard scores, if we want to. Hence I appeared for my Phyics, Chemistry & Biology exams & improved my total by 152 marks.
Prof2: What did you do from 2000 to 2004..
Me: Sir, I was working with M/s.Rolta India Ltd..Prof2: When did u get placed
Me: Sir, in May 2000..through Campus Placement
Prof2: Campus Placement, hmmm...
Prof1: (going through the file) Oh, you were in Sales from the beginingMe : Yes (Smile)Prof2: But you haven’t mentioned it in the form?
Me: Sir, Iam working in the fourth Organisation, but we have space to mention only 3 jobs.
Prof1: oh, but you could have mentioned below the box.
Me: Sir, I wasn’t sure if I can do that. Also it would have looked so clumpsy.
Prof1: That’s ok (starts marking the same with pencil in the form & starts going through the certificates)
Prof2: Your scores during Engineering seems very low (With a not so happy face)
Prof1: He would have been preparing for CAT then (in a mocking tone)Me: Sir, I didn’t prepare for CAT
Prof1: No no you would have, else why would have your scores gone down ??(Mocking with a sarcastic smile)
Me: Sir, actually I went through some problems in life.(Started with my moms hospitalization & told the actual issue).Along with studies, I had the responsibility of taking care of my family members.I was a day scholar travelling 120KMs + 120 KMs every day.
Prof 1: (stopped mocking) with an empathetic tone, “Are you the only kid?”
Me: Sir, Iam the only son & I have a younger Sister. I also had the responsibility of bringing her up.Prof1: Whats your dad???
Me: He works as a clerk with SBI
Prof1: From where to where, were you travelling?Me: From Thiruvallur to Vellore Sir
Prof2: Prem, you are working a good company, why do you want to do this programme??
Me: Sir, as you see , it has taken me 9 years to reach where Iam today.If I have look at my present organization itself, my next role would be to head the complete education business. Now for me to do well in this role, I need to understand the complete business dynamics & an MBA will help me do understand that well…
Prof1: Prem, hope you got the question wrong, what Prof 2 was trying to ask you was, why not a 1 year MBA, why a 2 year programme now?
Me: Sir, I actually thought about this, when I started my CAT preparations. During the process of understanding the course, I understood that a 1 year MBA is like a crash course. Focussed more towards on academics with strict dead lines. Since Iam coming back to studies after a long time, I want to start my studies from the basics and also want to balance my academic as well as college life including extracurriculars.Also as you mentioned, I couldn’t do much towards my academics during my college days. Now I really want to do academically well.
Prof 1: is this your only call???
Me: Yes Sir
Prof2: But Prem, you know the current situation, do you think it to be wise to leave such a good job now??
Me: Sir, You are right & even I have thought about this.After understanding the current situation, Iam sure after 2 years , things wont be this bad. Iam not saying it will improve drastically, but it would be better than today. Also Iam trying to work out a sabbatical option as a back. If you just look at my latest job shift, it happened in November, even that time the market was bad. I strongly believe that opportunities, though less are available & it’s the responsibility of an individual to find that & it also depends on an individual’s capability
Prof2: You did BE, CSE. Can I ask you some questions from Networks??
Me: Sir, its 9 years since I have done my BE, I hardly remember any subjects now(Smiles around)
Prof1: Prem, you work for Mathworks right??
Me: Yes Sir
Prof1: You report to Mr.XXXXXXX(I was shocked because he knew my boss )
Me: Yes Sir
Prof 1: You sell Matlab, Can I ask you questions on that???. You cannot sell a product without knowing it (Smiles)
Me: Sir, I have joined 4.5 months back only, I will try my level best (Smile)
Prof1: In Matlab, you guys say Matrices, what is that?
Me: Matrix is the representation of elements in an array , in rows & columns or in simpler words, it is the pictorial representation of Linear Equations
Prof1: What is a determinant?
Me: It’s the value of a Matrix
Prof1: (Draws a 3X3 Matrix) Find the determinant ??
Me: (started solving)Prof1: Don’t solve, explain me how to solve it.Me:Explained it properly
Prof 1: Tell me Prem, does MATLAB has any limitations on the number of rows & columns of a Matrix
Me: (wasn’t sure) No Sir, we don’t have (Which turned out to be true
Prof1: But OS will have limitations Me: Yes Sir, but we say that our product doesn’t have limitations & that’s one of our strengths & USPs (100% correct, which I found later)Prof1: What about Excel???
Me: (Wasn’t sure) No sir, even they don’t have (Which turned about to be wrong )
Prof 1: Are you sure???
Me: (confidently) Yes Sir.
Prof 2: What is this “SPURTI”
Me: Sir, Inspired by what has happened to my mom, I started participating in lots of social activities. I have been a regular donor of blood from college days..Sir, hope you won’t mind if I explain you from the past
Prof2: That’s fine, go on (Prof 1 &2 were listening seriously)
Me: We as a family celebrate our birthdays in Orphanages. Having done all this, I wanted to do something more, that’s when I met a person who has some disability due to Cerebral Palsy & his only dream is to crack CAT. Seeing his determination, I got determined to help him achieve his dreams.Thats when I started this institute called SPURTI along with my Friends & its running successfully..
Both Prof 1 & Prof 2 spontaneously said, “Thank You”I thanked them & walked out…PI lasted for 9 mins.....Iam happy except but Excel goofup…Looking at the process now, I feel I couldn’t have done any better than this. Iam leaving results to the destiny.

