A cluster of results inside a 1000 vote range sounds suspicious, and political parties often frame such patterns as fraud. But statistics tells us whether such clustering is actually unusual or simply what we should expect given the underlying data and normal variations.

The real question is: What is the probability that in 243 constituencies, several winning candidates fall inside the same 1000-vote band (e.g., 100K–101K)?

Intuition: We know that in state elections in a state like Bihar, average voting in a constituency is ~200K votes. In a constituency, what are the chances of a winning candidate getting votes  in the range 100K to 101K? Imagine we know this probability somehow. Say p% chances of this happening, then the problem becomes a simple binomial distribution problem for us to get a sense of it.

Binomial Distribution Refresher:

For the uninitiated, The Binomial Distribution is used to calculate the probability of achieving a specific number of successes (k) in a fixed number of trials (n), where each trial has the same probability of success (p).

P ( X=k ) = nCk pk . (1-p)n-k

(Ignore the formula if this looks unfamiliar, and follow the argument)

So, imagine a tennis player has a 10% chance (p=0.1) of hitting an ace on any given serve. What are the chances he wins the game immediately by serving 4 consecutive aces (i.e., k=4 successes in n=4 trials)?

Answer = ₄C₄ . (0.1)^4  . (1-0.1)^(4-4) =  0.0001 (or 1 in 10000 chances in a game)

How do we estimate p in this case:

Back to the question at hand: How likely was it for 8 candidates to have winning votes in such a tight range (within 1000 votes from each other).

To answer, let’s analyze actual data for total number of votes that were polled in each constituency, as well as % of votes garnered by winning candidates in each constituency. As expected, these are broadly normal bell shaped distributions.

Nothing abnormal till here.

Below are stats for both functions (rounded to nearest logical digits):

Number of Votes:

Mean = 206500  

Std Dev = 23000

Winning Vote %:

Mean = 0.48      

Std Dev = 0.05  

Now, we will use these theoretical normal curves. Assume that Total Votes Polled and % of votes polled for the winning candidate are two independent events (a reasonable assumption) to calculate theoretical distribution of total votes for the winning candidate.

I used Monte Carlo simulation with 1 million runs to calculate this distribution. (each simulation is a random number taken from 1^st distribution to show total number of votes polled in a constituency, and a random winning vote % taken from the 2^nd distribution. Multiple of these two numbers is the number of votes received by the winning candidate)

If you are interested in code or want to play around, feel free to visit it at : https://github.com/bhanu-sisodia/StateElections/blob/main/Election_Winning_Votes_prob.ipynb

Below is the resultant theoretical distribution of winning votes by the candidate in Bihar assembly (based on Total votes & winning vote % distributions)

The peak of this distribution is ~97K votes. The distribution is a narrow bell shape, which means a lot of winning votes are likely to be concentrated around this peak.

Let’s make a simplification to allow us do a quick binomial distribution check:

Let’s take ~25 buckets in and around this peak (12 on each side). While the data is normal shaped, with area under each bucket being ~2% of sides and ~2.7% at peak, let’s take it to be universal in this narrow band. The data range we are interested in is ~85K to 110 K. Total area under this range (highlighted in red color) is ~60% (or in other words, there is a 60% chance that the winning candidate will get votes between 85K to 110K), or 2.4% per bucket.

[Note: We are being conservative by going with this universal distribution assumption, as we see from the chart, the peak is at ~2.7% and is very close to the 100K votes mark. In such scenarios, any simplifying assumption that takes a more conservative route is a reasonable one and wouldn’t distort our conclusion as you will see later]

This 2.4 % is our p value. This is saying that there is about 2.4% chance that the winning candidate will get votes in a given 1000 vote bucket in this range.

The question we are asking is: Given 243 assembly results, how many results can fall under these buckets. A classical binomial problem now.

Results of Binomial distribution:

So what are the chances that either 1, or 2.. up to 8 candidates (cumulative 1 to 7) win within a given 1000 vote range? That’s 76.9%. What are the chances that more than 7 candidate will end up in a bucket like this? That’s ~23.1% (complementary of previous probability). But we have 25 such buckets, what are the chances that at least 1 of these 25 buckets get more than 7 candidates? That’s ~100% (99.86% to be precise).

