From Ann Arbor to Chicago

At the risk of my blog being converted to a travel tips site, let me write about traveling from Ann Arbor.

Yes, you heard right. Public transportation in US is bad and pathetic in Michigan. That surprisingly surprises people even after knowing Detroit is a car's throw away from Ann Arbor!

Train? Well, yes, Amtrak does run from Ann Arbor but it is WAY too slow, unreliable and costly. It is surprisingly so considering there are really so few trains here. Apparently Amtrak gets the last preference on a track, which means LAST preference! Now that's something. Naturally, you cannot trust its timing - this aint no Europe. Of course it is costly too.

I guess the best way to travel out of Ann Arbor is through Chicago ... to Chicago too. It is a great city - a "real" city quite unlike some in Michigan now :) The most convenient way seems to be the Megabus which is, again surprisingly, not as famous as I initially thought. Greyhound? Seriously people?

The one time I did travel from Chicago to Ann Arbor on Greyhound, it took 50% longer. However, the worse part was a longing anticipation of whether there will be seats available on the bus! I was shocked and surprised to know that apparently you can travel Greyhound standing. Wow! If almost always overbook and if you are unlucky (no seat numbers, sorry mate), you go standing. Good luck with that. I heard at least 3 passengers confirm this in the line while we were anxiously waiting to get in at Chicago.

Now back to Megabus. The only time this seems to be running late is when it is snowing. That is understandable. I assume the other modes of transportation will do not better in that weather. I did travel during the snowy season and in fact I was lucky that the bus was an hour late at AA because I arrived half an hour late at the bus stop! The return from Chicago to AA was on a snowy night and the bus arrived over 2 hours late, but it seemed legitimate.

The Megabus also seems to do well with facilities - they have a WiFi on the bus though I don't like to carry my laptop during travel, simply because it spoils the ride for me, IMHO. No, I am not really advertising for Megabus here, but really, they seem to do a good job.

Oh and the better part? You can actually get tickets for as less as $1! No kidding - I did travel from Ann Arbor to Chicago on a $1 ticket, with a 50 cents online registration fees (which in hindsight comes to 50%!) So that's another reason to choose a rare mode of transportation besides your car in here.

Do you realize ...

TEDxUofM conference asks: If you made the statement, “Do you realize… ” to the world, what would you express?" My entry was the below poem, which got selected :) Looking forward now to attending the conference!

Do you realize the power of dreams

Of imagination let loose

Culmination of a myriad schemes

Striking like the lightning of Zeus



Do you realize the power of hope

Of wanting a better life

Optimism in its infinite scope

A world free of strife



Do you realize the power of the mind

Of dreaming the truly impossible

Perhaps mankind’s greatest find

That makes magic possible



Do you realize the power of science

Of understanding the world around

Looking at the grand alliance

Of the everyday mundane and the greatly profound



Do you realize the power of You

Of understanding we are made of sterner stuff

If only everybody knew

They were diamonds in the rough

Life as we (don't) hope it

(The scene is set before an exam. There are books scattered all around the place. There are scattered papers on a table, which also houses 3 empty coffee cups, an earphone and an iPod. The whole place looks like a mess. A guy is sitting on a chair, head held in his hands and sighing. He looks stiff and tense)
Enter Hardly.

Hardly: What a bloody mess! It looks like a vampire cave Laude.

Laude: But I am not the hunter, but the hunted. No time for your silly jokes Hardly, I gotta study!

Hardly: You kidding me! Why do you take things so seriously anyway?

Laude: (pretends not to listen) To read or not to read, that is the question.

Hardly: That question I thought had already been answered. You eat if you are hungry and you read if you have a hunger for what your reading is supposed to feed you.

Laude: Life unfortunately is more complicated. Remember the ant and the grasshopper?

Hardly: (laughs) Yea, imagine the hardworking ant being trampled under an elephant's leg as it gets ready for a life that doesn't exist.

Laude: And the point is?