Your comments are welcome..

March 1, 2009
Reached the venue by 8.30 AM (My Interview was scheduled at 9.40 AM). Couldn’t see even a single living thing inside the campus. Had a gutt feel that the Interviews might happen in the same building/floor like last year, hence went to that building & was waiting there. Got to see the banner near the building, which was speaking about LIBA’s event (not sure cultural or business fest) called Chrysantis and in the online partner column, could see “Pagalguy.com” :-)
My feel came true, when 2 Professors got into the building and to the same floor :-)
The PIs started on time (9.20) & I was the second guy..
The first guy came out and warned me of an aged Professor who was trying to stress him out :-(
Professors and their Profiles
1.Aged Professor -A. C. Jesurajan ,S.J. , B.Sc., L.Ph., M.A. (Leicester, UK), Communication,General Management
To be referred to as AP
2.Young Professor- L Gurunathan , B.Sc. Mathematics (Madras), MBA (Coimbatore), Fellow (IIM Ahmedabad), PM & IR To be referred to as YP
3.Smilling Professor- Ram Kumar Kakani , B. Tech. (Andhra Univ.), FPM ( IIM Calcutta), Finance,Strategic Management To be referred to as SP
And Yours truly
Sharp at 9.40 I was called in by SP.
Me: May I come in Sirs
YP/AP-Come in, Come in
Me: Good Morning Sirs (Smile )
AP/YP/SP: Good Morning (Smile)
SP started going through my file, YP was busy looking at my questionnaire, AP started the process
AP: Where are you coming from?
Me: Bangalore
AP: What do you do there???
Me: Sir, I work for Mathworks. I take care of the Sales of MATLAB software for the Education territory.
AP: How long have you been working there ???
Me: Sir , for the past 3 months
AP:Prior to that???
Me: Sir, I was with HP taking care of HW sales in Education Vertical
AP: So , you were again with Education (Smile)
Me: Yes Sir (Smile)
AP: Why did u leave HP???
Me:Sir, out of 8 years and 9 months of the Sales experience, around 7 years I was in Software Sales. I moved to HP to see how the Hardware industry is. I was with HP for about 15 months, but got to understand that more than Technology, it is a price driven industry. This was the time, when the discussion between me & Mathworks started. From the discussions, I understood that Mathworks is setting up an office in India & more than a Sales role, its going to be designing the complete business plan for the education vertical. Frankly speaking the role seemed interesting and as it was a software company I decided to move to the Mathworks
YP was nodding his head through out & AP looks convinced
AP:You should be drawing a good salary (Smile)
Me: Yes Sir (:-))
AP: Then what do you want to do after GMP????
Me:Sir, if you look at my career path , I have started my career as a trainee executive & have reached this stage after 9 years. Also I have worked only in IT sector but in 4 different Verticals. After this course, as of now, I would prefer to come back to IT industry. During this course, I hope I can know much more about roles available in IT as well as other Industries. If Iam convinced about some other Industry , I might take a role there. Basically it’s the learning & understanding of the various Industries what I want to know and frankly speaking,for sure Iam not hungry/desperate for money (I didn’t give them a lengthy story on why MBA, because it was already written in the questionnaire which was submitted online)
AP looks at YP..
I started wondering, the 1st guy said AP will stress me..But he looked cordial
YP: Who are your competitors???
Me: Excel
YP: Excel???
Me: Yes…
YP: Hmmm, true ..But Mathworks might not like you saying that??
Me: True, but frankly speaking that is the fact…
YP: Who else???
Me: C..
YP: Programming Language C..Hmmm Good…Whoelse???, whats your market share like
Me: Labview from National Instruments… Frankly Speaking , these softwares are competitors only for certain modules, but none of them can compete with our complete suite. Explained the user friendly applications, debugging capabilities, Interactive nature etc . For MATLAB, MATLAB is the competition
YP: what ??? (With Smile)
Me: Yes Sir, Matlab is such a wonderful package that everyone wants to own it & the easiest available option is the pirated version & for me to sell to a customer, these pirated copies are the major competitors