The probability that at least one of the 1000-vote bucket contains ≥8 winning candidates is ~99.86%

What’s being highlighted as a fishy scam is actually a mathematical certainty!

Though to complete the story, the data had 11 winning candidates that polled between 100K and 101K votes. (8 from winning alliance and 3 from opposition alliance). What are the chances of 11 or more candidates winning in any of these 25 buckets? That’s still a very healthy 58%!!

(This aligns closely with our Monte Carlo model expectations, further confirming that the pattern is statistically normal.)

Final Words:

Isn’t it amazing how the results that look very interesting at first glance come out as not so interesting when we dig deeper. We, as corporate workers and as data professionals, face these challenges very often. The story most of the time originates from our biases (things that should be great, things that should not be working etc), and we often cherry pick data points to feed our own data bias. How come the same team won the best innovator award for last 3 consecutive years? How come 4 out of 10 folks of a team got promoted last year while the function number was only 11 out of 50, several such questions are thrown at us every week. Many of these questions can be tested against binomial lenses.

Binomial distribution is a strong tool to do quick back of the envelop calculations to figure out if things are within domain of being “as usual” or if they are asking for a deeper study?

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At first glance, this looks disappointing. But what if I further told you that right after India’s independence, from the 1948 London Olympics to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the country consistently ranked in the top 30? Does this mean that India is performing worse now than in the 1950s?

Let’s dig deeper. The 1990s were arguably a tough period for India at the Olympics. In both the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Games, India finished in 71st place as well. So, is the 2024 performance comparable to that of the late 1990s and early 2000s?

While these data points are factual, they can be misleading. The problem lies in how we interpret the rankings. The traditional Olympic medal ranking system prioritizes gold over silver and bronze, which can skew perceptions. A country with just one gold medal can rank higher than a country with several silver and bronze medals. But is this the best way to judge a country’s overall performance at the Olympics?

Many would argue that the total medal count is a far better indicator of a country’s sporting prowess. In the 1948-1964 era, India’s position in the top 30 was largely due to its dominance in men’s hockey, where a gold medal was almost a given. Beyond that, India had little presence in other sports, except for K.D. Jadhav’s bronze in wrestling in 1952.

The comparison to 1996 and 2000 is even more striking. In both years, India won just one bronze medal. Because all countries with a single bronze share the same ranking, the difference between one bronze and, say, one silver and five bronze medals (a total of six) is minimal. However, we know that this difference is quite significant—at least six times more.

So, if total medal count is a better metric, how is India doing at Paris 2024? Quite well, actually. With a current tally of six medals, this is our second-best performance ever, only behind the seven medals at Tokyo 2020 and tied with London 2012.

How has India’s total medal count evolved in recent Olympic editions?

This changes the narrative entirely, doesn’t it? When you compare 1996/2000 to recent editions, the country ranking may look similar, but the total medal count clearly shows that these periods are not comparable. The rankings miss the essence of the underlying improvements.

But is the total medal count sufficient? What about near misses? Suppose two countries win five medals each, but one of them also competed (but lost) in five hard-fought semifinals. The country that was consistently in more medal contention likely has a stronger sporting foundation, something not fully captured by just counting medals.

To better assess this, I have added another category to India’s more recent Olympic data since the 1984 Games. This includes events where India either finished fourth (like P.T. Usha’s heart-wrenching near miss in the 400m hurdles finals at the 1984 Olympics) or lost in a match where a win would have guaranteed at least a bronze (such as a boxing quarterfinal, where both losing semifinalists receive bronze, or a bronze medal match in most other sports).

Additionally, not all medals carry the same weight. A medal in a mega-event like soccer or hockey, with thousands of spectators, arguably has more significance than one in, say, sailing or shooting. Moreover, a diverse medal tally, with success across multiple sports, is a better indicator of a country’s overall sporting health.