Hardly: The point is that there is no point. If your reason for work is too much into the future, then it is worthless. On the other hand, if you have the journey and not a supposed destination in mind, then it makes sense. Your plane to the destination can be hijacked any moment.

Laude: You mean it is unwise to prepare for a better future?

Hardly: I mean it is unwise to anticipate a better future without exploring other avenues. If life is supposed to be about happiness, then the current state of affairs is perhaps as important as the future that you dream of. In any case, if I don't do well on tomorrow's exam, there is no guarantee that I won't have a good future, as much as there is no guarantee that you will have one if you perform better. The matter is not even of probabilities but rather a kind of hope that things will turn out well for the person working hard. Life of course never works that way.

Laude: I have found a logical flaw in your argument!

Hardly: What's that?

Laude: The exam is not tomorrow, but today (smiles)

Hardly: (laughs) You are always right!

(curtains close)

Title: Untitled

Ditching an MBA
And going for science
Will it lead to dismay
Or a natural alliance


Look for a job
That does not exist
Trod the globe
Or simply persist


Or spend 5 years
Doing what I like
But may end up in tears
With an unparalleled alike


Should I smile
For an excellent college
Or take a while
And truth to acknowledge


Should I have cried
For lack of choice
Reality denied
Any simply rejoice


Never know till the end
The good and bad
Till then pretend
You’re glad not sad


Parallel roads
Without a compare
Matrix reloads
And life goes where?


How do I know
Happier where I will be
Which way to go
So the heart is free

The Visa Experience

So here I am all geared up for the D-day. The most important thing for me is that the day is "astrologically good" :) I have a ton of papers I never knew even existed. I had documents from a CA about liquid assets (apparently liquid is the opposite of fixed, unlike what I learnt in my first grade :P)

Went to the Visa center about an hour earlier. Waited outside with my dad for some time, then went inside. Apparently, though I was half an hour early, I was one of the last people to arrive for that time slot! The line was long. All sorts of familiar "groups" of people - first time students, returning NRIs (the "yo-buddy cool dudes" :D), parents, etc. etc.

There is a lot of checking going on before we are allowed to enter inside. This is worse than the airport! The line doesn't move slowly; it moves slooooowly! However, the best part is after a little while, there is some "technical problem" and the almost zero line speed becomes exactly zero! They ask for people with children in first. After some time the problem is supposedly resolved and the 'near zero but not yet zero' speed continues. Some stupid checking and stuff goes on and we are sent inside.

The Indian staff are pretty rude, just as expected (I work in the AMERICAN embassy vanity!) Going inside, there are railway ticket counters. Hey wait a minute, I am not in a railway station! Oh, we are sent inside and they require the fingerprints of all the 10 fingers recorded so this is where they do this.

Going further inside the dungeon, we are required to show the filled in forms to a "vanity-rude" person who asks for some changes that are naturally meaningless but needed nonetheless (like typing in NA for your spouse's details even when you say you are not married and stuff like that!) Take a token and wait in the waiting area.

My chance comes pretty soon, perhaps after a wait of 10-15 minutes. So this is supposed to be THE moment. No, I am not really tensed. Go to the Visa Officer. She's a lady perhaps in her early 40s but I can be way off coz I am pretty bad at ages (especially with the ladies ;) ). She is typing something away at the computer. Here is the conversation -

(SK=me, VO=Visa Officer)

SK: Good morning ma'am.
VO: (smiles as if pleasantly surprised!) Good morning, how do you do?
SK: I am fine thank you, how do you do?
VO: I am great! Can I have a look at your documents?
SK: Sure!
(hands over the documents across the counter)
VO: (going through the documents) So University of Michigan huh?
SK: Yes ma'am.
VO: So how are you funding your studies?
SK: Personal funds + bank loan
VO: What does your father do?
SK: blah blah
VO: (types away at the computer)
VO: Your Visa has been sanctioned. You will get it in about 3 days.
SK: Thank you ma'am!

Bottom line: Less than 2 minutes interview. Just like everything else, this seems to be purely luck as well.

