AnOtHeR JoUrNeY BeGiNsss!!

It is only fitting that I post on this blog today.... at the end of a little over 2 years....

Yes, thats when it all began, my 5 IIM calls in the early days of 2006. It was truly amazing, 5 GD/PIs later I got reject from 3 & 2 waitlists, only to convert this I call... and I am soo soo glad I did.

22 months have passed since I got the accept and 20 of those were spent at IIM Indore. THe place 2 BE, the place 2 BECOME! It surprised, it amazed, it hurt, it joyed.... but the rollercoaster never stopped. Now it has come to an end.

My eyes moisten as I look back at the day, when I drove into the campus through the PEARLY GATES ( The huge main gate of IIM I) with my cousin. The very first set of people I met, submitting my documents for registration into the PGP Course at IIM Indore....

Now Its exactly the reverse, I am signing on my clearance form, rushing department to department.... seeing how the staff is wishing us, knowing that we wont be back to bother them.

The 2 years, could not have been better, could not have been more eventful, more emotional and any more FUN. I will mis this place, these people, but the memories shall remain... deep in my heart, for years to come.

Finally the DOOR lets me IN!!!!

Hi everyone...
After a long and tense 19 days between 12th April and 1st May 2006 I got an IIM convert...
Yeah I know the coveted much awaited long elusive IIM Convert and it was as GOD would have it the Indore waitlist that cleared for moi....
I still remember that morning... I reminded my father about the date and he told me he would call up the admissions office himself. ( He I guess did not want me to hear them say i had not made it and also wanted to be the first one to hear I HAD)
When he spoke there i waitied nervously and my mom also stodd besides me. The instant the admissions department incharge said I had made it, my dad indicated with his hands that I had made it. He was so happy , Mom was so happy, I was so happy...
My brothers and friends and everyone else were so happy.............................

It all seemed worthwhile... the wait.. the pressure... it made me a stronger man... I remeber my meditation and everything else.... it was awesome to be offered an Admit to an IIM.

Parties started left right and centre and calls kept puring in.. emails kept pouring in... scraps kept pouring in.. (yes orkut ROXXX!!!!)

I felt the same .. I now gear up to face the most challenging 2 years of my life ahead and ensure tht my focus and effort gets me on top.. On top of the lot and not only for these 2 years at Planet I but for the entire career ahead.

I want to learn the ART OF LIVING from the 2 year PGP program and not only management education.

I just wanna say that in the end.............. every last step is just the beginning of another.

Left Speechless.... Jobless........... Convertlesssss

Hmm...........
I post with a heavy heart and a healing heart...........

The results are OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and there is no PARDDDYYY!!!!!

got 0 converts and 2 waitlists

Me waitlisted at Lucknow (WL #169) and Indore (no rank)

Results will be out on the 1st and 9th of May so its a loooong wait tilll then....
now me back in college waiting for the results again...............

Its been a rollercoaster 3 months and some of the best learning in my life have been here...

Now its all upto the Almighty to sail me through and see me spread my wings and fly away.....


A good friend told me this when I got my results:

Someday somehow whatever you prayed for will come true
It may not be in the exact package you wanted
but it will be what GOD knows is the best for you...............


Dont wanna forget these words ever...............................................



Life has hit a PAUSE button I hope when it resumes its a fast forward and not a rewind button next!!!!!

Hello All

hieee... its been a loooooong time since I posted on my blog so here I am....
Wellll the results are awaited so nothing much on the IIM front...... Missing my friends in Pune and hoping to back there as soon as possible....
Cant wait for the results, just want this episode to get over with so that I know what to do and where to go....Results are expected in the first half of April....

Enjoying mahself in Mumbai now and partying and freaking out with friends... just letting mahself be free and tasting freedom.....

Keep in touch and post comments if any

Tried entering IN but DOOR shut :(

well my last inerview and me was wanting that it gets done with fast... and as we say Pranav Proposes God Disposes/... I was called in last for the PI...