With these factors in mind, let’s examine India’s Olympic performance since 1984:

Now we see a clearer pattern. India is increasingly becoming competitive in a broader range of sports, winning more medals, and creating more opportunities to win even more. Although Paris 2024 may have seen fewer medal conversions, the Indian contingent has shown that it belongs on the global stage.

Looking at the full picture, it’s evident that Paris 2024 marks India’s strongest showing in its Olympic history, laying a solid foundation for further progress in Los Angeles four years from now.

The chart also reveals some interesting insights: the absolute low point for India at the Olympics was in 1988, when no athlete even came close to winning a medal. The real shift in India’s fortunes began in 2008, roughly 15 years after the economic liberalization and coinciding with the year India joined the $1 trillion economy club.

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Unlike earlier expectations, vaccines have not magically pushed out Covid and reverted the world to its pre-Mar’20 glory(little joys and luxuries of life that we didn’t value that much at that time.. like meeting near and dear ones, those hugs, office corner gossips, water parks, life without masks.. sigh!), but have they dramatically cut down on infections? or serious illness that needed hospitalizations? or mortality rates?

While the UK is in news on account of having the highest ever cases, but it also provides one of the strongest case (on a big data set of ~70 Million population) in favor of vaccine effectiveness

source/credits: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

The UK has gone very aggressive on the vaccination front with more than 2/3rd of the population being fully vaccinated (~45% of the target population has also taken a booster jab). Effects of this focus and early leads are clear in terms of lower hospitalizations and Covid related deaths.

Russia, on the other hand, seems to be in a mess. These charts are quite inexplicable:

source/credits: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

What’s happening in Russia?

The fully vaccinated population is at ~35%, and while it is about half the ratio vs UK, but is still significant.

And yet, New Covid cases are higher, absolute deaths/day are at the highest, and the most absurd data point is that even mortality rates(3.5%) are higher than pre-vaccination era(2.1%)??

Other than pointing to the fact that sub 50% vaccination levels hardly provide a deterrent for overall society, Only 2 explanations for this:

1. Russia’s early pandemic era data was of bad/questionable quality

2. Sputnik’s efficacy against newer mutations is questionable

What do you think?

Related read: https://bhanusisodia.com/2021/09/despite-a-bad-pandemic-surge-usa-covid-19-data-presents-overwhelming-evidence-in-support-of-vaccines/

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Still there are a few realities that need to be told to the new breed of sales trainees. Knowing things in advance is always good so that Jor kaa jhatka dheere se lage. My friends, these are few of the things that you should be prepared for(Apart from traveling in a trolley with goats and life threats from competitors –

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And then Raju, his beloved younger brother who still goes to the municipal school, who still plays with his friends in the evening… For Nikku, he was living a whole new life in Raju. Late night he used to ask Raju about his day in detail, what was taught? how was the teacher? about his friends.. what did he play? How many runs he made? Whats happening in the neighborhood? and all sorts of things that he missed. Perhaps he was missing too many things, He was missing his Childhood!

India-pakistan series was going on these days, he remember that ‘Gupta Sahab’ allowed the workers(most of them were minors) to see the match for about an hour and after India’s win he even distributed sweets. Nikku brought that laddu back to his place, only to share it with Raju. He could not make much sense out of what happened except that India won and the enemy Pakistan lost, he also jumped and clapped like others did..but all that was empty and hollow.. much like his own existence.

What probably impressed him most was the Pepsi advertisement. The theme of “Yeh Pyaas hai badi” was still afresh in his mind. He was used to work in that 10 by 10 feet room with atleast 15 others in the extreme hot conditions of north Indian summer, and the water tap outside the room was the only source of respite. But now he had seen that image of so many happy persons having that chilled bottle in their hands… probably that’s the reason of their happiness, at least he will be extremely happy to have something like that. He still remembers how cold an ice-cream was when he and Raju shared one last year. Probably this Pepsi is even colder and even sweeter than that. Suddenly all the Pepsi billboards started to make a lot of sense, crates stacked outside local shops were teasing him and looked like they were waiting for the fortunate ones to come and taste them.