(Everbody Laughs including me)
SP: How about Statistical Packages like SPS, what does customer feel?Whats your market share like??
Me: Sir, SPS is one of the Statistical tool what a customer prefers, but many a times, the customer also has additional requirements based on pure Mathematical functionalities and more.In such cases, it becomes easy for us to bundle our Statistical Tool Box for better integration. Market share of ours is more than 70%
SP: The Statistical Tool box is in built in Matlab???
Me: No Sir,it’s a separate tool box.
YP: You told AP about some business model you have to create, Whats that???
Me: I spoke about Piracy & what we are doing to create a university wide licence, which is popular in US
YP: Like Microsoft academic version???
Me: Yes Sir
YP: Good…But you guys could have done it long back..
Me: Frankly Speaking..
YP starts laughing and says We know you are frank , every time you needn’t have to say that you are frank (every body joins the laughter including me)
Me: To put it straight (Again everybody laughs as it sounded like a replacement for frankly speaking)
But we have started our operations only 3 months back
YP looks convinced & looks at SP
SP: Prem, I went through your complete certificates, I am actually worried about 2 things, you have low marks + your extra curricular is running into pages (:-)), can you concentrate on the course???
Me: Sir, I had a problem when I was in class 9
SP: Iam perfectly fine with class 10 & 12….Iam worried about your engineering scores..
Me: Sir as I said, I had a problem from class 9 till my BE 3rd year. My mom was ill. I could focus on studies when I was in 10 and 12, because I was with her always. When I moved to do my engineering. I had attended college only on alternate days & whenever I went to college I had to travel 120 KMs oneway. Now coming to extra curriculars, I was undergoing so much of emotional stress at home. It was paining, I wanted to divert myself..So started participating in almost all the other extracurricular activities. Now when my mom started recuperating in my BE final year, I got 74% :-)..
SP looks convinced (Throughout AP/YP were nodding their heads).
SP: How is your mom now
Me: She is fine Sir :-)
SP: (Removes a mark sheet from my file)..Keep looking at this
SP(after 5 secs)Now you have this mark sheet which gives me some information about you, if I ask you to add/delete some data here and ask you to give me a new marksheet which gives me much more details about your performance, what modifications will you do????
Me: (looked at the marksheet from my school, meanwhile YP/SP were laughing without making any sound) Sir, I will….
SP: Hey, don’t reply me immediately, you can take your time, use paper pencil if you want..
Me : (Killed 20 secs, didn’t use paper pencil).Sir, I will introduce the Percentile concept here like XAT.
SP: Percentile???
Me: Yes,it will give me a nice overview of the students performance across the board..Also I would like to put his rank in that sheet
SP: Percentile seems to be ok with me, but why rank??..Do you want to put both..
Me: Not required Sir, I will stick to only percentile in that case. If I know the total number of test takers along with the percentile, I can actual know his rank..
SP: What else can be added???
Me: I would like to give ranks to the school & would like to mention that in the score card??
SP: (Little surprised) But what will we do with the rank of the school??
Me: By giving rank to the school, We can actually see the quality of the school from were the student has done his schooling which also plays a role in the student’s quality..
Silence around for 15-20 secs
SP:You seem to be very very active & deeply associated with PAGALGUY (Smiles around):-)
Me: Yes Sir (Was expecting questions from this zone as I have mentioned about the same in the questionnaire)
SP: What do people feel about XLRI (Every body laughs including me)
Me: Sir, XLRI is one of the colleges which people rate as the best one. We have something called as PAGALGUY BSchool rankings which is a survey taken from 5500 people. As per the survey XLRI is one of the Top 10 B schools which a student prefers to join
SP:What do people say about our interviews (again everyone laughs)
Me: Frankly Speaking, I haven’t gone through the interview experiences as I was busy preparing for my interview..
