1 Per Child) Personal Details Name: Date Of Birth: Male Female: School: School Year: Fill & Download for Free

I dont remember when was the last time, BJP government did anything which benefited India. The BJP government introduced NPR (Manual) 2020 to keep everyone busy. Like they did during Demonetisation, what happened out of it.The entire NPR process is so futile and boring that I am sure, you will not even go through the entire answer.Here are few sample question, followed by sample of mother-tongue codes, and some more boring material.Here we go-Q.1a. Name of the person in full: Ask whether name printed in NPR booklet is correct or not. If not correct, encircle the name (or part of name) to be corrected and record the correct name in the space available. For a new household member in an existing household/ for a new household in the HLB, please write her/his name in full in the space provided. It is very important to write the person's name carefully and correctly. In case of the female members of the household, respondents may sometimes refuse to divulge the names. Similarly, female respondents may not give the name of their husband or of any other relation. In such cases you must explain that the name of every person is extremely important for the creation of NPR. Please ask for any document like ration card, Aadhaar Card, PAN card, voter ID card, school records, etc. which would reveal the name of the person in such cases. If all such efforts fail in all such cases, you may record as so and so's wife or sister or mother or husband or father or son or daughter as the case may be. Sometimes, the infants and children may not have been named yet. Please try to ascertain the intended name for the child by explaining to the respondent the importance of capturing the name of the individual in the NPR. However, if the respondent insists that the child has not been named, you may, in such cases, write “so and so's son or daughter” as the case may be. It hardly needs any reemphasis that all members of the household should be enumerated and entered in a systematic order.1b. Availability of member of the household: In case a member is available as per the printed data, put code ’1’; if any person in the data booklet has expired or died, put code ‘2’; if a member of the household has moved out then put code ’3’ and for a new member put code ’4’. For a completely new household, skip this information.Q.2 Relationship to Head: Record the relationship of the respective member with the head of the household in 2 digit codes in the boxes. The codes are given at the bottom of the schedule.The codes are reproduced as under: Relationship Code Head/Self 01 Spouse 02 Daughter/Son 03 Granddaughter/Grandson 04 Mother/Father 05 Sister/Brother 06 Daughter-in-law/Son-in-law 07 Grandmother/Grandfather 08 Mother-in-law/Father-in-law 09 Other related person 10 Domestic servant 11 Other unrelated person 123 Sex: Ascertain the gender of the respondent and correct, ( dont take it otherwise) if any mismatch is there as reported by the respondent. For new NPR schedule, please record the code from the code list given in the schedule. For male record ‘1’, for female record ‘2’ and for Third gender record ‘3’.Q.4 Marital Status: Verify the marital status of the member of the household being enumerated. Please record the appropriate code as per the status given in the code list below. The codes are: Never Married-1, Currently Married–2, Widowed-3, Separated-4, Divorced-5. a) For a person who has never married any time before, record code '1' in the box under this question. b) For a person currently married, whether for the first or another time and whose marriage is subsisting at the time of enumeration (the spouse is alive), record code '2' in the box under this question. Similarly, enter code '2' for persons who are recognised by custom or society as married and also for persons in stable de facto union. Even if a marriage is disputed, record code '2' if the person concerned says she or he is married or is in stable de facto union.c) For a widowed person whose husband or wife is dead, and who is not presently married, enter code '3' in the box under this question. d) For a person who has been separated from wife or husband and is living separately with no apparent intention of living together again, enter code '4' in the box under this question. e) For a person who is divorced either by decree of a law court or by an accepted social or religious custom but has not remarried, enter code '5' in the box under this question. f) This question must be answered for all persons irrespective of age. For very young children, though we know that they may not be married, the appropriate code must be entered after enquiry. You may be aware that in certain parts of the country child marriage or pre-puberty marriage is still prevalent. g) The children are married even before they attain the age of puberty and the consummation of marriage takes place later. Therefore, if the person is married and even if she/he is living apart from her/his spouse till the Gauna is performed, the person will be treated as currently married and code '2' will be recorded under this question. h) Code '2' is allotted to 'currently married'. The word 'currently' does not mean 'recently'. It only means 'at present'. For example, a man may be 80 years old and may have been married 60 years ago; if his wife is still alive and the marriage subsists, he is 'currently married'. i) The condition for the marital status to be reckoned as 'currently married' is that the husband and the wife both are alive and that their marriage subsists, i.e., they are not divorced or separated. Please note that we are not concerned with the legality of a marriage.5 Date of Birth: Verify the date of birth of the member. If not matched, record the correction in the space provided. Record the day (2 digits), month (2 digits) and year (4 digits) in the space provided in the format DD-MM-YYYY. If the respondent is unable to provide the date and month of her/his birth, then record only year. Date of birth is one of the important items of information being collected in the NPR. In most of the cases, the date of birth of a person may be known. In case, the respondent does not know the exact date of birth, the same could be ascertained from documents such as birth certificate, School Leaving Certificate or any other relevant document like Aadhaar Card, Voter ID card, PAN card, Passport etc. In some cases, the horoscope (Janampatry) may contain the date of birth in English or in the local language. In case it is written according to the local calendar then you might have to convert the same into the English (Gregorgian) calendar. In order to assist you, the conversion sheet is given in the Annex III. Some of the situations that an Enumerator is likely to encounter while canvassing the question on date of birth of a person are discussed below:a. The a c t u a l d a t e o f b i r t h a s p e r E n g l i s h C a l e n d a r i s k n o w n : R e c o r d t h e day (2 digits), month (2 digits) and year (4 digits) as returned by the respondent, example-12th May,1958 should be recorded as shown below: 12051958 b. The date of birth is known as per local calendar: i. In such cases, convert the date of birth as per local calendar to the English calendar to the extent possible. You may use the Ready Reckoner-1 (Annex III) to arrive at the year of birth as per English calendar from the year of birth as per local calendar. ii. iii. If the month of birth is known in the local calendar, record the English equivalent month. Since the local calendar varies from place to place, you may take the help of local people for converting the Day, Month and Year of Birth in local calendar to English calendar. A table showing months as per National Calendar and corresponding Gregorian months is given at Annex IV for ready reference. c. Only year of birth is known: In such situations follow the step-wise approach stated below: i. ii. Record the year of birth. If the informant tells only the year of birth but is not sure about the month of birth, ask whether the birth was before the rainy season or not. If the birth was before the rainy reason, you may further ask whether the birth was in the month during which some important festivals like New Year’s Day, Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, Makara Sankranti, Pongal, Republic Day, Basant Panchami, Maharishi Dayanand SaraswatiJayanti, Maha Shivratri, Holi, Gudi Padwa, Ramnavmi, Vaisakhi, Bihu, Mahabir Jayanti, Good Friday Budh Purnima are celebrated and estimate the month of birth. Similarly, if the birth was during or after the rainy reason, you may probe and estimate the month of birth by asking whether the birth was in the month during which some important festivals like, Nagapanchami, Janamashtmi, Raksha Bandhan, Independence Day, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Dussehra, Gandhi Jayanti, Diwali, Bhai Duj, Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti, Chhath Puja, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Ayyappa Festival, Christmas festival are celebrated. For your convenience, a list of important Festivals and corresponding Gregorian months in which they fall is given at Annex V. Also estimate the day in these cases appropriately and record the same in the space provided.d. Year of birth is not known but age in completed years is known: To estimate the month of birth, follow the steps mentioned at above para c( i). The year of birth (in 4 digits) may be recorded using the Ready Reckoner (Annex VI) for converting age in completed years to year of birth as per English calendar. Follow the steps mentioned above to arrive at the month and day of birth and record the same at the appropriate place.e. Neither date of birth nor age is known: In such cases, estimate the day, month and year of birth through probing questions. Some examples of probing methodology to estimate the year are depicted below. The month of birth may be estimated following the step mentioned in above para c( i). i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. The informant may be assisted to arrive at the correct year of birth by stimulating her/his memory with reference to any historical event, etc. well known in the area such as a war, flood, earthquake, change in political regime, etc. Examples include: First World War (1914-1918), Dandi March (1930), Quit India(1942), Independence (1947), India's war with China (1962), war with Pakistan (1965), liberation of Bangladesh (1971), Asiad Games (1982), India's first win in the cricket world cup (1983) etc. Relating the birth of a person with the year when an important event has occurred, you can arrive at the year of birth of the person. Sometimes, the year of birth/age can be ascertained with reference to the year of birth/age of another person of known year of birth/age, who may be living in the same household or in the neighbouring household or that of a well known person of the village such as Headman of the village. A person can then easily say whether she/he was older or younger than such a person and by how many years. This will help you to find the year of birth/age more precisely. If you can estimate