I was a little scared with the 221(g) stuff coz I applied in aero. That never came up in any case, reinforcing the luck factor and the astrologically good day :P

IIM Calcutta GD/PI experience on 9th March 2009

Had the IIM Calcutta interview and group discussion today. Was shortlisted only for the PGDCM program. Most present were in both or only for PGDM, I along with one other were the only ones for the exclusively PGDCM program.

The people shortlisted for both needed to give two personal interviews and only one GD. My centre was at IIM Calcutta. Was in the morning session, starting 9:30 am. No girls at all! Since the center was at IIM Calcutta, it seemed too familiar territory for them. The profs were completely in their informals. There were 3 profs in our panel.

We were asked to submit our originals and the form for verification. Did that, since I was the first in our group. It seemed to be great to have it done and then leave soon. People were strangely silent and there didn't seem to be a lot of interaction, contrary to the case of IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozhikode interview.

The GD process:

Started with the GD for all the PGDCM shortlisted candidates. There were 9 in our group. We were called in one at a time from the list. I was the first one, so sat in the corner. Now this GD was different in that it wasn't in a hotel room, so the chairs were all arranged in a semi-circle and the three profs were sitting quite away. We were first told the "process" of the GD. We would be given a topic for discussion and a couple of minutes to think about it. Then there would be a 10 minute discussion. Then they said they would call out names in a random order and that person would have to speak for 1 minute everything that he hasn't spoken or a GD summary or anything. They didn't seem to look for anything in specific, coz they said initially about points you didn't get a chance to speak and later said you could also summarize.

The topic of the GD was "MBAs do not make good business leaders". Initial reaction was obviously that of shock! They didn't give us any paper to write on; then one person asked for a piece of paper and we were all given a leaf out of a notepad. No desk to write upon though!

Anyway, they said 'now you may st...' and one fellow began already. Typical coaching center brainwashing :D - start the GD and you are halfway through mentality. Anyway he said something. I was the fourth or fifth speaker.

One good thing for me in the GD was that I wasn't cut in between by anyone, and my voice seemed to be loud enough, a big improvement personally from the IIM Bangalore interview. I did come in a few times when everyone began speaking, but after a couple of seconds it was just me ... did feel good :P

Anyway, the discussion went on, not very good on the basis of the points proposed, which is similar to the IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozikode GDs as well. My performance seemed decently fine in terms of points as well as the total time for discussion.

One person had done this 'OK wait you don't speak, let him speak' thing once, but seemed almost legitimate as that guy had really not spoken once!

I didn't notice the time as usual, they said stop sometime soon. Then they said they would be calling out the names for them to speak for 1 minute. They started with the guy who hardly spoke, and they remarked that as well when they asked him to speak. For the next 4, it seemed to follow the order of going about those who spoke the least to those who were more active. This changed for the 5th person whom I thought must have been considered the best. No idea though.

I was the second last. Did give my viewpoint as well as a summary in the direction that I was talking about. No idea whether I spoke for 1 minute, but was fluent enough. They were cutting short people who exceeded their time, but they didn't do that for me, so I guess it would have been less than a minute.

The PI experience:

The three profs were sitting at the same place; a chair was placed about 10 feet from them! I didn't know whether to sit there or drag it front, so I just stood there. They signalled me to sit. I had to deliberately increase my volume so they could hear me. They did get whatever I was trying to say, though I didn't understand them a couple of times!

The three of them seemed to ask questions randomly in a random order on random topics. So I wouldn't remember them as questions from P1, P2 or P3. Also, since the questions were random mostly, I might err on the order in which they were asked.

So here it goes ...
(SK is me, P is a prof)

SK: Wishes them. Is signalled to sit on a chair 10 feet away from his interviewers. Fears it might be a stress interview.
P: So tell me something about yourself.
SK: tells about background, family, hobbies.

