The IIM -Calcutta Chainsaw Massacre !!

Hi guys ,
Here is my next post. Usually I don't blog about my sad experiences, but having gotten over this one, I am blogging on it. I hope this helps some of the future aspirants or people who are yet to give their interviews. Here is an account of my IIM-Calcutta interview. Lovely campus... nice lakes ... a lot like IIT Kharagpur, so I felt totally at home. Then came the morning of the GD-PI session. The GD was supposed to start at 9 30, but since they were checking the validity of your National-International Level certificates beforehand, it took some time and hence there was a delay. Here is an account of the GD

Size of group : 11

Males : Females : 10:1

Panel size : 3 profs and 1 'distinguished' alumnus


The seating was semicircular. The topic of the GD was " It is not possible to be honest and prosper in India ". We were given 2 minutes to think on the topic. The discussion started off pretty smoothly. We discussed things like there being honest people like Narayan Murthy who are at the helm of their profession and that it is person-to-person. Also short term prosperity vs long term prosperity came up and the Satyam scam was taken up. I entered the GD around 6-7 times out of the 15 minute discussion and I think I made a fairly good impression. We were asked to summarise at the end, one by one. The panel started with those who spoke very less and ended with those who spoke quite a lot. I was asked to summarise 9th.


I was the 10th guy to be interviewed ( Damn it !!! ). By the time I arrived, I guess the panel was bored of taking interviews. Here's how it went ( Lady prof : LP ; Male profs : MP1 and MP2 ; Distinguished Alumnus : DA )


I enter inside

LP : Hello candidate.. come in and have a seat ....

I wish all the people in the panel and they wish me back

MP1 : So what exactly is your name. Is it Kenkre, or Nishad or Vishwas ??

LP: Well his name must be Nishad. I am sure he's from Karnataka or Maharashtra. Only these states have the system of writing your surname first. Isn't it Nishad?

Myself : Yes Ma'am. I am from Maharashtra. From Mumbai to be specific.

DA : So you are a Maharashtrian ? It looks like you are a Konkani

Myself : Yes Sir, I am Konkani. I was born in Goa. Its just that I have been living in Mumbai since the past 11 years.

They all nod and then stare at me for 20 seconds saying absolutely nothing ... I am quite stunned at this , but I prefer to remain straight-faced ....

LP loudly reads out my entire application form. Reads out my academic scores and says " Ohh my god, you are from IIT Kharagpur too?? ( 4 people before me were from IIT Kharagpur ) .. Why are these IITians all coming on the same day? Then she reads out my extra academic activities, my career goals ( they all laugh ) and finally says " Ohh he has a PPO from ITC India Ltd."

LP : So, you are a rock musician . What do you sing as such and how did you get into IIT Kharagpur's official band?

Myself : Sir I got through on the basis of auditions. I sing blues and classic rock as well as heavy metal.

MP2 : So you must be disturbing other people with noisy music in the middle of the night.. without caring for them... (smirking )

Myself : No, Sir. I don't.

MP1 : Do you watch the Midnight rock thing ?

Myself : Sir, I am not aware of any such thing ... ( I think fr sumtime... )

LP : You compose too.. do you write lyrics ??

Myself : Occasionally, yes ..

DA : So Nishad, what is this LLR thing in your form.

Myself : Sir, it stands for Lala Lajpat Rai... Its my Hostel name

DA: Who was he?

Myself : Sir, a freedom fighter

DA: Post Gandhian era or Pre-Gandhian era?

Myself : Sir, not sure

Da : You heard of Lal-Bal-Pal ?

Myself : Yes, Sir. They were three freedom fighters ...

DA : Name them

Myself ( displaying extreme stupidity here ) : Lal was Lal bahadur Shastri ....

They all had a hearty laugh. DA says " Arre I gave you a hint that Lal was Lala Lajpat Rai , still you don't want to take it"

Myself : Sir, I am not much in touch with History, so I actually don't know.

DA : Ok... Fine

MP1 : So your Father works in which company ?? And where is it based?

Myself : Huntsman Pvt Ltd . Based in the US ... In India, it has HO in Mumbai.

DA : Ok

LP : What else , Nishad ..... hmm so 8.06 out of 10 is your CGPA in ELectrical .. I wont say its that good !!

Myself : Ma'am , the Department Rank 1 has a CGPA of 9. Electrical Grading is a little tougher, if I may say

LP : Ohh.. alright ( surprisingly, she's not interested in rebutting )

DA : So you are interested in Electrical ??

Myself : Yes, Sir... I would like to think so....

DA : Really interested ?? like how an engineer is ??

Myself : Yes Sir

MP2 : You took electrical out of choice ??? Really?

Myself : Yes Sir, I did.

DA : So you interested in Electrical , huh ....

( I thought he was going to ask me questions.. but he just doesn't ..... )

LP : So Nishad what else do you do , apart from studies?

Myself : Ma'am I am a debator and elocutionist

LP ( interrupting me ) : So that's why you dont allow others to speak in the GD isn't it ?? .... She imitates me saying " Just a minute... just a minute, let me make my point " .. and then smiles wide....

Myself : I was just putting my points forward and whenever anybody interrupted me, I used to request them to let me make my point.

LP : How do you thing the GD went ?? ( smirking )

Myself : I think it was good... people made good points .. everybody spoke....

DA : Did everybody get to speak ?? As much as they wanted ? You really think so ? ( smirking again )

Myself : I don't know how much everybody had in mind, but I think everyone spoke decently....


Again they laugh... much to my surprise and dismay ....

MP2 : Nishad... you have a job with ITC that is paying you well, almost equal to the average package of an IIM in recessionary times .... If not that, you are going to the IIM's .. So you are definitely running away from Electrical for sure, despite loving it ... Wht a confusion !! (They laugh again )

Myself : Sir, I do love electrical... I am not, like, running away... There is a logical thinking pattern that I have gained through my 4 years of engineering.. I am taking it forward.. I might or might not be implementing the electrical knowledge....

MP2 : (Laughs out really loud) .... Ohh my god... the logical thing huh.. so when you make music, do you apply logical thinking ??

Myself : ( thinking for sum time ) : No Sir.. I don't ...

MP2 and MP1 are still laughing out loud ....

LP : You want to ask us sumthing Nishad ??

Myself : ( thinking fr sumtime as I was too taken aback and did nt have anything in mind )
"Sir, I want to knw if work experience guys absorb knowledge any better than fresher guys after coming to iim's "

LP (getting excited) : Well, I wouldn't say a yes to tht.... absorption of knowledge is nt at all a function of work ex .. many work ex guys come in and find it difficult to compete .... but i guess studying by paying your own fees is a different experience ...

MP2 : Any more questions ??

Myself : ( thinking very hard.. so as to prolong the very short interview .. ) No ....

THE END ..........................................................

My shortest interview till date .. lasted hardly 10-12 min...was a disappointment all over with almost nothing asked.... I was surprised at how , even after inviting core engg questions, I wasn't asked any ...... anyways... have IIM-A coming up... it'll hopefully be better .....

Ciao