He mustered all his courage, waited outside one such shop till the owner got a bit free and then asked “ Paepsi kitneki hai?” (how much will a pepsi cost?)

He looked at him, his eyes were like questioning his shabby clothes, disorganized appearance and to some extent his whole identity as a human being and then with complete rudeness he answered “aath rupe” (8 Rupees) and immediately looked otherway with utter contempt.

8 Rupees, that was the difference between him and a moment that he will really cherish for a long long time.. purchasing something and then enjoying it..like all others, and that too with his own money.

His daily earnings were known to his mother and then they have to arrange for the meals, Raju’s fees, his books, the rent of the kholi ..nothing left on that side.

He then thought of an idea, he will work an hour extra and then while returning he will run hard towards the Kholi so that mother doesn’t suspect much.

Now he was doing this for last one week or so and finally today was the day when he will go to the same shop and the same shopkeeper will have to walk to the fridge and get him ‘his bottle’, after all today he had the money..and was paying the same 8 Rupees as any one of those more or even extremely fortunate ones pay.

It was late in the night, today he was not working overtime so he was walking at his own pace, completely immersed in the thoughts of his bottle of pepsi, How all the heat accumulated in these last few months will get released with those few sips, how and where he will hide the bottle, and then will take Raju out with some excuse to his favorite place..the basement of an under construction ‘Paradise apartment’ (the dimly lit place where no one see him..where he is away from his day to day troubles and can be the old Nikku as he was a few months back), and then how will he surprise Raju with that bottle of Pepsi, They will take their own time in finishing it, He could already see the smile on Raju’s face. He could not wait any longer now!

Everything went as he thought earlier, untill the shopkeeper asked him “Abhi khol doon?”(Shall I open it now?”

Nahi, mujhe de do, ghar par kholoonga (Give tht to me, I’ll open tht at home)

Abe nahi, phir tu 5 Rs bottle ke aur jama kar, kal bottle deke 5 Rs waapas le lena(then gimme 5 Rs extra for the bottle, when you return it, take them bck from me)

He requested a lot and even swore that he will return the bottle ..but all in vain!

He felt extremely stupid, useless and betrayed ..came out of the shop..it seemed that all those hundreds of bottles along with that shopkeeper are laughing at him, a thin layer of tears helped him by obscuring the huge and well-lit billboard of Pepsi, he started to run again, harder than he had ever run.. probably away from this ruthless world ..so that he can weep loudly at the basement of his favorite ‘Paradise apartment’ before returning back to his kholi.

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We all are led to the GD room, having chairs around a large table.

The GD :- GD topic was about a problem being faced by Mr Ambrose, principal of a small School.

There is a maths teacher in his college who was excellent in his job, since he joined the college, the grades of students in maths have improved considerably, and most of them no longer have any fear of maths.

He is fully focused and even helps students who need extra care through special classes.

But now all of a sudden parents of 10 students have complained against the teacher accusing him of Sexual misbehavior with their children.

Case asked us about the options ahead of the Principal in this case?

Well, as a group we started with the analysis of the problem, while 1-2 of the guyz jumped in with the solutions well within the first minute itself. I came up with points about the priorities of Mr. Ambrose, Like – First of all was to avoid a police enquiry by resolving the issue quickly and placate the parents ..take them in confidence blah blah.

Then the discussion focused on this teacher. Whether he can be allowed to work or not..or maybe if he can be allowed to take classes in school and aborting the special classes(as the incident happened in special class), or if we need a proof to take any action against a teacher having a great proven record. Whether to install CCTVs in every class room.etc etc.

I said that allowing him to take classes in the school alone will also be difficult as the atmosphere of the class will not be like it was earlier.

About Mr Ambrose’s options I said that placating parents of 10 students will be very difficult in this situation so he should talk to this teacher, tell him about the situation and assure him that without a proper enquiry he is not guilty in the eyes of management.. but being a responsible employee he should understand the situation and that he will be suspended till the enquiry is over.