P: So you are coming from Guwahati.
SK: Yes sir.
P: So tell me why is the north east technologically backward.
SK: blah blah about their reluctance to adapt to new technologies and them feeling threatened by the change.
P: So you think it is all in the mindset?
SK: Yes sir.
P: How should the situation be improved?
SK: blah blah about how the government should employ more people in the local industries like oil.
P: So is it the government's prime responsibility to take care of industrialization?
SK: It is one of the main responsibilities of the government.
P: But that's where the concept of private firms comes in. Look at Gujrat, most of the industries are privately run.
SK: Sir private firms have their restrictions, like they cannot be socially inclusive etc etc and some blah blah.
P: Ok

P: So you play chess?
SK: Yes sir
P: Have you played at any level
SK: Just at the hostel level :P (should have said at the insti level at least!)
P: So tell me there was this thing about Deep Blue, the chess computer. But there haven't been many thereafter. Why is it so difficult to make one?
SK: The number of combinations of moves get increasingly large.
P: Do you know how large? A number?
SK: Not sure sir, but in billions. In addition, it is not just the next move, but a whole strategy that needs to be thought over, which may go well beyond the next move.
P: So how many opening moves are possible?
SK: (thinks) 12
P: Are you sure?
SK: (realizes he is grossly mistaken! Takes a few seconds more and says) 20, for the first move of white.
P: How did you arrive at that?
SK: 8 pawns, either one or two steps ahead = 16, two positions for each knight = 4, so total 20.
P: Ok

P: Do you follow sports?
SK: Not that much sir!!
P: So are you aware of everything happening around?
SK: I am reasonably well aware sir
P: So what do you understand by globalization? What comes to your mind when I say globalization?
SK: (thinks about Appadurai's handout in HSS :P decides its a bad idea!!) Sir it is the opening up of markets and an influx of the Western capitalist economies to the rest of the world; and try to explain and elaborate on it.
P: (Doesn't look very convinced) Can you tell me in a sentence
SK: Sir it the exchange of social, cultural and economic ties across the countries (or something like that!)
P: So it is not just about the economy?
SK: No sir.
P: (looks convinced) Ok

P: So do you follow the economic news? Do you read the Economic Times
SK: Sir I am reasonably well aware of events.
P: So what is ERP?
SK: No idea sir :D
P: Have you ever heard the term ERP(it was ERP or EPR, not sure :P )?
SK: Never sir
P: Not even when you are browsing through the news?
SK: NO sir!!
P: Didn't you read it in mechanical engineering?
SK: No sir
P: Didn't you have any courses on the use of information technology in industries, supply chain management etc.?
SK: No sir!
P: So what did you read in mechanical engineering?
SK: Fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, materials, thermodynamics etc :P
P: So you know about various turbines? What are the types?
SK: Sir basically two types - axial and radial!
P: No there are the ones with low head, medium head and large head right?
SK: (pretends to think!) I am not aware of their names sir!
P: Ok
P: Have you worked on a CNC?
SK: Yes sir, we had an assignment on it.
P: So what are its advantages over conventional lathe?
SK: blah blah about precision, accuracy and mass production.
P: So why do they still use conventional lathes?
SK: blah blah about ease of modification and cost.
P: So do they still use manual lathes in foreign countries?
SK: Yes sir.
(should have diverted the discussion towards Finland intern, like I did in the IIM Bangalore interview, but didn't!)

P: So you are one of the few candidates who have applied only to the PGDCM program. Why is that?
SK: I wasn't shortlisted for the PGDM program.
P: (Some talk among themselves) Ok.
P: So do you know about the PGDCM program? Have you gone through the course structure?
SK: I have seen the outline sir.
P: So are you at all interested in it?
SK: Yes sir very much :D In fact I am good in programming, won the google programming contest and also a game programming event. I am good at the logic part of it.
P: So you have to find whether a number is prime or not. How will you do it.
SK: Check till root (N)
P: Why root N?
SK: Because any factor above root (N) will have a lesser factor too.
P: Ok fine, but still it is a lot of work for big numbers. Can you think of something more efficient.
SK: (thinks) Talk about Fermat's little theorem. This guy doesn't know it!
P: So what is it? a power what? what is a? will this work? some nonsense blabbar.
SK: This was an alternative when multiplication is cheap, I cannot think of anything else.
P: Ok.