age but not the year of birth, use the Ready Reckoner-2 (Annex VI) to arrive at the year of birth from estimated age. In the case of woman, sometimes it becomes difficult to know the actual date of birth or age. If a woman is not aware about her age and is also unable to report the year of her birth, you will have to further probe to estimate her year of birth. One way of estimating it is to find the date of birth of her eldest living son or daughter and her own age at the time when she gave birth to her child. Subtract her age at the time of birth or her child from the 4 digit year of birth of the child to get a fair estimate of her year of birth. If a woman is not able to tell her age at the time when the first child was born, try to ascertain her age at the time of marriage (or her age at the time of consummation of marriage) and the interval between her marriage and the birth of her eldest child. Adding these two figures with the age of her eldest child will determine her current age. If a woman does not know her age at marriage, try to find out the difference between her age from the age of her husband whose year of birth may be known. Use this to record the woman's year of birth. If the respondent does not know the age of any member of the household and probing also does not help in determining the age of that person, you will have to estimate her/his age by using your best judgment. Remember this is last resort to be used only when all your efforts at probing the age have failed. After determining the age, use the Ready Reckoner-2 (Annex VI) to record the year of birth. vii. In all cases where day and month of birth are not known, estimate the day and month of birth through step (c i & ii) mentioned above. For these 4 questions, the layout of the schedule/ format of NPR booklet shall look as under: Q 2. Relationship to Head Q 3. Sex: Male - 1, Female - 2, Third Gender – 3 Q 4. Marital Status Q 5. Date of Birth as per English Calendar (DD-MM-YYYY) Q 2 0 1 Q 3 1 Q 4 2 DOB as DD-MM-YYYY) Q 5 12-05-1958.Q.6 Place of birth: Ask whether the place of birth provided in the NPR booklet is correct or not. If any correction is required, record the correct name in the available space. For all new entries, if place of birth is within India, write the present name of the State and District. For a person whose birth place is the same as the place of enumeration, put dashes (-) in both the parts under this question. If outside India, write the present name of the country and put a ‘–‘ against District. Note : Record the latest/ present name of the Country/State or District. (and not the erstwhile name i.e., name at the time of birth.) Example- (Born within India) Q 6. Place of Birth if within India, write the name of the state and district. If outside India, write the name of the country and put ' - ' for district State/ Country Uttar Pradesh District Banda Example- (Born outside India) Q 6. Place of Birth if within India, write the name of the state and district If outside India, write the name of the country and put ' ' for district State/ Country United Kingdom DistrictQ.7 (i) Nationality as declared: Ask whether the ‘Nationality as declared’ printed in the booklet is correct or not. In the booklet, the ‘Nationality as declared’ for all Indians will be printed as ‘1’, for others, it would be the name of the country reported earlier. If any correction is required, record the correct name in the available space. For new members/ new households, if the respondent replies that she/he is an Indian, then record ‘1’, otherwise record the name of the country of the respondent. Nationality recorded is as declared by the respondent. This does not confer any right to Indian Citizenship. Nationality for each of the enumerated person has to be asked from the respondent and recorded. You may come across cases where the nationality of the persons in the same household would be different. Therefore, you must probe this question for each individual carefully to get the correct information. Please record the nationality of the respondent as declared by her/ him for each of the persons being enumerated. Do not get into any argument with the respondent regarding this. Please inform the respondent to give correct Nationality of each person in the household. She/ he can be penalised for giving any false information.Q.7 (ii) Passport number : If a resident informs that she/he is Indian and has Indian passport, then ask for Passport number. If the respondent provides the passport number, record the same in the boxes provided.Q 7(i). Nationality as declared Indian1, Others write name of country (ii). If Indian , Passport Number 1 J 8 3 6 9 8 Q 7(i). Nationality as declared Indian5 4 1, Others write name of country (ii). If Indian , Passport Number United Kingdom198 Educational Qualification: The highest educational level attained is to be recorded here. For example, if a person says that he is studying in graduation level, then code for his educational qualification shall be 12. That means codes according to highest class passed is to be recorded here. Please record the code from the code list given at the bottom of the schedule. The codes are reproduced as under: Educational Qualification Code Educational Qualification Code Pre-primary 00 Bachelor/ Undergraduate 18 Class 1-12 01-12 PG Diploma 19 ITI 13 Masters/Post Graduate 20 Polytechnic 14 M. Phil 21 Nursing Diploma 15 Doctorate and above 22 Teacher Training Diploma 16 Without formal education 23 Certificate/Other Diploma 17 Illiterate 99 In the NPR Data booklet/schedule, the filled up question will look as under: Q 9. Educational Qualification 12.Q.9 Occupation/Activity: The nature of occupation/activity or the actual work that a person does is to be recorded here. Please record the code from the code list given at the bottom of the schedule for each of the member. The codes are reproduced as under: Occupation/Activity Code Cultivator 1 Agriculture Labourer 2 Daily Wage Earner (Other than Agriculture labourer) 3 Single/Family Worker/Self Employed 4 Employer 5 Government Employee 6 Private employee (Other than Domestic helper) 7 Domestic Helper 8 Non-Worker 9 If a person was engaged in more than one economic activity, record the code for the economic activity in which she or he was mostly engaged.Q.10 Write name of the mother tongue in full and give code from code directory: Ask what the mother tongue of the respondent is and record the code from the Code Directory given in this manual at Annex VII. Mother tongue is the language spoken in childhood by the person's mother to the person. If the mother died in infancy, the language mainly spoken in the person's home in childhood will be the mother tongue. In the case of infants and deaf mutes, the language usually spoken by the mother should be recorded. In case of doubt, the language mainly spoken in the Household may be recorded. It is not necessary that the language returned as mother tongue should have a script. Please note the following: (i) If you have reasons to suspect that in any area due to any organised movement, the mother tongue is not being truthfully returned, you should record the mother tongue as actually returned by the respondent and make a report to your supervisory officers for verification. (ii) You are not expected to determine if the language returned by a person is a dialect of another language. (iii) Record the code of the language as returned for each person as her/his mother tongue. Do not try to record code of any language other than what is returned by the respondent. Ask every person about her/his mother tongue because the mother tongue of each member of a Household need not necessarily be the same. These may be different for different members in the Household Q 10. Mother ton gue (Fill codes as per list provided in manual) 088 Refer “Code directory of mother tongue” given.Q. 11. Permanent Residential Address: Ascertain whether the permanent address printed in the NPR booklet is correct or not. If any correction is required, record the correction in the space available. If for any member of household, the Permanent Residential address is different from the head of household, then make the required entry/correction in the box provided else put tick in the box provided below the sl. no. Q 11 . Permanent Address s Permanent Residential Address (for member other than head of household if Permanent address is same as head of the household, p ut √ mark below http://S.No. and no need to repeat the address) House Number & Locality A/ 36, MIG Housing Town/Village Kankarbagh, PatnaSub district & District Patna State/Country Bihar Pin Code 8 0 0 0 2 0 Q 12. Duration of stay and place of last residence: In this data item, you have to ask a question whether the member is staying at present address since birth. If the reply is ‘Yes’, write ‘Yes’ in Q12 (a) and duration of stay at present address and place of last residence is to be left blank. If the reply is ‘No’, write ‘No’ in Q12 (a) and record the duration in completed years in 12(b)(i) below. For them, ask the last place of residence and the State and District is to be recorded in 12(b)(ii) if within India. If the place of last residence is outside India, then write the name of the country in 12(b)(ii) and put a ‘ –‘ against District. Q 12. 12 (a Whether Staying at present place since birth ) Yes/No, 22Q12 (a) and record the duration in completed years in 12(b)(i) below. For them, ask the last place of residence and the State and District is to be recorded in 12(b)(ii) if within India. If the place of last residence is outside India, then write the name of the country in 12(b)(ii) and put a ‘ –‘ against District. Q 12. 12 (a Whether Staying at present place since birth ) Yes/No, 22Q. 13 Details of father, mother and spouse i) If father, mother and spouse are not enumerated in this household or not alive, write their names and date(s) of birth in the space provided. In case of spouse write only name. ii) If they are enumerated in this household, write the serial no. in the space provided. iii) If place of birth is within India record the State and District of birth place for father & mother in the space provided. If place of birth is outside India then write the present name of the country and put a ‘–‘ against District. iv) If parents’ Date of Birth and/or Place of birth can not be ascertained, then put ‘-‘ in the respective spaces.Q14. (If available) (i) Aadhaar Number (ii) Mobile Number (iii) Voter ID Card Number (iv) Driving License Number (i) Aadhaar number: For many households, the 12 digit Aadhaar number was collected during the updation of NPR in 2015-16. Those Aadhaar numbers will be printed in the space provided in Side B of the NPR booklet. But the first 8 digits of the Aadhaar number will be masked and only the last 4 digits will be visible/pre-printed. If the four digits printed are not correct, record the 12 digits in the space below by cutting out the printed number. Aadhaar number is to be collected if provided by the resident voluntarily. For all new members/new households, if Aadhaar number is available, record carefully the same in the boxes provided.Q. 14 (ii) Mobile Number: For many households, the mobile number was collected during the updation of NPR in 2015-16. Those mobile numbers will be printed in the boxes. If not correct, record/update the mobile number in the space below by cutting out the printed number. For all new members/new households, if mobile number is available, record carefully the same in the boxes provided. No landline number needs to be recorded here.14 (iii) Voter ID Card Number : Record the Voter ID card number or EPIC (Election Photo Identity Card) number of all residents, who are in possession of the same, carefully in the space provided for this.Q.14 (iv) Driving License Number: Record the Driving License number of all residents, who are in possession of the same, carefully in the boxes given.The people who will carry out this exercise, will be trained, probably paid to. All this data would be very helpful for multinational companies for sure.All image source is from same NPR Mannual 2020.