I also came up with a point that we need to look about such incidents happening in large companies and that usually they have a zero tolerance policy(keywords matlab good funde) about such issues. This is a small school so they may not have any such guideline or proper rule to follow. Mr Ambrose should take it as an opportunity to lay down some rules and guidelines about what should be done in such kind of situations related to ethics/morality or criminal activities of teachers… blah blah

The Interview:-

Our panel had two profs (age around 60 years) .. one was a bit thin and serious(SP) while the other sir had a jolly attitude.(JP)

SP – You have mentioned something about Feather in my Cap award that you got in wipro.. tell me something about why was this award given to you?

Blah blah

SP – Is it just given from Project manager level?

Yeah (it was just the starting so jyada fenkne ki himmat nahi hue J)

JP – You have also written something about your father working in Dehradun on some Hydroelectric plant?

Yes sir ..blah blah

For how many years have you lived in this place?

Me – Almost all of my schooling has been done from there, Right from my first grade to class 12th.

JP(smiling) – Is it a beautiful place?

Yes sir , very beautiful. In fact its a hill station for tourists.

JP – What are the other places that you have been to?

Me – Sir Dakpathar, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Sitamari, Bangalore, then I have been to Sakleshpur for a trek, pondicherry(just before the infamous sting operation..lucky me :-D), Mangalore, Malape blah blah..

JP – Was it through college or company trips?

With friends..just casual tours.

JP – Which one is the most beautiful one?

For me, Dakpathar is the one, probably coz that’s my place J

JP – Have you find any cultural differences between your dehradun and >:Place>Bangalore>:Place>

Me – Sir, I would like to compare Allahabad and Bangalore, because of there stark contrast. In Allahabad life is different you don’t have so many engineers around you..low literacy rate..low labour rate..poverty ..ppl bein happy in what they are less materialistic blah blah..

JP – Allahabad is a spiritual city, so can you tell me something about that?

Me – (ohh spirituality ko to mein bhool hee gaya) blah blah ..talked about Sangam snan and that upto 30 lakh devotee take dip on occasions of moni amawasya or Kumbhs.

JP – So when 30 lakhs people take a dip, doesn’t it get dirty.

Me – Its already very muddy, so.. not much scope left.. laughs all around.

JP – No, what I meant is that people take dip in such polluted water, so y don’t they fall ill?

Me – Sir, as such if we see then they are just bathing and not drinking it..so there is no big chances for any illness.

JP – But maybe some skin related deseases..

Me – Actually it is not that much polluted, it is just coming through smaller cities like Bulandshahar and Kanpur(not small by any means, atleast for pollution)..unlike Yamuna which comes through a city like Delhi and then Agra etc.

And then after all we in our mythology believes the ganga water to kill all bacteria and remove diseases.

JP(getting interested now) – OK is this the spiritual belief that saves them, if I inhale polluted air will it not affect me if I have some spiritual belief about that.

Me – No Sir .. Spirituality can only give you a confidence and belief..blah blah..

JP – Ok what are the benefits of Spirituality?

Blah blah

JP – Does this mean that if I have mental strength then I can do anything?

Me – Sir, there are two cases –

1.I have the strength but due to my fears or mental weakness I will not be able to do that, in thius case spirituality will surely help me. It will induce the required self belief and allay any fears of failures.

2. If I don’t have the physical strength at all to do something then I guess that spirituality will also not help me much.

SP – OK bhanu so you are from MNNIT…. so in MNNIT, apart from studies, what else did you do?

Me – (stumped.. silent or 5 secs, I was doing well with JP..but what is this? First of all I am guilty of not studying that much over there.. and he is asking about what else??.. can I simply say that I didn’t study and did nothing else as well)

Aaaaa….. Skits.. continuous learning experience…. continuous pressure .. transition from a student to becoming industry ready..blah blah ..(real fenkupanti)

SP – So what are the benefits do you get by doing these skits?

Me – Nothing much, apart from the fact that people starts recognizing you- .. laughter all around.. you get to hear things like “look he was the guy who played the role of Osama”

Sp – Is there anything you learn from this?

Me – (thinking hard) – Yeah sir in most of the skits I played the role of Director and script writer, so leadership skills..team work, balance and how synergy adds to your work blah blah..