SP: This one, you are not Frank (Every one laughs)
YP: One more “Frankly Speaking” from your mouth (Every one Laughs)
SP: But why should people post their experiences at all??
Me: Sir, for a person who has got selected for an Interview, he doesn’t know where to start & where end the preparations for his interview. One of the good things at Pagalguy is that, people post their experiences, so that the person who doesn’t know how to prepare gets a fair chance.People look at simillar profile and get an idea as to what to prepare.Many of us also know that the questions might not be repeated, but still we get a broad idea..
SP: Most cases questions do repeat (Smiles)
Me: Agreed Sir,the questions might be repeated. But for a person who hasn’t visited Pagalguy.com, doesn’t know about the repitition.You might also not repeat the questions to a person, who says he is a part of Pagalguy. Most of them wont reveal this like how I have (Laughters around)
After the Laughing got over, the body language of the Professors conveyed that the PI is over.
But AP bounces with a serious face :-(
AP: Taking a que from SP’s question tell me why do we want the School Rank??
Me: Sir, the quality of a school plays a major role in a student’s..(Cuts me)
AP:Forget about school, lets talk about the universities, Do you agree Madras University is a Good University (with a serious face/tone)
Me : Yes Sir :-(
AP: You have come here with a mediocre score
Me: Sorry Sir (:-()
AP: Lets also take a student from Punjab University who has scored well, Now do u accept you are Mediocre???Why do we need the rank of the University at all
Me: Sir, when I say about rank of the University, I am looking at parameters like age of the University, faculty, Infrastructure (AP cuts me)
AP: Why do we need these things at all
Me: Inspite of studying from a good ambience, if a student scores low, then there is something wrong with the student. :-(
AP: Net net it boils down to only the student’s performance and nothing to do with the University
Me: I opened my mouth (AP says enough enough enough) :-(
AP: You seem to be jumping on to conclusions, you are not thinking enough, you don’t want to take time, use paper pencil & saying some thing like rank of a school extra on the fly :-(
Me: Sir, Rank of the school thing, I told you from my recent experience
AP: what is that??
Me: I was looking at these parameters for my Daughter’s school admissions.
AP:You seem to be a person who just stick to your own things, you catch something, conceptualise it , don’t think about consequences, Iam surprised how have you survived for 9 years in the corporate world. You say that you are brutally rude or you flatter people..I am worried how you are going to finish the course. Please correct my opinion.
Me:-(
Sir, when…did…I …..Say..this (was very slow while asking this)
AP: look at this questionnaire, this is what you have written (he reads out the paragraph)
Me: Sir, I have written about what I feel uncomfortable in a person (confidence back :-))..I have said that I cannot tolerate a 2 faced person. If a person flatters on my face & goes and talks ill about me behind my back, I get confused about what I have done..I start thinking ,whatever I have done, was it really good or really bad..Instead if someone, with out the fear of our relationship comes and tells me the facts in a brutally harsh way on my face, I accept it and try looking at and correcting my mistakes…
AP finally looks extremely convinced..Smiles at me & asks me to sign the register..AP offers me a pen & I say no thank you..Took my pen started signing…From the time AP started grilling till this minute, YP/SP were not even looking towards me, they were either looking outside the window or their pens in their hands..
After signing I said THANK YOU SIRS..AP spontaneously said “GREAT”..YP/SP nodded their heads..
I don’t know what he meant by the word Great..But I felt really good after the PI, much much better than my last year PI…Except but the last 5 mins, the PI was more like a discussion.Lots of Laughters…:-)
PI for sure lasted around the 30 min mark (when it was scheduled for 20 mins)
So XLRI is over, let me start working towards IIML which is on 25th March..Between your comments are most welcome..