As someone who has been a Harry Potter and a Twilight reader and writer for many years - Harry Potter since the early 2000’s, and Twilight since 2008, participating extensively in years-long fan collaborative writing and research efforts to build upon both series - I thought I would give my input.Simply put, both series have their respective differences. Both also have long-standing, literary cultural divides (British vs. American) in terms of their takes on the same tropes and topics, vampires included.First, we’ll start off with Harry Potter. In my humble view, explained in-depth in another answer of mine here, Harry Potter is, quite literally, “the series that started it all”, at least on a worldwide, or global, scale. It not only predates Twilight, and Twilight hype, by about a decade or so, but was also a pop culture phenomenon, growing and expanding along with the global expansion of the Internet.Thanks to author J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter was also the first YA-marketed book series to use, and largely popularize, a “fantasy world within the real world” premise and world-building, a technique later used by Twilight itself, and Twilight author Stephenie Meyer. Both series are also examples of popular “escapist fiction”.According to Wikipedia:Escapist fiction is fiction that provides a psychological escape from thoughts of everyday life by immersing the reader in exotic situations or activities.The term is not used favorably, though the condemnation contained in it may be slight. Those who defend works described as escapist from the charge either assert that they are not escapist—such as that a science fiction novel's satiric aspects address real life—or defend the notion of "escape" as such, not "escapism"—as in J. R. R. Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories" and C. S. Lewis's quotation, in his "On Science Fiction" of Tolkien's question of who would be most hostile to the idea of escape, and his answer: jailers.Genres that can include elements of escapist fiction include:Bodice rippers/Romance novelsDetective novelsFantasy fictionHorror fictionPulp fictionScience fictionSpy novelsThrillersRowling herself stated that Harry Potter was heavily inspired by “keystone”, or foundational works that had previously established the “high fantasy” genre, including J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, among other Tolkien works.The main difference between Harry Potter and Twilight, due to the above, is that Harry Potter includes many more elements of “high fantasy”, whereas Twilight is considered a “low fantasy”.Many people consider Harry Potter to be “superior” to Twilight due to this, as well as Potter’s more immersive, extensive world-building, and classical “hero’s journey” narrative structure. However, I’d point out that many people tend to confuse the amont of detailing and worldbuilding to equal “higher quality”, but being “high fantasy” alone does not automatically make a series, or work, “superior”.According to Wikipedia: (also see here for Low Fantasy)“Hogwarts” - Pottermore.comHigh fantasy is defined as fantasy set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world, rather than "the real", or "primary" world. (i.e. “the Wizarding World”)The secondary world is usually internally consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set in the primary, or "real" world, or a rational and familiar fictional world, with the inclusion of magical elements.The romances of William Morris, such as The Well at the World's End, set in an imaginary medieval world, are sometimes regarded as the first examples of high fantasy. The works of J. R. R. Tolkien—especially The Lord of the Rings—are regarded as archetypal works of high fantasy.Many high fantasy stories are told from the viewpoint of one main hero (Harry Potter). Often, much of the plot revolves around his or her heritage or mysterious nature. In many novels the hero is an orphan or unusual sibling, often with an extraordinary talent for magic or combat. He or she begins the story young, if not as an actual child.In other works, the hero is a completely developed individual, with a unique character and spirit. The hero often begins as a childlike figure, but matures rapidly, experiencing a huge gain in fighting/problem-solving abilities along the way. The plot of the story often depicts the hero's fight against the evil forces as a Bildungsroman (i.e. “coming-of-age story”).In many books there is a knowing, mystical mentor or teacher (i.e. Albus Dumbledore). This character is often a formidable wizard or warrior, who provides the main character (Harry Potter) with advice and help. The progress of the story leads to the character learning the nature of the unknown forces against him or her, that they constitute a force with great power and malevolence (Lord Voldemort).Good versus evil is a common theme in high fantasy, and the character of evil is often an important theme in a work of high fantasy, as in The Lord of the Rings. Indeed, the importance of the concepts of good and evil can be regarded as the distinguishing mark between high fantasy and sword and sorcery.In many works of high fantasy, this conflict marks a deep concern with moral issues; in other works, the conflict is a power struggle, with, for instance, wizards behaving irresponsibly whether they are "good" or "evil".There is often some evil that must be defeated, sometimes, a mysterious Dark Lord, often obsessed with taking over the world and killing the main hero (Lord Voldemort). The evil character is sometimes an evil wizard or sorcerer, or sometimes a kind of god or demon. The antagonist usually commands a large army or a group of highly feared servants (Death Eaters), and the protagonists appear outmatched,Contrast “low fantasy”, as seen primarily with the Twilight books, and which is typically more looked-down upon, or dismissed, by authors as a whole:Low fantasy or intrusion fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction, where magical events intrude on an otherwise normal world, i.e. real world. It thus contrasts with high fantasy stories, which take place in a fictional world with its own set of rules and physical laws.Intrusion fantasy places relatively less emphasis on typical elements associated with fantasy, setting a narrative in realistic environments with elements of the fantastical (i.e. Forks, Washington / the Pacific Northwest in Twilight). Sometimes, there are just enough fantastical elements to make ambiguous the boundary between what is real, and what is purely psychological or supernatural. The word "low" refers to the level of prominence of traditional fantasy elements within the work, and is not any sort of remark on the work's quality.An alternative definition, common in, though not limited to, role-playing games rests on the story and characters being more realistic and less mythic in scope. This can mean that some works, for example Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian series, can be high fantasy according to the first definition but low fantasy according to the second, while with other works, such as the TV series Supernatural, the opposite is true.Fantasy fiction developed out of fairy tales in the nineteenth (19th) century [1800’s]. Early nineteenth (19th) century scholarship in folklore led to fantasy fiction dominating Victorian children's literature. The genre diverged into the two subgenres, high and low fantasy, after the Edwardian era. Low fantasy itself diverged into further subgenres in the twentieth (20th) century [1900’s].The forms of low fantasy include personified animals; personified toys (including The Indian in the Cupboard and The Doll's House, building on the earlier The Adventures of Pinocchio); comic fantasies of exaggerated character traits and altered physics (including Pippi Longstocking and The Borrowers); magical powers; supernatural elements; and time slips.The fiction gives the author greater agency than allowed in the real world. Since being popularised in the works of E. Nesbit, the "low/portal variety" of fantasy has become a staple for its facility in challenging "established orders of society and thought”.Children usually read more low fantasy than high fantasy.The early 21st century is seeing an increase in prominence of the work of authors such as George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire) and Joe Abercrombie, whose high fantasy novels (works set entirely in fantasy worlds) have been referred to as "low fantasy” [by some], because they de-emphasize magic and non-human intelligent races in favor of a more cynical portrayal of human conflict.Fantasy writer David Chandler considered this "rise of 'Low Fantasy'", to reflect the contemporary reality of the War on Terror—characterized by "secret deals", "vicious reprisals" and "sudden acts of terrifying carnage"—much as the horror genre reacted to the Vietnam War a generation earlier [in America].High and low fantasy are distinguished as being set, respectively, in an alternative "secondary" world or in the real "primary" world. In many works, the distinction between primary or secondary world settings, and therefore whether it is low or high fantasy, can be unclear. The secondary world may take three forms, described by Nikki Gamble in her explication of three characteristics of high fantasy:Primary does not exist (e.g., Dungeons & Dragons and The Wheel of Time) or is irrelevant (e.g., Discworld)Entered through a portal from the primary world (e.g., Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Dark Tower)World-within-a-world (e.g., American Gods, The Gods of Pegāna, The Magicians, and Harry Potter)A few high fantasy series do not easily fit into Gamble's categories. For example, J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is set in the primary world of Earth in the ancient past, and he adamantly disagreed with anyone who thought otherwise.According to Tolkien, he had set it in the inhabited lands of geographically north-west Europe. The Professor himself disagreed with the notion that his stories diverged from reality, but rather defended his position that the "essentials of that abiding place are all there (at any rate for inhabitants of N.W. Europe), so naturally it feels familiar, even if a little glorified by enchantment of distance in time”.Nevertheless, Middle-earth