P: So you like mathematics?
SK: Yes sir.
P: Which area?
SK: Number theory!
P: What is a rational number?
SK: Which can be expressed as p/q where p,q are integers. (Didn't say about q being positive! )
P: So can you tell me a number that isn't rational?
SK: pi
P: Something simpler?!
SK: root 2! :D
P: So can you prove that root 2 isn't rational?
SK: (thinks for a couple of seconds) Yes sir, I think I can.
P: Take the pen, directs me to the board, and asks me to use it.
SK: Take a minute and prove it.
P: (Convinced) OK

P: What is this course on Critical Thinking that you have taken?
SK: It is a philosophy course sir.
P: You have taken another course as well on philosophy right?
SK: Yes sir I like it very much :D
P: So can you tell me some differences between oriental and western philosophies??
SK: blah blah about soul, karma etc. (Should have talked about how religion and philosophy are so mixed and integral in eastern philosophies but completely the opposite for western philosophies. )
P: Can you name any 3 western philosophers?
SK: (sudden mind blank!) Descartes, Sartre (?!) ... ... (thinks) Plato, Aristotle!
P: Ok.

P: So you have heard this term "Meltdown" recently?
SK: Yes sir.
P: What does it mean?
SK: some blah blah about breakdown of financial institutions and the current economic system as we know it.
P: How did it start?
SK: Started with the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.
P: What is sub prime?
SK: Those customers who do not have adequate means to pay back.
P: Is that what is sub-prime?
SK: Sir banks have a credit history of customers, and those that do not have good credit history are sub-prime.
P: (not very convinced) Hmm ok.


P: (to others asking them if they had anything else to ask. None had) Ok so you may go.
SK: Thank you sirs.
P: (while I was collecting my file) So what other IIM calls do you have?
SK: IIM Kozikode, IIM Lucknow, IIM Ahmedabad. (didn't tell him Bangalore, don't know why!)
P: Is this your first interview?
SK: No sir, I am already done with Kozikode
P: Ok
SK: Thank you sir !

IIM Bangalore GD/PI experience on 24th February 2009

Had my IIM Bangalore interview and GD today, 24th Feb 09 at Kolkata. The venue was the same - Kelinworth Hotel. My slot was the morning 9:00 am slot.

There were two panels. Each panel was supposed to have 8 candidates, but two were absent? :eek: ... and two were absent even from the other panel! So in all, we were 6 of us. One girl, rest boys. The interview panel had a lady prof and a male prof. Dress sense of profs was formal, unlike for the IIM Kozhikode interview! My panel had one guy from Shillong, one guy from Sikkim and me from Guwahati! :D I was 3rd in my panel.

The GD experience:

Started off with a GD. Called the names and we were made to sit in order, just like for IIM Kozhikode interview. They told us we would be given a topic, given 5 minutes to think, 15 minutes to discuss and 5-10 minutes to write a summary. They weren't strict at all with the timings, and when some people didn't finish their summary writing in time, they announced that those who had finished may leave, rest may take more time! Anyway, I did finish it in time :)

We were strangely allowed to keep the GD sheet with ourselves. This was not the case with the other panel, where the sheets were taken away. This is the exact topic of the GD:

In recent times, the government has imposed restrictions on nightlife. All pubs and nightclubs have to be shut by 11:30 and discotheques are not allowed. The government and the police contend that imposing early closing hours has helped reduce crime rates and drunken driving. The people visiting pubs and nightclubs say that they are not criminals and drunk driving is unlikely to stop unless sliquor shops are closed down. They further point out that by putting curbs on nightlife, the government risks criminalizing fairly harmless activity. Anyway if this argument is carried to its logical conclusion then it would be like arguing that all travel should be stopped because any travel raises the risk of accident. They also argue that drinking and dancing is not illegal and the government is imposing unncessary restrictions. In reply some people argue that it is immoral to drink and dance and 11:30 at night is late enough. The supporters contend that they work long hours often past 11 p.m. and if they feel the urge to go for a drink they should be allowed to. The arguments rage on.