pics as promised

Picasa Web Albums - Prem - Spurti

Date : November 15, 2008One of my ex-colleagues called me to say that he has a friend who is physically challenged, who has difficulty in talking, walking, writing & what not L. He also added that, he is trying to crack CAT for the past 3 years & needs some motivation as it is D Day the next day, & asked if I can please talk to him. I said “OK”.His friend called me. His voice was shacking, for sometime it was very difficult for me to comprehend, but his emotions, yes I could understand even the unsaid.Whenever he said, 3-4 of us (Physically challenged) prepared together, tears started rolling down . I motivated him to the extend I knew, but to be frank I was motivated looking at his determination.We are nothing infront of these special children rather the GOD’s own kids.After the phone call, I was explaining the same to my Wife & she said what will these special Kids gain by your tears. You can actually help them, if you want. You have been a student , you have been a teacher as well, you know what a student expects from a teacher & I hope you also know to read, what a special Kid expects from his teacher ie PATIENCE…These words have been haunting me since then & now I have come out to implement my toughts…Why not a Free coaching for a Special Kid or an economically weak kid?.Teachers:Now to make my dream come true, I have come to you guys . Puys in Bangalore, who have been good students (toppers in Mocks) , who have good conceptual knowledge, who have the patience, who have the energy & time can be Good teachers in my dream institute. We need 2-3 teachers each for QA-DI-VA. Iam sure, 1-2 guys can’t handle the show as we might have personal commitments.What will you gain as a teacher: Iam sorry to say, you will not get any salary as it is done out of humanity.You will gain the so called feeling called as self satisfaction, a true meaning of why we are here on this planet. When you sleep in the night, your heart is filled with happiness, because you have provided something to a person in need, you have helped a fellow human, who needs some support.These teachers will be personally interviewed by me as there are some people whose intentions are not to help the needy, but just to gain a bullet point in their CV.Students:Initially we are planning to take 4-5 kids to start with. Request you all to help me out in identifying the needy. There may be a kid, whom you feel, if guided properly can get into an IIM. Send their details by PM to me, with your/their contacts details.These kids would be interviewed by me, personally.These special Kids can be economically weak or physically challenged. Initially we are not including the visually challenged kids as we ourselves don’t have the expertise to handle them.Tuition Fees: Your Determination & Love towards CAT/XAT/NMAT/JMET/FMS etc.Others:Puys who want to help, but still cannot due to geographical issues, can help us out with the material softcopy/hardcopy which you feel can help some kid.Iam also talking to one of the leading coaching institutes regarding the premises/material for my special Kids. Hope, they will help us in this noble cause.Incase of any issues, Iam planning to start it from my home..Tentative Starting period: Jan 15, 2009Classes mostly in weekend for 2-3 hours on Saturdays/Sundays…Finally, many people have thought such good things but have fizzled out due to various reasons. I herewith request you all to pray that GOD gives us the power to sustain for a longer period & help as many of his special kids as possible….Lets Spread humanity across….GOD Bless all…

This was my post in Pagalguy.com during early december..

After that day, I tried so many things to reach out my special kids..

By late december Career Launcher accepted our request & they have agreed to provide us with material & space..Lots of people in Pagalguy came in support of this cause, many of them were ready to be come a teacher in my institute & others in other cities were ready to donate the material...

Finally early this the person who was inspiration (who couldnt get calls this year) accepted to be first student..

So we decided to start the institute under CL banner & name it as SPURTI-DESRIRING FOR THE DETAILS....

Today Spurti has taken her first step & this is what I have written in Pagalguy

One of the Best days of my Life...Spurti finally took her first step at 1.45 PMHate, Sriram, Sandya,Madhu, rmbt came to start off the program...The day started with Sumanth cutting the cake, it was a small gathering & we didnt had a big function or so, but it was precided over by Mr.Ajith, GM,CL, south...We all spoke to Sumanth on understanding the issues to be addressed during the coming days...Sumanth gave us his points too & with the difficulties these special kids face..Most of us were moved by these points..Overall it was a feel of satisfaction for all of us..The surprising thing for Sumanth was that I promised him to introduce couple of IIM guys in the days to come & it happened that PHANTHOM (IIMI) was in town & we had an impromtu meet & Sumanth asked lots of questions & Phanthom aka anand answered them happily . He also promised us to get us the contacts of the challenged people who are in IIMI, so that we can get their ideas as wellI personally thank Phanthom,Hate, Sriram, Madhu, rmbt & Sandya for believing in SPURTI & extending their help...Ps: PICs to be uploaded shortly

For more details..Please read it here

http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/touching-lives/35946-preparing-special-kids-bangalore-make-5.html

Today I thank GOD for giving me this day in my Life.

If any one thinks you can be of some help, please please spread the message about SPURTI to people whom you know..Lets make one more kid fulfill his dream...