GD was a Case Study abt
3 guys - Mr. Hirendra (GM Fin), Mr. Gopalan Nair (VP Fin), Mr. Mohan (Chief of operations) of TL Ltd, a construction company. The company is building a plant for Bikes Ltd. If the plant is operational before the 31st March, then Bikes Ltd will get tax benefits. Mr. Gopalan is also the brother in law of the MD of Bikes Ltd. Now the project is running successfully in Feb. Some load shedding was anticipated in march. currently 3 power generators were being used. mohan estimated that if the power did fail, 10 more will be needed. so mr hirendra suggested hiring these 10 generators. however since the project was executing well, the company did not hire all the 10. hirendra was out of station when suddenly there was power failure in march. in the meantime, the corporate office had already shifted one of the generators to some other site as all were not being utilised here. gopalan tried to hire the required 10 generators but could only get 7 as there was shortage of generators since this load shedding was anticipated. so he issued funds to purchase the remaining 4 generators. the project was compeleted on time. in the board room meeting, hirendra got angry with gopalan as to why did he spend extra on the project when he could have rented more generators or shifted some from the valsad plant in gujarat. Hirendra is higher up in the hierarchy compared to Gopalan. What are the issues and what should be done to resolve them?








WEll to put it mildly... the GD was slowwww and uninteresting... No one started and I had to start ..... A lot of times no one would speak so I had to speak.. this was a disadavantage for me as I ended up speaking quite a lot and not sure how the panel marked taht.....

Overall content of GD was good and nothng more would be done... NO MASALA CASE Yaar1!!!


NExt the endless wait for the PI.. I dont know why IIM Indore decided that they will call students in random order... It did not make any sense and all students were sitting hoping they would be next...
Yours truly was called in LAST after a wait of almost 4 hours and by then I was really bored and tired....

Tall Prf: (TP)
Moustache Prof:( MP)

Me: Main: Culprit: Sarkar :D


I walk in and take a seat.. and
SUICIDE OF BIGGEST ORDER>.
TP: Pranav can you please complete this form for us... I didnt know what to do.... Removed pen flled in marks and gave back... Apperenetly I had not filled in one table...

nesxt... TP: Pranav what is this company you work in??
TOld them about my company!!
TP:Okies so y PGDBA?
sir Blah blah blah..

TP: that means after PGDBA you will open classes for that course and sly smile on face...

No sir this is not my plan for a career it was started as I sensed a business oppurtunity and wanted to capitalise on it....

TP: Okies tell me what is Six Sigma
Explained

TP: Passed a sheet of paper;;;
Tell me what happens statistaically

explained well with a few cross questions as normallly done by interviewer..

TP: What is EOQ??
told
TP: Write FRormula
Wrote (by deriving and thinking loudly)

TP:What is PERT?
Me: Told the full form and a lil bit abt it...

TP: Where is it used?
Me: Sir it is used in Project Management....

TP: What is Simplex?

TOld welll

TP: Can you tell me what a Linear model looks like?

Wrote on paper but example quality was strictly average
HE corected me in a couple of places

TP: PRanav what is theory X and Theory Y

I swear I have not heard those terms or dont remember them at alll

TP: Ok do you motivational theories?
Yesss Sir

TP: Have you heard about MAslow's Hierachy Theory

Yes SIr

TP: Draw and show us

Did not know properly so goofed up here ( OB is my worstest subject)

Now he passes the baton to the other profeessor

MP: Pranav have you heard about the Seven Sisters?

YEs Sir

MP: What are they?

Sir they are......handled well

MP: NAme them (this is where i knew I was doomed) a

Named 5

MP: Do you know a state whaich has 2 capitals
No SIr

Mp: Do you know a city which is capital of 2 states?

Sir, Chandigarh


MP; Do you know why J&K is reffered to as a Special Clause seperately in all our policies?

Tried to guess here but did very miserably and he took my case on this


Okies tell me what is Delhi?