is sufficiently divergent from reality to be classed as a secondary world, and hence, [is considered] high fantasy.J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is again set in the real world; however, while the primary setting, mostly the school, Hogwarts, is said to be located somewhere in Scotland, but is physically separated from the real world and becomes a "world-within-a-world".Hogwarts is, therefore, as much of an alternative world as C. S. Lewis' Narnia, which means that both series are in the high fantasy subgenre. […] Some sources place Harry Potter and His Dark Materials in the low fantasy genre.Karin E. Westman, writing in The Oxford Handbook of Children's Literature, states that because "[J. K.] Rowling is much more interested in how fantasy provides perspective on everyday experience and the individual's place in society," and her inclusion of bildungsroman (a coming-of-age story) and the school story genres, "align her primarily with the domestic (or low) fantasy of authors such as E. Nesbit, Elizabeth Goudge, and Paul Gallico...as well as authors like Philip Pullman and Jonathan Stroud, who are also interested in the intersection of the personal and the political within quotidian experiences."Low Fantasy is related to a number of other genres or subgenres.Urban Fantasy takes place in a modern urban, as opposed to rural or historical setting, and thus, can be viewed as a type of low fantasy.Dark Fantasy uses fantasy to create a sense of horror or dread. Since it often has a real-world setting, there is an overlap with low fantasy.Paranormal Romance, of which the best-known variety is the vampire romance (i.e. Twilight), is nearly always low fantasy.Superhero Fiction may count as low fantasy, if the hero's powers have a supernatural, rather than a scientific (or pseudoscientific), explanation.Magical Realism has a largely realistic view of the world, but introduces supernatural elements. While authors such as Gene Wolfe and Terry Pratchett regard it as fantasy, it has been claimed as a different genre on the grounds that in magical realism, the supernatural events are usually included in the worldview of the human characters (i.e. Bella Swan), while in low fantasy, they usually violate it.However, while Harry Potter and Twilight differ on their delivery, primary focus, and type of fantasy, there are also many things that the two series, and authors of them, have in common, contrary to public perception.Likewise, for the context of how, and why, Twilight and Harry Potter are so similar, and yet so different, we need to examine the cultural (British vs. American) and personal backgrounds of both J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer.Both authors - J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer, respectively - wrote Harry Potter and Twilight as personal “wish fulfillment” and “escapist” fantasy as young mothers, borne out of their own, real-life relationship difficulties and struggles. Meyer admitted to basing Twilight off a dream she had in June of 2003, with the character of Bella Swan obviously based on, or being an author avatar character for, Meyer herself. Likewise, the Bella and Edward romance is, quite obviously, described and painted as Meyer’s own, personal “wish fulfillment” fantasy. Rowling stated she came up with Harry Potter on a whim while travelling by train in 1990, basing many facets of the series off of her own, personal life. Rowling also admitted to pairing Ron and Hermione together romantically out of “wish fulfillment” and “for very personal reasons”, with Hermione being “an exaggerated version of herself”, and Ron based off of an old childhood friend of Rowling’s, Sean Harris. Rowling also previously had been in an abusive relationship with her ex-husband, Jorge Arantes, followed by a period of separation, divorce, struggling, and poverty. It is not hard to see how - and why - Rowling created the fantastical Wizarding World of Harry Potter to escape her fractured reality, and the failure of her first marriage and romance. Likewise, Meyer, who was also a young mother at the time she conceived Twilight, also created her own “fantasy world within the real world” for her own escapism.“The seven-year period that followed saw the death of [J.K. Rowling’s] mother, birth of her first child [Jessica], divorce from her first husband [Jorge Arantes], and relative poverty until the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997.” - Wikipedia, citing Marc Shapiro’s “J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter”“When Rowling was 27—five years before she published the first Potter book—she met and married Portuguese television journalist Jorge Arantes. The marriage lasted only a year, and in that time they had a child, Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes. Rowling's backstory is legendary: a single mother, broke in a coffee shop, writing Harry Potter on a napkin.” - Anna Menta for Newsweek“Stephenie Meyer's subconscious has a lot to answer for. Almost 10 years ago, as a young mother in Arizona, she had a dream about an average teenage girl and a beautiful male vampire, sitting in a meadow, lost in conversation about the difficulties of their relationship. The specific problem was that if they became too close – if they gave in to the girl's intense desires – he'd hurt and potentially kill her. Meyer wanted to remember the story, but was struggling with her small sons' relentless needs, so began writing it down for safe keeping. It was the first story she had ever put to paper. A modest woman, a committed Mormon, she loved books, had always conjured up stories, but had previously thought the idea of writing anything herself would be presumptuous…Meyer, who is now 39, wrote the book [Twilight] because she needed an ‘escape from my original escape’, she says.” - Kira Cochrane, “Stephenie Meyer on Twilight, feminism and true love”Both the Harry Potter and Twilight book authors possess similar, college-educated backgrounds and education in English and classic literature. J.K. Rowling earned a BA in French and Classics at the University of Exeter in South West England, also extensively reading, and studying, English literature. Martin Sorrell, a French professor at Exeter, remembers Rowling as "a quietly competent student, with a denim jacket and dark hair, who, in academic terms, gave the appearance of doing what was necessary". Rowling recalls doing little work, preferring to read the works of Charles Dickens and J.R.R. Tolkien. On the other hand, Stephenie Meyer attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, where her former English teacher remembered her as "bright, but not overly so”. She attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she received a BA in English in 1997. The same year Meyer graduated from college was when the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was published in the U.S. by Scholastic Inc.Both the Harry Potter and Twilight series were J.K. Rowling’s and Stephenie Meyer’s debut novels and series, respectively. Neither had any previous, formal writing experience. According to Wikipedia, “[Stephenie] Meyer had no experience as a writer of any kind and had never even written a short story before Twilight. She had considered going to law school, because she felt she had no chance of becoming a writer…Before becoming an author, Meyer's only professional work was as a receptionist in a property company.” As for J.K. Rowling, her only previously published writing was a 1988 short essay about her time studying Classics, titled, "What was the Name of that Nymph Again? or Greek and Roman Studies Recalled". Rowling’s essay was published by the University of Exeter's journal Pegasus.Both authors heavily based both of their series off of their own views, morality, and politics, and provide social commentary on the times (1990’s - 2000’s). Stephenie Meyer is often criticized for including her own socially conservative views in the Twilight books, seemingly promoting Meyer’s own idealism of traditional views of gender roles and romance, but few realize that J.K. Rowling also did this with Harry Potter…albeit differently. Whereas Meyer put romance at the forefront of her Twilight novels, nost notably, Rowling included heavily anti-conservative political themes as the main message of Harry Potter, among other aspects. The latter is expressed through the actions of Hermione Granger, Rowling’s own self-admitted “exaggerated version of herself”. However, both Rowling and Meyer portray idealized, teenage romances, largely reflective of the 90’s and 2000’s pop culture period, and both draw heavily from traditional Romantic literature and tropes in writing their own romances.However, aside from the previously discussed high fantasy vs. low fantasy aspects, there are also other main differences between Twilight and Harry Potter, which lend to just how different, and incomparable, the two series really are…and yet, how both could be considered within the same realm of literary world-building and tropes.The biggest of these is, most likely, the cultural divide between Harry Potter and Twilight, as well as a difference in intent, target market, literary tradition, and more. While both works were written as “escapist fiction”, both also heavily rely on basing “the real world”, and both “the world within the real world”, on the respective countries of their authors’ origins (United Kingdom vs. United States of America).Above: Leadenhall, a covered Victorian market in the City of London, and home to a selection of stalls and shops. It features in several Potter films.Harry Potter, written by British author J.K. Rowling, is very blatantly, patently, “British” in tone, setting, environment, history, culture, and nature. It also celebrates traditional British mannerisms and society, and, in many regards, taking a step into the Wizarding World is also taking “a step back in time”. Due to this, for many Americans reading Harry Potter, it is not just the fantastical Wizarding World they are visiting, but Britain as well.The Harry Potter books extensively include British-isms, language, and slang, as well as references; British food and dining habits (i.e. bangers and mash, among other traditional British cuisine, along with use of pubs); British school systems; the movies have British actors and British sets; and more. For example, Hogwarts is “located somewhere in Scotland”; the Ministry of Magic is based in London; and so on, and so forth.Above: A recreation of London at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme Park, Diagon Alley, in Orlando, Florida.Even the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks and film adaptations, which also had heavy input and guidance from Rowling herself, are also meant to reflect the British basis and culture of the Potter series as a whole, including British food and products.Above: The full menu at the Three Broomsticks restaurant at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, based on British cuisine.Harry Potter himself, the protagonist and “hero” of the series, is written as an “everyman character”, with his friends - Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger - used as expositional sources by