Where do you stand in this debate?

The GD had absolutely no high noise levels and was very civil. My performance wasn't as good as it could/should have been, but wasn't bad either. Did come up with a couple of good points but overall speaking time was quite less, and should have been much more. Later the first question in my interview was my opinion on the topic of the GD!

Anyway, IIM Bangalore claims that it gives only 5% weightage to the GD, 5% to the summary and another 5% to the summary style! The only problem is there are very less freshers called for the GD/PI process, and so might be slightly difficult to make it finally. However, overall the GD was satisfactory though could have been better.

The interview experience:

The interview lasted for about 12-15 minutes. People coming out were quite happy with their performance. There was no stress at all. The interview was very casual in nature, absolutely no technical questions and no questions on general knowledge/economics etc too! Was just like a conversation across the table.

The lady prof was asking all the questions and the other prof was going through the certificates. Since it was more like a conversation and questions raised from where I led the discussion to, I don't think the experience might help people much! But anyway, here it is - the questions may not be in order
(LP = lady prof, MP = male prof, SK = me)

LP: So what do you think about the GD
SK: (starts off with a summary type, where I say 'the group felt that...')
LP: No, tell me your views on the topic
SK: blah blah in partial support of nightlife and clubs with sensible restrictions etc. Mention somewhere that crime isn't exactly proportional to nightlife, as can be seen in foreign countries. Also say that there should be regular alcohol checks, as in foreign countries perhaps.
LP: So can you tell me one country where such checks are done?
SK: When I went to Finland (:D :P) I did see an active nightlife and also the crime rate is one of the least in the world
LP: So why do you think crime rate is less there? Are Indians more unruly?
SK: blah blah about they being rich
LP: Ok.

LP: So you are in your final year
SK: Yes ma'am
LP: So are you placed?
SK: Yes ma'am,.
LP: So where will you be placed?
SK: Didn't get the final offer letter, no idea!
LP: So what will you be joining as? What will be your role?
LP, SK: (blah blah about it, some desultory chit chat ! )

MP: So I will ask you a standard question, you may give me a standard answer!
SK: :O :O :O
MP: So why do you want to do an MBA?
SK: blah blah about how it would make me more useful and complement my technical background.
MP: (not convinced, some other questions)
SK: Sir I was actively involved with organizing my technical festival ....
MP: OK OK now THAT is a standard answer. No need to elaborate :D I'll cancel this question!
SK: (smiles!)
MP: So you have been to Finland right?
SK: Yes sir
MP: What is the most common drink there?
SK: (:O) I am not very sure, but Finlandia vodka is very famous! :D
MP, SK: (some chit chat about it)
MP,SK: (chit chat about drinking at IITs, drugs(!), ragging, smoking, why I don't drink, peer groups, how IITs much have changed(!) etc. etc. )

LP: So what are your hobbies?
SK: Playing chess, writing poems and short essays
LP: What do you write on?
SK: Contemporary topics, philosophy and religion
LP: What was the last thing you wrote about?
SK, LP, MP: (a whole lot of chit chat about religion, Hinduism, western influence, writing at IIT, and blah blah blah!!)
LP: Have you gotten your work published in say newspapers or magazines?
SK: No ma'am, just the college maganizes and newsletters.

LP: So you mentioned in your SOP about your internship at IISc. Did you visit IIM Bangalore then?
SK: (:D :O :P) No ma'am!
LP: So you didn't have MBA on your mind then?
SK: Not exactly ma'am.
LP: So when did you have those plans?
SK: After coming back!! ( :D) I was involved with my technical festival, gotten a first hand feel of management blah blah
LP: So do you think organizing a fest is equivalent to a career in management?
SK: Not really ma'am, but blah blah about how MBA would help me a lot to apply my technical 'expertise' and make informed decisions and blah blah
LP: Ok, thank you for your time
SK: Thank you ma'am, thank you sir. (leaves)