Life as a Moderator of a Public Forum

People keep wishing me / Praising me about my Moderatorship at Pagalguy. I do accept that I have grown fast in Pagalguy rather I was accepted fast in Pagalguy.I joined Pagalguy in 2006 as a 29 year Old man looking for some motivation & help to crack CAT, eventually started helping one & all there, behaved in a balanced way when the results for the general guys got delayed & for the OBCs were denied..From then, I always wanted to pay back to this forum as it was the place from where I garnered lots of help/support, whenever required.After being promoted as a green Mod ie the sectional Mod, I could see a lots of difference in the way I post. Before becoming a Mod I used to write whatever I feel like straight from my Heart, but now I cannot do that, I can write about any person in whichever way I want (not slangs definitely), now I cannot...
Its not that easy to be a Mod..When I go and close a thread 10 of them are happy while 10 are'nt..When I warn a person about his public behaviour, he takes it to his heart & what not...
Today Iam a little depressed.I still remember saying that "The Results frozen thread" is my favourite thread as it brought out the true me..It projected me as a man..I had made some 200+ posts in that thread (as I was not a Mod by then) & today after 11 months, I just made one post there to "Close it off" as people were spamming there..
You may wonder why is this guy feeling so emotional about closing a thread..The Point is, it is just not a thread, atleast for me...I have a special feeling towards that thread as it keeps reminding me about what & all I felt when I couldn’t convert my IIMA call due to OBC reservations...
Check it out...
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/22406-results-frozen-admission-all-central.html
Still it was my duty & I love my duty

CAT 2007 & Beyond:-I still remember how My wife, My Parents (Contrary to 2006),AbhiG1, Rosogulla, Anupamwillreturn, Prahalad85(From Pagalguy) & others here convinced me on 8th May 2007 to go about giving CAT 2007..On that day I was shattered, Results were out, situation was beyond my control still could garner whatever balance energy with which I was left and started the journey yet again towards what that time appeared to me as my destiny "IIMA".The moment I decided to give CAT 2007 ie May 2007 I started talking to myself saying that "This year I will not compromise on Family values, I will not be a Monomaniac, I will work smarter than Harder & what not".Infact I promised the same to my wife.I decided why don’t I start teaching, which will eventually help me in my own preps. Getting a part time Job with Time was not a problem as the Director knew me well (as a student).Started teaching from the last week of May...The Schedule was 5 days of office work, after work its to sit with the basics & then 2 hours with family..Saturday first half for family..Then second half of Saturday till Sunday evening teaching..First 2 months it was OK OK..Then I started feeling that I was getting worn out, still continued...This is the time 2 important characters joined the bandwagon...AnirIIM & Cimbaiash Nitin(Pagalguy)..We decided to prepare together...The Plan was like after every mock CAT we will have telephonic calls to discuss on the paper....After a month an important Character came into my life "GREENSPAN"(Pagalguy)..Dhosth kum Bhai Jyadha.....At some time during July, I got an offer from HP & I decided to accept the same with lots of ifs & buts...Life looked tormenting..A new Job ambience forced me to work 14 hours a day, couldn’t spend time for my family as promised..Couldnt give those additional tests which anir, nithin & spammy could give ..But kept on saying "Ekh test kum daenae say kya farakh padnae wala"..Always believed that CAT is crackable & to top that feel, scores of 99.98 in QA (Simcat) & 99.97 in DI (AimCAT) added to my belief that this time Iam really really close...Mock after Mock my scores were improving unlike 2006 Mocks which were fluctuating a lot...Just one month before the Exam I went through some personal issues both at Home & Work (I cannot explain them now)..These issues were actually huge in magnitude for me to handle..I started loosing the three essential things to crack CAT , "Concentration, Peace of Mind & Time to prepare"..So many guys here came in support, tried putting me back to form, but I never realised I was actually drowning.....But again I didn’t loose confidence..But CAT had something else to offer me as a proof for my over confidence....Couldnt do well in my strongest section..Those 2 & 1/2 hours my mind wasn't working..It started thinking about all those problems I was going through along with the pressure to solve a tough QA section....Came out dejected..Knew that I have lost the Battle...Didnt want to speak to anyone..was cursing at my own self for whatever has been happening & how I have given room to the problems to encapsule me which under normal circumstances would have been the other way round...Felt really ashamed to step into the class to teach QA...Felt really lost and this debacle pushed me to look at XAT in way of taking revenge especially in QA & the results showed that with a 98.xx in QA...

Jan 8th

CAT results were declared......Got to know my scores....Was in office, couldn’t react ie didn’t want to..Reached home after loafing here & there...Was chatting with anupam at 1.00 AM that’s when I started feeling that pain..Tears started rolling down....The feel that "Bye Bye IIMs" was eating me..

Jan 18th

XAT results day..Site was not working...Called up Harshad...Got the Rely,"Bhai, GMP sae call hae, congrats"..I was actually Jumping..Happy Indeed..Thats fine..I have a call to prove something (Btw got a NMIMS call too)...Started showing that same old vigour..Felt that this call would be a rescue for the situation in which I was...March 7th & 8thStill rememember how Viggy was motivating me & pushing me & how the interview went...