Rowling. The books focus primarily on a blend of mystery, action / adventure, and fantasy, as opposed to romance, as their primary themes.The characters, who start off as children, also go through a “coming-of-age” story and narrative, known in literature as a Bildungsroman.Likewise, Harry Potter pays homage to, and draws heavy inspiration from, British literary authors, such as J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, etc…) C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), and Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, etc…).This is, of course, in direct contrast to Twilight…Above: The depiction of the small, heavily forested town of Forks, Washington, in the film adaptation of Twilight.Twilight, written by American author Stephenie Meyer, very clearly is “American” in tone, setting, environment, history, culture, and nature. For American audiences, it is visiting a “familiar”, “every-day” environment - one relatively common throughout American literature - as opposed to being transported to Britain, and the Wizarding World, in Harry Potter.This includes American tropes, characterization, and language, as well as references; American food and dining habits (i.e. burgers, fries, TV dinners, and diners); American school systems; and more.For example, the Cullens are educated at various U.S. schools and universities, such as Cornell; they attend Foks High School; and Bella and Edward consider various U.S. colleges for the future. The characters wear American-style formal and casual wear, listen to American music, etc…Our human protagonist, Bella Swan, also starts off as a teenager in high school at the beginning of the story. She is also written as an “everywoman” character, with a special focus on her romance with the “secret” vampire, Edward Cullen.Above: Bella Swan and her father, Charlie Swan, receive their order at a local Forks diner in “Twilight”.It also differs from Harry Potter in focusing more primarily on elements of literature long associated with American tradition, such as small towns, forests, and the association of these with the supernatural, mystical, and fantastical.Above: Edward Cullen takes Bella Swan into the woods around Forks to reveal his “true nature”, and identity, as a vampire in Twilight.In this regards, Twilight is heavily based on both Gothic / supernatural literature and American literature, particularly fiction, including Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, based on colonial folklore; Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, based on Puritan colonial culture (which also largely survives in modern U.S. culture, especially Meyer’s own Mormon culture), and the Salem witch trials.The depiction of Forks in Twilight - which does not match the real-life Forks, but rather, Meyer’s depiction of it as a manifestation of this classic storytelling trope (i.e. Small Towns, Town with a Dark Secret) - is also analogous to the other “small towns” portrayed in traditional, American folklore…including Salem, Massachusetts, both recently (i.e. Hocus Pocus) and in older accounts.Salem was a small Puritan settlement in the Massachusetts woods, not far from the coast. It was not a particularly successful settlement, with its villagers struggling to grow enough food to survive, and always wary of the forest surrounding them. In their minds, the trees could be hiding murderous Indian raiders, or demons, or any number of evils.Thus, it was not a happy, cohesive community - this was not helped by the recent outbreak of smallpox; the Puritans’ sexist practices of women being absolutely deferential to the men in their lives; and the belief that women were more susceptible to the Devil's charms. With everyone living in each other's pockets, it was impossible to keep secrets - everyone knew everyone else's business.[…] If one were to ask someone in Salem Village how the witch trials began, that person would know the story like the back of their hand. The slave named Tituba was accused of witchcraft, along with two other women. The Devil, supposedly getting people to sign his book in their blood. A group of girls, accusing people of being witches left and right. And this was only the beginning of the madness that started in the little town of Salem Village. People literally started to go insane, neighbors were afraid of each other, and all hell broke loose in Salem.Now, one might wonder why these girls wanted to accuse these people, and lead them to their death. But remember; in a Puritan society women had less rights than men, and it could be rare for a women to be listened to. So when the entire community started turning to these girls for help, it was only natural for them to start making up more and more accusations to get even more attention.But the threat of the Indians was also on their doorstep. Surrounding the town of Salem was a forest, and within the forest there were animals and Indians. These people [accused of witchcraft, and the Indians] knew the forest too well, and could come out and attack any time they wanted to.So as soon as there was the threat of witches, people started to combine the real world with their imaginary one, with the devil and witches. Because of this, the Governor Phipps set up the Court of Oyer and Terminer, a specialized court with specialized judges for witch accusations, using spectral evidence as their main rule. Thus started the Salem Witch Trials. (Source, Source)As per Wikipedia, “Another well known novel in [the Gothic] genre, dating from the late Victorian era, is Bram Stoker's Dracula.” Dracula is well-known to be the “foundational work” of the supernatural, or vampire, romance, and also helped to promote the “extreme form of romanticism” found in many Gothic works as a whole.Above: The 1931 classical film adaptation of Dracula.The Gothic movement was also the first to popularize vampires, and vampire fiction:[…] Another famous penny dreadful of this era was the anonymously authored Varney the Vampire (1847). Varney is the tale of the vampire Sir Francis Varney, and introduced many of the tropes present in vampire fiction recognizable to modern audiences — it was the first story to refer to sharpened teeth for a vampire.The formal relationship between these fictions, serialised for predominantly working class audiences, and the roughly contemporaneous sensation fictions serialised in middle class periodicals, is also an area worthy of inquiry.Likewise, the Gothic movement is heavily associated with tropes used in Twilight, but not Harry Potter, including Meyer’s writing of the educated, sophisticated, intelligent vampire Edward Cullen as a tortured, brooding Byronic hero.As per Wikipedia:The poetry, romantic adventures, and character of Lord Byron—characterised by his spurned lover Lady Caroline Lamb as "mad, bad and dangerous to know"—were another inspiration for the Gothic, providing the archetype of the Byronic hero. Byron features, under the codename of "Lord Ruthven", in Lady Caroline's own Gothic novel: Glenarvon (1816).Byron was also the host of the celebrated ghost-story competition involving himself, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, and John William Polidori at the Villa Diodati on the banks of Lake Geneva in the summer of 1816. This occasion was productive of both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and Polidori's The Vampyre (1819).This latter story revives Lamb's Byronic "Lord Ruthven", but this time as a vampire. The Vampyre has been accounted by cultural critic Christopher Frayling as one of the most influential works of fiction ever written, and spawned a craze for vampire fiction and theatre (and latterly, film), which has not ceased to this day.Mary Shelley's novel, though clearly influenced by the Gothic tradition, is often considered the first science fiction novel, despite the omission in the novel of any scientific explanation of the monster's animation and the focus instead on the moral issues and consequences of such a creation.[…] The influence of Byronic Romanticism evident in [the work of Edgar Allan] Poe is also apparent in the work of the Brontë sisters.Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1847) transports the Gothic to the forbidding Yorkshire Moors, and features ghostly apparitions and a Byronic hero, in the person of the demonic Heathcliff.The Brontës' fiction is seen by some feminist critics as prime examples of Female Gothic, exploring woman's entrapment within domestic space; subjection to patriarchal authority; and the transgressive and dangerous attempts to subvert, and escape, such restriction.Emily's Cathy and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre are both examples of female protagonists in such a role.That being said...which is better, Harry Potter or Twilight?In the end, given all of the above, I’d say it merely comes down to a matter of preference, as well as one’s own education and culture. And in the words of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling…

If you have any doubt, Connect with me via FB.IIM Ahmedabad - Year 2005Interview experience of: Rahul Abraham Mamman Background: http://B.Com Third Year. Also involved in my family business which includes a pharmacy and a health and beauty store. Academics: 10Th C.B.S.E 89.2 12TH C.B.S.E 86.4 http://B.Com 74 (But that’s because English and Hindi were added., CGPA would be 8.7 relative to the University topper) CAT Summary: OA-99.87, VA-99.09, QA-99.7, DI-97.55GD First was the GD. There were 2 girls and six guys including me. We were given about 20 minutes to interact before the interview, that was a good experience.The GD started off well, all of us spoke, contributed and our brainstorming seemed to be good. None of us seemed to be having any problem with each other. All points discussed were good and many were added on to the original points too.PI Then came the PI. I was number 8. I had not given my certificate copies yet. They told me that I should provide them at the time of my interview. So everyone had a decent interview with a Major C who apparently, had with 17 years of Army experience and 100 percentile in CAT. Finally it was my turn. One of the professors came out and called my name. I went in with a smile and wished them all, they all seemed nice guys.First question to me (I don’t remember who asked me what. I will try and provide below as accurate an account as possible).Q: What is one difficulty and one good thing about holding the GD PI at this venue, which is a new block? A: Sir, the good thing was that I could come through the underpass. Though I feel they could have had a straight passage but walking through the underpass was indeed a great experience and there were a lot of things about IIM A in that passage which were really informative. The only difficulty I encountered was that it was too far from the entrance and I did get a bit lost at first.Q: Are you from Ahmedabad? A: No Sir, I am from Cochin (The professor seemed a little surprised).Q: Why did you give IIM A as your centre? A: It has been my dream to be in IIM A. I have heard through people and read a lot about IIM A. I know it is the best institute and I wanted to experience it firsthand and get the feeling of being here. I also have a few friends