JP – Was thr any constant theme in your skits?

No..blah blah..

Sp – But it is not necessary that a good leader in skits will also be a good leader in managerial scenarios of industry..

Me – Yes Sir it is not necessary but they are somehow related, ultimately it is about team building and working with a team , explore synergy etc..

Sp – If I had to make a choice out of Set top box and DTH, which one will you suggest and why?

Me – Sir I will suggest DTH because of –

no issue with cable faults.. sometimes there is no power in the area from where you get the signal so you too can’t watch anything and things like this..etc etc

SP – OK but what about customer lock –in? Should not the government come with guidelines regulating the tarrifs?

Me – Let the market forces decide that..(y the hell govt need to jump into everything, n that too in ensuring that everyone is getting the daily dose of Ekta Kapoor serials at a nominal prize ..don’t they have anything better to do?)

SP – OK lets take it this way, should not the government set guidelines that only one type of disk should be used.

Me – No ..blah blah ..that again is similar to helping monopoly..etc(I missed the point he was trying to make, I thought he was trying to say that we will use only DD Direct disc kinda thing but in fact he was talking about having some common standards for enabling interoperability, so a DISH tv disc can be utilized to get services from DD if the need arrive.. realized it hours after theInterview )

SP – How many DTH satellites should be there for >:Place>India>:Place>?

Me – hmm..

Sp – I mean 1, 10 or 100 ?

Me – more than 5 for sure

SP – Can you name a few?

Me – I don’t know exactly but as far as I remember there was an INSAT – 2B launched in 2001, it had some DTH related components, now the PSLV launched in January this year also had some DTH related components. But I am not too sure about them..

[He said that that’s all he wanted to know.. in a tone that was like he is satisfied, but this INSAT 2 series was launched in 1992-1996 period , and after that we had 3 and now we have INSAT 4_ series, donno much but if he had any idea about it he must have caught it. But that PSLV launch in Jan was a fact, its another case that it didn’t have any DTH components.. but who knows? Kya pata hon bhi J . maybe I could have resigned saying that I don’t have any idea, but I just went ahead.. names of INSAT and PSLV could have gone well with the interviewers if they themselves didn’t have much knowledge about this, that is more likely as they didn’t stretch it after that .. or maybe it was just because of lack of time]

Sp – Compare Wipro and Oracle

Me – blah blah ..work culture..service company vs product company etc..

Sp – Competition for Oracle

Me – blah blah..

Sp – What do you know about banking product of I-Flex (acquired by Oracle)

Me – funde about Citi group’s earlier holdings and the related difficulty to get a share of the US market and how the Oracle’s brand name can help it to do so now ..

Sp – Compare FlexCube with Finacle

Me – blah blah ..mildly bluffed about how finacle was launched by infosys(like time and the strategy ..i didn’t have much idea but still wanted the answer to look genuine and impactful)..

That’s it..and my luck was sealed.

I did my level best, now lets see if my best was good enough.

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So it added some pressure as well, because for me somehow it was an interview for the big one. Lets start with the fateful morning of 15^th Feb itself.

This time I was determined to reach a bit early, as the PagalGuy forums indicated that the GDs are starting at sharp 9’o clock. I knew that reaching on time is as impossible for me as taking wickets is becoming for Irfan Pathan. The harder we both will try the more difficult and impossible it will get for us. But still I tried and induced my mind into believing that I have to reach there(again the familiar Monarch Hotel) by 8:30.

But I think that getting late is always in my fate, its an habit that I should meekly surrender to. Its an eternal law, Just like a S/W engineer can never find an intelligent manager, I can never turn out anywhere on/before time. Accepting the fact, at best I should try to minimize the damage.. because even if I try to change this, my luck will make sure to discourage me further ..just like the way it happened this time.