Rest all history......

Looking at the whole thing, I feel Iam much matured than what I was in June 2006 when I joined PG...Iam sure, I will come back as the same old person whom you had met/known/spoken to..All I need is that feel, which will make me strong again , out of the cross roads..A feel, which will make me believe "Iam born today, Problems are of yesterday - before my birth".Iam sure with your wishes I will gain it....

In these 2 years I have learnt so many things about Bschools, Life in B Schools, Placements & what not (without actually being in a B School)...I also realised something called as true love from people here....I have no qualms....(atleast now), More than an MBA seat I have garnered the affection of so many guys here, which is more than an IIMA/XL seat.....I actually enjoyed the whole process like any one here say 23-25 years of age..Competing with each other, pushing each other ...Under Dog Team(Pagalguy.com) actually has a permanent place for me , 2006 - Member, 2007-Captain & 20xx-a permanent coach.

As I always say,

"Never give up for any reasons..You are just close to your dream"..Believe in your dreams, because those dreams belong only to you & you have the responsibilty to fulfill your own dreams.....

Never say,'This is difficult I cant do"..No never, everything is possible (look at my own case)......

Never think PagalGuy is just a forum ..A Big No..Its filled with emotions & passions as what you have, its filled with blood & feeling, It smiles when you smile, its cries & stands behind you when you fail....

Most of all, never doubt your own self in whatever you decide in Life as its your life, you know it better..once decided never step back..

As far as me, I havent decided anything as I never decide things when my emotions are high/low..Will take some time but will surely inform my family ie you....

I personally thank each & everyone who shared my pain, who came out with contingency plans, who believed in me more than I believed in myself & so on.......

Keep the faiths high & Keep Believing in Yourself

Ps: Watch out for My daughter who will come as a Prem No 2 with the same dreams, passion as her DAD....

PS: For sure its not a bye bye Post..But its a silence after the storm...........which I want to enjoy for some more time :-)

What is Confidence??
It’s a feel you get when you succeed in something which you were thinking you can..Your confidence grows much more when u succeed in something u think you cannot...
What is loosing confidence ??
It’s a feel you get when you loose in something which you were thinking you will..You loose your confidence, your mind, heart & even your life,when u loose in something u think you will win...
It’s a real test of my own character..Iam shattered now, will take some time , but will come back here as your same old Prem/Uncle.....
This 2 years of struggle has made me a 23 year Old boy..Dreaming about Higher Studies, neglecting everything in Life, a monomaniac Indeed..But reality is different...I cant even sit & cry over this debacle as I need to start looking out for my daughter's school admissions......
Tears rolling down is not an option ..atleast for some souls like me....
Its Bye Bye XLRI rather Bye Bye my Dream, MBA

Done with my XLRI Interview…..

Finally the most awaited day has come & I reached chennai railway station by 8.30..Viggy123 came down to pick me..Went to his place & changed my attire..Special Thanks to Viggy’s mom who helped me in pressing my shirt & tie…

Reached the Venue by 10.15 AM…..The Guy who came out of the interview hall started explaining me that he was grilled on Finance sector (As he is working for HP Finance Organisation)…

Surprised, when I was called in by 10.45 AM though my interview was scheduled at 11.00 AM…

Panel: Angry Prof (AP-Had a serious face), friendly Prof(FP) & Smiling Prof (SP-was wearing a smile through out the interview)

& Yours Truly (Prem)

AP: Good Morning Prem, Sit down

Prem: Thank You Sir

(FP starts going through my file)

AP: So many of you from HP have applied for this, isn’t it

Prem: Don’t know Sir (with a smile)

AP: Yes they have

Prem: Smiled

AP: Some of your colleagues have told us that HP is a cost center, what is your take on it?

Prem: Sir, I work for PSG….(AP cuts me there with a serious face)

AP: I asked you something else…

Prem: Iam coming to that answer only..explained about my division & how it is a cost center, but HP as a company is a Profit center was my conclusion..

AP:Can you differentitate HP & Lenovo Laptops

Prem: Sir, basically all the brands have similarities in performance as the internal components are all third party products..what differentiates is the external stuff…Explained the HP testing, Laptop Surface,Safety, Protection, availability of spares for 4 years etc…

AP: Are you sure, you guys assure spares for 4 years

Prem: Yes Sir

AP: What value addition can this course give you?