in IIM A.Q: Did you do the same for IIM C? A: No sir, I have only done that for IIM A.Q: So what are you doing now? A: I am in my third year of http://B.Com.Q: What is your favorite subject? A: I m reasonably comfortable with Capital Markets.Q: What are capital markets? A: It is the market for the buying and selling of shares and Debentures. It is the market through which the capital for the companies is raised.Q: What is a stock?The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200511A: It is a certificate giving ownership of the company; the owner can be given dividends when the company makes profits.Q: Why do people give money for these pieces of paper like debentures? A: These debentures carry a fixed rate of return and the holders of these debentures will definitely get a certain fixed income in the form of money every year. It can also be of a redeemable form.Q: But why do they still accept these papers and nothing else is given? A: Sir, these certificates have legal validity and they can be enforced by law hence it is quite a safe instrument to invest in.Q: What is the IPO market? A: It‘s the market for Initial Public Offering and it is when the company issues shares for the first time.Q: What is Primary market? A: It includes private placements and IPO is a part of the Primary market.They asked me a little more in detail about the differences between Primary and IPO Markets. I told them that this is what I knew and was sure that there is more to it.Q: What are bonus shares? A: The shares issued by the company free of cost to its shareholders is known as bonus shares. They are issued sometimes in lieu of dividend when the company has not been paying any cash dividend.Q: Are bonus shares issued by companies which haven’t given any dividends so far? A: Not only that but it is also issued by companies which have a good deal of reserves after the capitalisation also, even if they have been giving a lot of dividends so far.Q: Are all share holders treated separately in terms of dividend payouts? A: No sir. The preference shareholders are treated differently. They get only a fixed rate of return on their shares.Q: What about the other share holders? Can a particular company not give dividend to a group of the shareholders? A: No that is not possible. All shareholders have to be given equal treatment and dividend if given, should be given to every single shareholder.Q: Suppose a company wants to make a fresh issue what will it do? A: It will have to approach the company law board get its permission and then can issue shares in the markets. It can go in for rights issue where the present owners are given the right to purchase the shares first.Q: What would your company do if you wanted to list in the stock exchange? A: First get the approval from the Company Law Board. Meet all legal requirements also approach the stock exchange and get permission so that you can list it on the stock exchange.Q: What is deferred tax? A: (I started speaking on accounting tax and stopped and said that I was not sure but I could speak about deferred revenue expenditure is, if needed.Q: Ok, but what is miscellaneous expenditure? A: I talked about what it is and how it comes about.Q: Which head does it come under? A: I said these are shown sometimes in the balance sheet under the asset side, these are actually fictitious assets.Q: What counterbalances it on the liability side? A: I don’t know that sir. (I used my hand to show the side on the balance sheet and they joked about it and I smiled too.)Q: What is your family business? A: It is a pharmacy in Cochin sir. We also have a lifestyle store which stocks baby care, cosmetics, perfumes and a lot of Ayurvedic stuff.Q: What is the return on investment? A: The ROI is about 20 percent.The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200512Q: What are the trade deals given in Cochin for the pharmacy? A: The pharmacy is given 30 days of credit and also 4 percent discount on ready cash.Q: What role does the association play in the state? A: (I talked about the margins we get because of the association)Q: What is the margin in the other states? A: Same margins in Kerala.Q: How does the association help then? A: It makes sure that we get 20 percent margin on a new product and old margins exist. Also because of our association, we can return our medicines on time of expiry and within three months and get the money back.Q: Why do you have two different stores, can’t you have them together? A: I talk about numerological reasons and also about two different classes of customers being attracted to different shops.Q: How does the second store works? A: I explained it is a volume business with high value low number of bills at all.Q: How are your margins normally? A: About 18-20 percent.Q: So is that what you meant by ROI? A: I explained saying that it is not what I meant and told them the original ROI was indeed correct.Q: What do you mean by the Tie and Die method? A: I don’t know about that Sir.Q: How is curd made? A: (I gave milk and curd gyaan)Q: Which of it has microbes? A: Curd.Q: Are they alive? A: I think Sir.Q: What is this process called? A: Fermentation.Q: How is it related to the Pharma industry?A: (I knew about Insulin). It can be used to make red wine capsules. I talked about how the dried powder is made into the capsule form.Q: What are these used for? A: For preventing heart diseases.Q: How is the powder made? A: By drying it up after the fermentation process.Q: How it is made into the capsule? A: The powder is then encapsulated.Q: What are your other interests? A: I m a member of the Numismatic Society (They confirmed whether it was about coins itself ).Q: Why do you collect coins? A: It’s a passion, knowledge gathering experience (gave more gyaan).Q: Where do you get the coins from? A: From the antique shops and also by exchanging with friends in my society.The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200513Q: Which is the oldest coin that you have seen? A: A BC silver roman coin.Q: Didn’t you picked it up? A: Sir it was too expensive and I didn’t had Rs 3,500 at that time.Q: Is it still there in that shop? A: I have not gone for some time to that shop. I’m not too sure sir.Q: So tell us what have you learnt about coins? A: Where and which countries ruled others, the cultures for eg. France ruled Algeria...(I really don’t know why I said that).Q: Where is Algeria? A: North Africa.Q What is its currency? A: Francs.Q: When did Algeria got its independence? A: I don’t know for sure sir...(One of the panelists asked what was the point in collecting coins if I did not know the date of independence of Algeria. I defended myself by giving information on a lot on commorative coins and their importance).Q: What are these double metal coins? (Coins with two colours) A: I explained to them and then one of the panelists asked me about any contemporary double metal coin that I might know. I talked about the euro and the 2 pound coins which are double metal coins.Q: Did you win the table tennis title for the district? A: Yes Sir. He asked for my certificates, looked at them all and said that I had done extra stuff only in school.Then I showed him my College (Commerce) stuff but added that since I did not have the certificates, Idid not write much about it. They seemed satisfied I don’t know why.Overall it was a purely knowledge-based interview.(Converted and Joined IIMA)The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200514Interview experience of: Vikas Kumar Background: IIT Kanpur Academics:CPI 8.4 99.99 percentile Six CallsGD Since we were only six people (2 people did not come ) and one did not speak, we had ample time. I made few good entries and would rate the performance as OK.PI Three panel members....P1, P2, P3. P1 used to smile a lot, P2 kept looking at my certificates and P3 did not seem to be interested! P1: So Vikas many IITK students have come today? Have you studied together? A: Yes sir, everyone has been called today only. No, I have done self study for CAT (lied big time). P1: Ok. let say I have to find out the number of individuals getting calls from at least one IIM. How will you estimate the number? A; Sir, I will take the data of coaching institutes, (explained a bit. But I had a flaw in my logic which was pointed out by him). I took some 15 seconds after that) and then said that I would do some sampling. I will make segments of different percentiles and different profiles. Based on the sample I could extrapolate the value. P1: Smiling, Ok, so what will be the sample size? A: Sir, since I presume that the estimation need not be very accurate, a sample size of 5% of the population seems good to me. P1: seemed satisfied. Ok what is the time complexity of quick sort? A: talked of worst case and average case. P1: (Then asked me 3-4 counter questions on algorithm time complexity). A: (I answered all well and confidently (I guess!) P2: Vikas, we have heard so much of developed economy. What defines an economy as developed one? A: (I spoke about the Human Development Index) P2: What is per capita income? A: GDP/Population later said it’s NNP/Population P2: What is the difference between GDP and NNP? A: (I Answered correctly) P2: Name the top 3 country with the highest per capita income? A: Sir, I do not know but at least one Scandinavian country is there. P2: What are Scandinavian countries? A: Norway, Finland and Sweden. P2: Are you sure? A: Yes Sir (later came to know that Denmark is also there) P2: Name the state with the lowest literacy rate? A: Bihar P2: What is the literacy rate of Bihar? A: 47 % P2: Female and Male literacy rate of Bihar? A: Around 35-40 % for females and 55% for males.The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200515P2: Name another basis to distinguish between literacy rates? A: Since Bihar is quite caste and class conscious, this can be a good basis (wanted further discussion but they had other ideas). P2: Hightest literacy? A: Kerala P2: Second Highest Literacy rate? A: Mizoram. P2: Highest literacy rate? P2: What is the literacy rate? A: Around 90 %(88% is the correct answer). P2: He did not seem to be satisfied P3: (wakes up from his sleep) Name two active areas of research in computer science? A: (I spoke about grid computing and next generation of computers based on AI.) P3 and P1: What is intelligence or AI? A: Sir, since I have not done any course on AI, I may not be accurate but I think it is anything that mimics human intelligence should be an intelligent system (what a stupid answer!), and then talked of neural networks which I had heard from my friend at IITK. P3: Suppose you are sent to a village what will be the power source for your computer? A: Sir, solar power though I am not very sure? P3: Why you are not sure? A: May not be economically feasible. P3: Ok. go on! A: Sir, UPS. P3: How will that be recharged? A: Sir, solar power. P3: Any other power source? A:I can’t think of any other source. P3: Should there be promotion of IT in villages? A: Yes sir. P3: Why? A: Weather reports and cropping patterns. P3: One can get the same information from newspapers? A: Sir, but it will not be real time weather report? P3: (Amused) Do you mean to say that if there is going to rain in the next hour, you