Sir a Unin Territory.. with a lot of tentativeness

TP jumps is here and says sooftly as if he is whispering....
then who is Sheila Dikhsit

Sir she is teh Chief Minister of Delhi

MP: Do UT s have Chief Ministers ?

Moi: No sir, then Delhi is a State and not a UT.

Sorry sir I got a little mixed u...


YOU MAY LEAVE PRANAV....TAKE YOUR ADMIT CARD WITH YOU...

Thank Yu SIr...

I get up, turn around 90 degrees right.....
Exit silently head held low and walk out to FREEDOM from the process at IIMs...


I dont know what i did right or wrong but it was not at all satisfying one of the worst along with K...

Bye all please cpost your comments

C flies right out of the window!!!

If you want to know how NOT to have an interview you may kindly read the next few paragraphs and to think I missed Holi for this (Sheessh)

I had my GDPI on the 16th March at Dadar Mumbai…9 Am Batch

The group had one student absent and we started off at 9.05 with the topic being “Imagine No Religion”

Hmm…. I wrote a few points and was armed with a good beginning …..as soon as the indication came for the start of the GD… A guy sitting opposite me made the beginning by explaining the topic word by word… which I thought was pretty normal… Next was me and I explained the meaning of the topic and how religion is not always about GOD but even music, sports can be a religion..
The GD went on for 13 – 14 minutes and was quite good with each of us being asked in random order to summarize….

My number was effectively 8th and I had a wait of 2.5 Hours outside..(Imagine having to wait two and a half hours to get butchered)



Black font is me

And is red them (for danger you see)


I went into the Room and was greeted by pleasantries..

Okies Pranav Temme abt yourself:

Well blah blah blah but somewhere popped the words./.. I AM A CITIZEN OF INDIA!!!! And I wished I cud go and collect those 6 words back before it hit the ears of the panelists but alas that was not to happen….
They told me after my introduction… So Pranav do u have to be a citizen of India to study at the IIMs..
No Sir. ..
I have not heard that statement in 18 years of doing this…
Where did u do your BMS from
Sir SIES college Sion…
Okies What is the state of Mumbai University today when compared to other similar universities..
Gave gyaan on new courses, recent grant from FM, syllabus updation…
But then isn’t there a large focus on coaching classes and you yourself are part of one…

Yes sir the point is that faculty are not paid enough and students don’t want to go to class in college so it becomes a big circle with all benefit from the classes scenario….


Okies so temme you passed out of TYBMS yourself what makes u think u can run classes?

Sir, ..and all the stuff abt my company and the way I set it up…

Hmm… Now Pranav tell me one thing.. try and explain this to me… why are your marks so low in the 12th standard.. (that is the weakest part of me)

Sir..sir..I didn’t like the Physics, chemistry and maths….
But I can see that your marks in economics are also pretty low..
Yes sir but since then I have caught up on it…
SO you will answer whatever I ask you about economics
Yes SIR (confidence was of prime importance here)
He asked me around 8 – 10 questions on economics which I could answer well. Except a couple . One on inferior goods and the other on monopsy..or sumthin..


Then the other guy asks me.. Pranav have you heard about NPV or IRR… Yes Sir I explained both concepts to him very well. Satisfied…

The faculty who asked me about economics now turns to MATTHS ( the only thing I don’t know)
What is y = a + bX
Sir it’s a straight line

Okie plot

Plotted (but made mistake in not joining line to y axis)
Where is A in this..
Didn’t strike me but after sometime realized the mistake and correctly joined the line to Y axis and marked A at the point of intersection..

PRANAV do you know that maths is a compulsory course at C and you will have to clear that paper or we send you back home…
I realized he is stressing me here so I looked straight in his eye and told him.. SIR I promise to learn my maths before I come to C
But its not that easy
SIR I will ensure I know my maths before I walk into campus…
Ok Pranav then differentiate this y = a + bX for me..
Did it after some thought ( he thought I fluked it)
Okie last question..
Differentiate this for me and gave a linear equation in 3rd power .. I did it comfortably…


Hmm so this u do mechanically but the easy one you took time.. I smiled..