Prem: Can I understand this question as why MBA?

AP: No this course

Prem: Point1: Diversity of the batch with people with huge experiences will help me to understand cross vertical functionalities

Point 2:Soft skills to handle subordinates (Explained my perception about how a Manager has to play a key role in meeting organisational goals as well as subordinates emotions)

Point 3: Faculty knowledge & XL alumni network

AP was noting down all the points

AP: I will give you an easy solution for your expectations

Point 1: Join a club u will get diversity

Point2: Join the MDP programme for soft skills

Point3: Your course doesn’t have an alumni network

Prem (Back footed): Can I add a little more to my previous answer

AP: with a sarcastic smile-Do you wanna improvise your answer

Prem: Yes….

Point 4: My next role may demand me know a little about finance & HR as well as I wanna move to operations..this course can give me that

Point: Accelerated Career growth

AP started nodding his head (Got relieved)..Looked at SP….

SP: what’s the full form of your school name.

Prem: Sri Venkateswara Matric School

SP: Which Place in India has the famous Venteswara Temple

Prem: Tirupathi, AP

SP: Whose avatar is Venkateswara?

Prem: Lord Vishnu

SP: What are the roles of Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva

Prem: Brahma: Creates, Vishnu: Protects, Shiva: Destroys

SP: If shiva is the destroyer, why should junta worship him?

Prem: I don’t know the Hindu mythology, but my perception is any human is scared of death, so its basically the fear which makes us to worship shiva

SP: How is Indian Economy doing?

Prem: Its doing Good

SP: What do you mean by doing Good?

Prem: From a Middle class person’s perspective, the Job opportunities are humungous today compared to 10 years back, so its doing well

SP: How did the job opportunity increased?

Prem: Due to foreign investments

SP: But we still have beggars & some of ours sisters are forcefully doing prostitution?

Prem: When I say Economical growth, it’s the increase in the average livelihood..But whatever said & done, we cannot change the lives of every individual..especially if you talk about beggars, I would put them into 2 categories..People who really cannot work & people who don’t want to work (Considering begging as a full time profession), How do you change them..Its their mindset which is stopping them from working (My smile turned big when I was answering this)…

SP: If you get the power to formulate policies, what will you do to eradicate begging?

Prem: There was a period, when low income groups never sent their kids to school, then the Mid day meal scheme came in..The parents thought that meal as an Incentive..Likewise, I would provide free trainings like lathe cutting, welding etc with an incentive attached so that beggars attend these classes & once the course is over they can be assigned with some work..the incentive part is important for a person to come out of his comfort zone…

SP looks satisfied & asks FP to take over

FP: Prem, there is lots of change in your career, you did BE, CSE – Moved to Sales then you are working as an accounts Manager…

Prem: Sir, When I did my BE I was a day scholar traveling 240 KMs up & down (explained my mother’s illness in a brief)..So could never concentrate on studies..By the time I got my first Job I had 6 other offers for Technical roles..To be honest with you, I was never strong in my technical skills, hence didn’t want to do injustice to my job..So chose sales a I was very good in Networking & my teachers always to mock at me saying that I can get in to sales..In HP, Iam an account Manager & not an accounts Manager..

FP realizing his mistake looks at the sheet & says oh

FP: Prem, you have worked in several states, how did the difference in culture hampered you in your work

Prem: explained about how the local language is of significance & how it has hampered me in Kerala & Goa, How food has played a role in my staying there

FP: How would you then handle cross country cultures in Future?

Prem: little compromise & adaptation would help me?

FP: From the beginning we had been suggesting you to compromise & now you have accepted it….

Prem: Sir, I can compromise & adapt if it really helps me to fulfill my primary goal instead I cannot compromise on my primary goals for these trivial things

Not only that whatever adaptations I have undergone has always helped me in my personal life as well…(Explained it by saying how learning a language & adapting to food has helped to enjoy new places)…

FP looks at AP &SP..Unanimously they decide to wind it off & say thank you

I thanked them back..FP asked me to call the next chap…

I looked at AP & asked his permission to take my file..AP says sure sure…

Net, net the first 5 minutes I was blocked by AP & in the rest I was cruising,.There were no questions for which there is a single answer..99% questions were talking about my perceptions..Actually the stipulated slot was for 20 mins, but it went for about 30-35 mins…

Lets see, whats gonna happen..As far as my feeling goes, Iam happy that I delivered my best….

Comments solicited………..