will change the cropping pattern. A: Realised my mistake... and tried to cover it up by talking of getting good market information about the inputs for farming and the final produce. P3: But if the people are not literate how will they use them? A: Sir, we can have a system installed for a group of villages and an operator for each system. A villager can approach the operator to get any information. P3: Ok, give me the speed of the fastest memory?The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200516A: (Did not get what he was saying, took some time and assuming something I came out with some answer after some analysis. Was expecting them to pound me after this but it seemed either they did not know or they were not interested in the answer.) P3: Integrate (e)^(e)^x? A: Was not expecting and did some stupid rough work. P3: (Quickly taking the sheet back) Do you like maths? A: Yes Sir. P2: Why did your CPI decrease in the 3rd year? A: Talked of my projects. P2: Can you justify such a steep fall (7.8 in 3rd year and 9.0 in 1st and 2nd year) based on your projects. A: (Gave some more crap) P1: Vikas, you got a 38 rank in IIT and 0.1 % merit certificate in English? Which do you think is a greater achievement? A: IIT has opened lots of opportunities for me (and gave some more crap) P1: Talk about your personal satisfactions. A: (Gassed some more). P1: (Smiling) Thank you! P2: Ok. One last question. Name the states through which river Kaveri passes? A: Tamil Nadu and Karnataka? P2: AP? A: Not sure, but probably a narrow stretch P1: (Smiling) what about Kerala and Maharashtra? A: No Sir P1: Ok, thanks. Seeing that they have not offered me chocolates, I started taking oneP2 I am sorry please take two. A: Thanks sir.That was it. I committed far too many blunders and was expecting some questions on current affairs, my projects and BTP. This is the only hope after a truly disastrous performance in IIM C.(Converted the call, Joined IIMA)The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200517Interview experience of: PaGuYGD: Case was about a bicycle manufacturer wanting to manufacture racing cycles. Advertisement has Ajay Jadeja saying "This is the only muscle I use" (pointing to his thumb). You are the MD and you have to either change the ad or continue with it. What would you do?Had a decent GD. Everyone was pretty active but nobody really dominated. Not a fish market but could have become one had people gone one step further.PI:(P1, P2, P3 are the people on the interview panel and M stands for me) Some confusion about my form. They picked up Gaurav's form instead of Saurabh's. Finally resolved. P1: So Saurabh, now that all confusion about your Blue form is resolved, what are you doing currently? M: Sir I am doing an internship at blah blah blah. P1: (looking at the form): Why did you leave the other company? You have also taken a paycut? It’s almost half your original salary. M: Sir I would have liked to stay with my previous. P1: Oh so they threw you out? You were fired?? M: Sir, they were sending me to Israel for a period of 6 months and P1: So you should have gone na. You could have made some good bonuses and saved a lot of money. M: Yes sir, but that did not match with my long term goal. If I had gone there I would not have been able to appear for the interview. P1: Oh, you could have gone and just asked us. We could have taken your interview on a weekend. Just come back on a weekend, give your interview and go back. With the technology and communication blah blah. P2: hmm.. but you would have had to come for half a dozen interviews. M (just for a second I got confused what half a dozen means ): Yes sir. P1: No, how much time does it take to fly from here to Israel? M: Sir I am not sure, but my guess would be somewhere between 7-8 hours. P1: So you could have come easily na M (Thought about asking "would you pay for it!"): Sir I am not sure my manager would have allowed me to come back six times. P1 to P3: You can take his. I will join in later. (Silence. No one's saying anything and I am staring at P2) (Then P3 shows one of my certificates from IIMA to P1). P1: Oh, so did you visit IIMA for this. M: Sir, this was the Level 1 competition wherein we had to just give the idea. P1: But you would have come for the award ceremony. M: Sir, we were informed late and hence could not make it to the award ceremony. P1: Oh, so you don’t even know whether you actually won or not? M: Sir, P1: But the prizes weren't declared immediately? M: Sir, this was the idea presentation wherein we had to give the business plan summary and based on that, results were declared 2 months later. P1: Oh otherwise I would have known you.The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200518P2: So Saurabh, have you worked on your idea further. M: Sir I have talked to a few people about my idea. But I realise that I need to develop business skills before I start my company. I know the technology is good. I know my idea has commercial potential. So I don’t want to waste it. I want to market it properly. There are aspects of business I have no clue about hence after acquiring business skills I will start my company. P1: Oh. So do you have any classmates at IIMA? M: No sir. But I know a few seniors and a few juniors at IIMA. P1: Did you talk to them. M: Sir I've spoken to one of my seniors there and I have also spoken to a couple of IIMA pass outs in my company.(a big silence again). P2: So you've done electrical engineering. Have you done any courses on basic Physics? M (very reluctantly): Yes Sir. I've done a course on mechanics and a course on Electromagnetic. (After a pause) and a course on quantum mechanics. P2: Something to do with theory of relativity? P2: So Saurabh, a lot of people define Theory of Relativity saying that everything is relative. Isn’t that very superficial? M: Sir, I do not remember much about the Theory of Relativity, but yes. P2: repeats the question. M: Yes Sir, defining it that way would be very superficial. P2: So how would you define it? M: Sir, I do not remember much about it. P2: OK. Tell me about the Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. M: Sir, at the most basic level it says that the product of Energy and position of a particle has an uncertainty associated with it. I do not remember the value of the constant but.. P2: OK. So what’s so basic about it? How else can you define it? M: Sir I am not sure, but uncertainty is associated with some other (quantities) as well. P2: OK. Who gave the periodic table? M: (I thinks for a while) Sir, I don’t remember. P3: OK Saurabh, you know about the population of India and China. They have highest populations. But there is some difference with their population control policy? M: Sir, in China they have the 1 child norm. We in India had the 2 child norm. What they say "Hum do hamare do" but now we are also moving towards the one child norm. P3: Any other difference? P3: In the way they implement their 1 child norm and we our "Hum do hamare do ' M: (Was not really sure it was about the forceful implementation in China) Blank P3: Ok Saurabh, now let’s say over a period of 25 years China avoids 200 million child births. You know the severe punishments they have and penalties. So what effect will it have on the economy? M: (Start explaining the inverted pyramids and then talk about productivity (use it in place of product) and then correct it to product). I am assuming that the productivity i.e. the technology remains the same. So productivity is constant. P3: Is that right to assume it?The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200519M: No Sir. That would be a bad assumption to make. In fact I would like the technology to grow at a good rate. But Sir even if we assume that the productivity has increased, we can safely assume that the needs of the people would also have increased. P3: So what happens then? M: (I explains the inverted pyramid again) P2: Saurabh you've written about these dramatics and cultural events and managing people and conflict resolving. How do you resolve conflicts? M: Sir, resolving conflicts is all about... Sir actually it is much better to avoid conflicts than to resolve them. If everyone is given due hearing and due importance there will be no conflict. P2: Yes, but that would be an ideal situation. That doesn't happen in real life. Does it? How did you resolve conflicts? M: Sir I agree it doesn’t happen in real life. I believe in talking to people and making their colleagues and friends talk to them. In fact I was lucky that in this particular case only 2-3 conflicts were there. I believe that one should resolve the conflicts as soon as they come to your notice. Because if a person sulks then he only aggravates the injury. I would talk to him and make him realise the common goal rather than the personal goals. P1: So what are you working on currently? P2: He's working for blah blah. P1: Yes, but that is only for a very short period. He's not expected to know much about it. What were you working on earlier? M: Sir I was working for blah blah earlier. Now, I am working for blah blah and doing a project for blah blah (It was very clear I wanted them to ask questions about my present work). P1: But you've joined recently na. We should ask you about your previous job. P2: What were you doing there? You talk about some presentations, demonstrations, competitive product evaluation? What is this competitive evaluation?? M: (I explained). P1: OK, so you've done this Dual degree. What is it? M: Sir, it’s a five year course and after 5 years you get both B.Tech and M.Tech degrees. P1: So what have you? You got an electrical engineering degree? M (I am clearly trying to avoid questions on Electrical): Sir I've done M.Tech in Microelectronics. P1: But B.Tech is in electrical engineering. M: Sir, the main. P1: You must have done some courses in electrical engineering. M: Yes sir (very reluctantly). P1: So tell me about Kirchhoff’s Law. M: (I explain with paper and pen) P1: No, don’t draw any circuits. We'll do that later. M: I explains. P1: So draw any LCR circuit. Put one of them in parallel. Apply AC source. Now apply KVL and KCL. M: (I write the equations). P1: So how will you solve these equations? M: Sir, we can solve it by using Laplace Transforms. P1: How?The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200520M: Sir, we'll first transform them into Laplace domain. P1: What is domain? What transform? M: Sir, currently they are in time domain. P1: What domain? M: Sir currently they vary with time. They are a function of time. P1: That I've already told you. P1: Don't give me all your domains and stuff. How will you solve it? M: Sir, we can either solve it directly by solving the differential equations in time domain or by Laplace Transform. P1: So what sort of equation will you solve? M: Sir they will be 2nd order differential equations. P1: How? M: Sir when we substitute the 2nd equation into the 1st one, we get a double differential. P1: Anything else about these equations? What sort of a solution do you expect? M: Sir, something like e^(at). P1: No don’t assume anything. Did I give you anything about the voltage? What sort of equation are these? M; Sir they are linear differential equations. P1: Anything else about them? You've done a lot of courses in maths. In fact you've a special course on differential equations. P1: Do you remember simple equations? M: No sir. P1: Why is this equation simple? M: (I say nothing) P1: OK. Tell me about your other method. Don’t give me your domains and transforms. M: Sir can I take a minute to think? P1: Yes but don’t take more than 1 minute. P2: (walks out). P1: Do you mind sharing with me what you are writing? M: Sir we will first multiply the whole equation by e^ (-st) and then integrate with respect to it. P1: Tell me 2 properties about Laplace Transform and then you can go. (pauses). OK Tell me one. M: (I say nothing) P1: No? OK you can go. Take your toffee. P3: Best of luck for the other interviews. M: Thank you sir. (I forgets to pick the toffee)I know it wasn’t a good interview. Just hope they were not just testing the subject knowledge.