I was getting dressed when I looked at my mobile..it’s hard to read screen had “3 messages received” on it, believe me since when my love story has stabilized I only get 1-2 promotional messages per week, interrupted with 1-2 forwarded messages from friends/3 months(holi diwali types). So out of curiosity I decided to check them out. All of them were from ICICI they were like –

Msg1- the entered pin is wrong ..card will be blocked if tried more than thrice

Msg 2- 500 Rs withdrawn from your account/card

Msg3- balance enquiry done

I panicked as I had applied for an ICICI credit card(with some debit limit) and had not received it yet(a day before this also I got 2 msgs with saying wrong pin etc ..but I ignored them). Maybe it was already in some wrong hands.(and the guy now knew the correct pin as well)

Though I know that my fears were a bit stupid but frankly I am still not fully comfortable with cards, so I tried to call ICICI call center.. to my surprise they open their shops at 9’oclock for complaints. Wasted around 10-15 mins on this.

Then opting for the old trick I went in to the enquiry/new cards queue to finally get hold of a customer executive.

He confirmed that I have only one card in my name which is still to be used for the first time…that lead to a written mail from my side to customer care etc etc..

Time –8:35 a.m.

Rushed out of the flat, I had the Scooty (courtesy Sangs) to bank upon. Gave it the full accelerator..my tie was flying like a torn flag of a ship that was about to sink in the storm. You can understand the frustrations I went through while facing the Bangalore traffic and its jams when I was counting each and every passing minute.. Finally reached at brigade road(Time 9:05), parked/dumped the scooty wherever I got the space..thought about tackling the traffic police later incase if the take it to the station(wow! So much for sangeeta’s scooty, thats called gratitude :D) ran into the building..sprinted through the stairs..just to find another guy hesitantly getting ready to knock at the door.

Seeing me in this bizarre state he felt a lot better. Very similar to the feeling that I had when a fellow programmer had 11 bugs against his code within a day of QA taking it, while I myself had 9 or probably even more close to what you feel after scoring a zero in some test to discover that there is at least one more person sharing the regal score with you.

We were in the same panel(I was just so happy to see him with me that I almost forgot to worry about my own pathetic situation, .. standing outside a closed GD room which according to the attendant outside was closed since 8:55 am.)

At last we knocked(while he knocked .. I prayed.. [-O< ) A Prof came out, looked quite disgusted to see us there. I peeked in to see that guyz sitting inside had already written about half page of summary.. I knew at that instant that its gonna be really tough from now on.

We pleaded .. gave excuses of Bangalore traffic(which magically strikes a cord with anyone who has faced it even once) etc etc ..finally he went in to talk to the other Prof..and ..and EUPHORIA ..he signaled us to come in.

But just when I was about get in with a much relieved state of mind..the attendant asked me to come to a side., signaling in a manner that could have easily been mistaken

I was greatly annoyed.. asked him in quite a crass manner.. whats the problem?

He still asked me to come a step towards him..(now everyone from inside was looking at me through the door)..

I was really not amused and with my eyes straight on his face I advanced towards him..repeating my words ”Whats the problem?” :-L

He said in a contrasting low voice “Sir your zip is open” ..
WHAT??
Whew !!
OMG.. zipped the pants ..thanked the kind man. Cursed myself and entered in the room with a smiling face as if nothing happened outside.

Guyz who were in there looked at us coldly(saale ye kahan se tapak gaye..7 hee bande rehte to achcha thhaa)

He gave us the chits and told that we will get only 5 mins to read it and write the summary.(others were stopped after a couple of minutes)

The GD:- I opened the chit and the sentence written on it was –

“In business world, the rear view mirror is always clearer than the windscreen”

I knew that I had less time so tried to come to the point quickly ..the only point I could think of was about relating the windscreen to future and the rear view mirror to the past. I opted for the TATA example(as they had recently acquired corus) how there is uncertainty about their future while their past is certain and clear to all of us, was about to add something when we(both) were stopped.

Now the GD started.

The lines on which I was thinking were put forward by someone else..i knew that this is the time or otherwise I will be too late(even in the discussion :O )

I quickly came up with my TATA-Corus example to support this view.