How many calls do you have
Sir 5
Except
Sir B
Okie go (I hope some other IIM takes u cause you aint coming to C for sure)




Now I think this was the exact opposite of what it should have been like and I know I have screwed it so C and JOKA are out for me..

LUCKy for NOW atleast ;-)

Trrrinngggg Trrrinnggg
Helloooo
You are still sleeping???? You have an interview in a couple of hours!!!

Yes MOM….
That was the beginning for a day I hoped would make me Luck nowy…
After all it was the bright morning of 11th of March and I had my IIML GDPI today.

I reached the center after the usual round of temples…. Well in advance. Only to find the IIMM process also happening at the same venue…

So the time now was nearing 10.00 Am and I met a few people who looked familiar and others whom I already knew (thanks to the last 2 IIM interviews)
Made myself comfortable and then came a lady holding a clipboard and the first two words she spoke were PRANAV AGARWAL!!!

Waahh I am the opening batsman (read: BAKRA) for panel No 1
Now for the record IIM A Pranav ---------à 10th
IIM K Pranav---------à 4th

So I was sorta nervous to be first but the best part would be I would get a great seat for the GD…I walked into the room and took my seat…

The group was of 9 applicants and all were PRESENT!!
As you all know we were required to write a 150 word essay and the topic was thrown to us


The mark of an educated mind is to have thoughts without accepting them…. Or something to this effect… However it took me 10 seconds to recover and think (hehehehe) I was trying to structure and also get content for my 150 words…. After all this was a pure gyaan topic…

Suddenly I hit a brainwave and wrote a decent essay with a good structure but not so great handwriting… NO issues now I had time to spare and was looking all around the room.. Panel…. Rest of group…. Panel….. rest of group for about 4 minutes…

Next came the knock of the pencil on the table and the instructions PLEASE STOP WRITING AND SUBMIT YOUR SHEET

I gave mine and she indicated that we can start discussing..
NOW I NEVER LIKE TO START CAUSE ITS TOOO BIG A RESPONSIBILITY

But since today all things were happening like they never happened before I started and came out with a reasonable point…. After that I entered regularly and did a little listening as well… wanted to balance my approach..

The nicest thing was that this was my 3rd IIM GD without a fish market and I WAS LOVIN it!!

The GD ended and I prepared and geared myself for the slaughter…(interview yaar)

But no sign of the panel … 5 minutes..7 minutes.. then it struck me, they must be reading and marking our essays…. Finally after 10 long minutes of the GD getting over the lady came out to call me…

Pranav!! Yes Madam.. Come in we are ready ( SO AM I!!)

Panel 1: slim prof always smiling (SP)
Panel 2: Lady Prof (LP)

MOI: ME: Pranav: Main: Hum


Me: Good Morning sir, madam…
SP: good morning pranav so you have done you Bachelors in.. eeehh
Me: Sir Bachelors in Management Studies…
SP: Good…and you specialized in Finance…
Me: yes sir… we had to choose between marketing and finance so I chose Finance….
From there it was a roller coaster ride which took me through….

Statistics which I managed well
Six Sigma Practices which were ok but SP did not look convinced…
Type I Type II errors Which I knew but cud not give the best examples around..
Today’s News
Best Bakery Case (which I knew about)
CAS (which I gave good info on)
Presdinet A P J Kalam ( His full name, how is he different sfrom others, Vision 2020, why he likes children) I answered these pretty confidently and I finaly saw a contended smile on SPs Face..
Finally after 20 Minutes of all this he looked at the Ladty Prof and asked her if she watned to know anything else… NO!!
Thank You Pranav


Sipaaahi Khade Ho, Piche Mud, BAHAR NIKAL .. PARTY KAR!!!

Overall a good experince and my most balanced so far with regard to performance in GD, Essay and PI.. hope IIML makes my LUCKY!!!
WHAt say guys.. . post comments if you have any.. always ready for improvement/