This was well heard by the group(and hopefully by the profs as well) , but it started a flurry of such examples(you know everyone goes through ET with a renewed sense of interested in these GD/PI days.. taking every merger and acquisition as seriously as if the multi billion deal is done for the sole purpose of pushing the reader into IIMA through some backdoor entry)

This mayhem went on for about 5 mins ..the topic was lost in this GD in which the group suddenly became very much interested about all the mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in near past..i just contributed with the correct figures whenever I could. Then somehow it came back to track with someone talking about viewing this from competition point of view….like some competitors ahead of you(windscreen)and some behind you(rear view ) and tried to fit the analogy. Great diversion.

I felt that I need to get in again with something substantial.. realized that my mind is still working and came out with this bluff(purity guaranteed) –

“When we are talking about competition I would like to quote Michael Schumacher who once said that when he is on racing track he never try to see who is behind him, he believes in just focusing ahead to see who is ahead of him”

Didn’t try to relate it completely to the topic given..but still It had its impact..looked like I am talking some substance and got much respect from the group after this.

After contributing here and there in the end I again came up with one point relating this to entrepreneurship..like an entrepreneur is gonna have the road clear when he starts”(as he is the only one on that road).. but as soon as he starts to make big profits others will start to jump in ..making the road crowded and his windscreen/future less clearer than his rear mirror/past .. something like this ..

Group supported this and 1-2 guyz discussed further, I supported it with Indian aviation industry example..saying that Jet and AirDeccan had it easier as they had early advantage when compared to newer airlines ..most of whom are running in loss blah blah …

Overall a pretty satisfying GD(satisfaction of getting away with the bluff included)

The Interview:-

Interviews were very short, guyz were going in and coming out within 10 mins. Maybe the profs were worried about their lunch.

Finally it was my turn –

Both the profs were just typical middle aged(I mean around 50) profs. Not much to differentiate so I will call both of them as P. they were not much interested in the answers so I expect something similar from you as well, so I will not provide my full answers as such-

P – Tell me something about urself

Blah blah ..

P – What was this JOSH? (I had a certificate of the same)

Sir it was our cultural festival..

P – but it is about Volleyball

(WTF) :-S Sorry sir it was our Sports festival ..(hee hee ..great going)

P – Why do you want to do a management course?

Blah blah..

P -Don’t you get learning opportunity in ur work?

Sir I do get ..actually I learned a lot in my initial days ..but these days it is getting easier for me and there are fewer new things to learn now given my work constraints.

And about IIMs, I would love to have that great learning opportunity of 2 years..where I will have some of the most intelligent persons of the country as my class mates and will be taught by some of the best professors, in an area that excites me.

P-Don’t you have intelligent persons around you in your company?

Yes there are but you can’t compare all of them with the batch of IIM..different settings ..blah blah

P – Dhiru Bhai Ambani, Bill Gates didn’t have MBA weren’t they good entrepreneurs?

They were ..but they still had to learn the things in a hard way..for example Dhirubhai had to directly interact with small vendors/employees and customers in his initial days..he acquired his man power management/ HR skills through such interactions. A formal MBA can help in this process. And I do believe that DBA or AP would have become even better managers had they undergone through a formal course.

What do you know about entrepreneurship?

Blah ..blahh

According to you, who was a better leader, Azim Premji or Bill Gates?

Bill Gates ..bacause of vision ..etc

But Bill Gates was charged with AntiTrust law?

Gave some gyan over Antitrust ..like the parameters considered predatory pricing , customer lock-in etc etc ..and tried to say that all of them are debatable. Whether they are good or bad for open business is questionable..so antitrust is not a crime as such. Its just an attempt to control few things. A business decision can come under its scanner even if the company’s intentions were clear.

(Could have given funde about great leaders working for the junta that they lead)

Do you know that Bill Gates has adopted a village in India?

No

1-2 more questions followed ..thats it

very brief interview. They were just stressing a bit on why MBA kind of questions..apart from that they were keeping it really short. Maybe the profiles are going to play a greater role.

18th Feb, 2007

The post IIML(Formal Shirt, pants, black shoes, tie, that lock of hair in place… but but Look out for the zip as well :) ) appeared first on Bhanu Sisodia.