(Converted, joined IIMA)The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200521Interview experience of: khotahimachalli Academics: 10th--88.4 CBSE 12th--90.8 CBSE (PCM) GRAD (BE Electronics)--till now 80 %--university topper CAT--99.77--A B K only due to 89 in DI.PI: So now, something about my PI. There were 3 persons, (no female) on the panel I will refer to them as SI (for the South Indian chap around 36 yrs old, bearded ‘n’ all. He ushered me in and then was absent for about for 5 mins. ONG (for the old person who seemed like a nice guy, very soft spoken and intellectual looking, probably a Bong. MTE (for the moustached tech expert, should be around 47 years of age asked loads of question on technology. Oops! forgot to add myself KH (for khotahimachali)Now I entered the room dot at 11 0'clock and too my seat. ONG: so Mr. Kaushik you have come all the way from Nagpur to Delhi?? KH: Yes Sir I have (shhh what a first question) ONG: Why?? KH: Sir, Mumbai which is nearest to Nagpur, is not a center (are kisi ko malum hai kya why?? ) MTE: (Interrupts in between) what about Ahmedabad?? KH: I discussed about how Delhi is known to me since I am from Himachal Pradesh and have been to Delhi loads of time, it is also near (some 3.33 hrs) ONG: So what is your Final year project on ?? KH: (Mare gaye..though earlier sacred lambs had talked about this particular ceremony at the altar, so was prepared) Image Processing Sir. ONG: Very interesting! Being a mechanical engineer why did you take it?? KH: Sir, but I am an electronics engineer!(what is this ???) ONG: Oohhh. Will ask about the project later. At this moment tell us about some latest developments in the electronics field?? KH: (Yaar, I cannot describe in words how glad I was on being let off the project thing)in communication or core electronics? ONG: Anything, do you know about nanotechnology?? KH: No Sir ONG: Heard of N-log, it is a company KH: Naah ONG: Ok. Ok. Tell me about Bluetooth KH: Well, I know about Bluetooth, IrDA, ISDN....First of all let me tell you about Bluetooth..(blah blah blah loads of gyaan for around 4 minutes with them appearing quite interested though I myself had started getting bored. Iin the meantime, SI came in and asked for my certificates from MTE who had gone through them earlier. Taking this opportunity MTE barges into the interview.MTE: So which subject did you like the best?? KH: (Ab bakra katega:grab:) Microprocessors..MTE: why?? KH: Because I like it. (I said something about it being contemporary).MTE: Contemporary. (Looks at other panelists with an evil smile playing on his lips)--so what latest processors do you know about?? KH: told them about RISC ones like PAT-100, supersparc and others.MTE: what about P4?? KH: Sir I know not much in detail just the basic architecture.MTE: Go on KH: (I told them about bus and address lines..was asked some on bus-what it is and some more..don’t remember exactly)MTE: So do you have any idea about the number of transistors on the chip of P4(this followed because I said something about VLSI)The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200522KH: Sir I don’t know exactly but around 10^12 I guessMTE: Give me some name for that quantity? KH: Million, BillionMTE: Some other KH: 1000 giga??(The panel laughs)KH: (Sheepishly now) I recall it vis teraMTE: So what is the size of the chip?? KH: Around 5cm*3.5*1mm (just said some numbers) actually the processor chip looks like (and showed them by drawing in the air the approx size)MTE: (From my aerial drawing) are you sure that much is 5 cm?? KH: No sir I think I was wrong then, it is around 1.5 inchesMTE: how much is an inch?? KH: It is 2.54 cms (now I am thinking yeh kahan aa gaye hum!!!)SI: Also in your form you have said that you filling this form is no small fry (this I had given in the accomplishment question) KH: Yup Sir, (gave SOME gyaan ABOUT IIM a being great institute and as a third person you rely on surveys and that recently it figured in top 100 of world...)SI: Which survey? KH: I do not recall sirSI: Anyone will say anything to you and you will believe it?? KH: Naah (am I that a moron ). I read in a reputed magazine and just cannot recall the name of the survey company.MTE: So 10^12 transistors on 5*3.5 area chip!!! KH: Yes sir, use of VLSI and nanotech enables thatMTE: Ok, take this piece of paper and calculate how much area each transistor will get?? KH: (I did it and got something like 10^-16 for each)MTE: What is the radii of an atom?? KH: I do not know exactly but somewhat in range of angstroms.MTE: So what is an angstrom?? KH: Around 10^-10 cmMTE: So we are getting less area than an atom. How do P4 people make it happen? KH: Sir as I mentioned earlier I do not know much about P4 --we only studied 8085 in my college (Smiles around the panel)SI: You still study 8085?? KH: (With a shrug--oye mai ki karan je college ke pas paise nahin hain:huh: ??)yup we do?ONG: Can you tell me about its architecture? KH: (I again go on a rampage for around 2 minutes and lots of questions were asked in between about multiplexing of buses and the lot. I would not dare to mention here nahin to baki junta maregi. Electronics guys can PM me if that interested...)SI: So, in your form you have written one of your favorite authors is ENID BLYTON?? (the whole panel is again smiling--am I a joker ?) KH: Yes sir she is !!!SI: But she writes children's books KH: Sir I am still very much a child and besides she writes really great.The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200523SI: So which series of hers do you like best? KH: Famous fiveSI: Can you name them? KH: (I did that)SH: So are these books good for children?? KH: Yes sir they are. S: Explain KH: Well, as a beginner (blah blah and ended with that she writes about food a lot and children love food...)SI: Do they really?? KH: Well Sir, I like and still do a lot and my friend circle did..(again smiles all around--mai aisa kyun hoon??)SI: So do you know any author of children's books from India?? KH: Uhhhhh there is this author who lives in Mussorie --yaahh Ruskin BondSI: Is he an Indian? KH: Yup he took Indian citizenship long time back...SI: Any other? KH: nahhSI: Well there has been someone who has been in the news recently regarding Indian citizenship KH: Yup it was Tasleema Nasreen.SI: Who is she? KH: (I gave stuff about her and talked about the controversy about her book..seeing the look on SI's face said --"but I do not know the name of her book" (again smiles all around--man I am fed up of this)SI: So you have written in your form about heat stroke (I had given some stuff about how in Nagpur I usually get heat strokes once every year--this in response to some problem question). Can you explain to me about it?? KH: (Gave some gyan about what happens to me when I have it)SI: Not about general public, the theory behind it? KH: (I gave some crap about heat flow and all in the end said I did not know. I just have loads of headaches... (Look at each other and decide the poor chap has had enough...)ONG: So you may leave now--(points to the toffee bowl--now I have a question while I was waiting for my turn everyone had said that they were giving chocolates so I was waiting for some Dairy Milk or atleast a Perk, but these were plain old Eclairs--sheesh)--take some. MOI TAKES ONE ONG: Come on take one more.. KH: (I cannot say I hate Eclairs --so take 2/3 more and leave after doing the usual BS)It took 21 minutes and 38 seconds and I liked it--the panel was nice and helped me along. I kept my mug beaming with smiles at times and never stressed out.Also would like to mention one thing. M father saw some IIFT seniors rushing to their classes with dry bread pieces in their mouths and not even a dollop of jam or sauce in it and sheesh talking of breakfast, bread..Yuk I hate bread... peeps n is this the scenario in B-schools that you do not get time to eat properly even..mujhe dar lag raha hai. I love my food.... and it seems if I get through any B-school I am going to disappear in thin air--my father was having a good laugh over it all the way back ..(Converted, joined IIMA)The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200524Interview experience of: cattysylvesterAcademics: I scored a 98.88 %ile in CAT (EU 99.54, Q:96.35 DI: 71.92). X : 91.4% XII : 89% Graduated last year. B Com (H). Aggregate of 66%. No work experience. Decent extra-curricular (but no Qs asked: huh:)Hey everyone,I had my IIMA GD and interview today at 2:00 pm. It seems today was a day reserved for the non-engineers as all the people I met were either with commerce or economics background. This is going to be a long post, so I better get right to the point.I was in a group of nine people; I was at number 4. Three girls, rest non-girls . The case was a simple one with not too many figures. X comes to India in 1947, starts a sweet shop. He sources his raw materials from two close friends. Business is successful. Costs increase over the years, but X does not increase prices very much; so profits are dipping. X’s son Y is an MBA grad or something. Last diwali, X hands over family business to Y. Y immediately switches to two other suppliers who offer him good discounts. Y’s daughter Z has a party at school. Y provides packed sweets for 270 kids. By midnight, 30 have fallen ill and are hospitalised. Principal and parents are up in arms. Former threatens legal action against Y. What should Y do?I began the GD and outlined a basic structure for discussion. We discussed the long term and short term remedies pretty well. I brought in a couple of not very-original-but-as-yet-unstated ideas. Group tended to get a little repetitive especially after one girl suggested we summarise the remedies. I don’t think we were expected to summarise but one can’t have a debate over that in the course of a GD, right?In fact, after a couple of minutes of diversion, I stupidly ended up suggesting the same thing (shooting myself, I tell you!). Anyway, our time was up and we were asked to summarise. Despite all the warnings at PG, I still couldn’t finish mine! :huh:Anyway, exit group and long wait for the interview. First guy from my group was asked the hundred-rupeenote question! Amazing…Don’t IIM profs know about PG?? Anyway, he was also told to get both sides of his degree certificates photocopied, so all of us also rushed to do the same. I think we all had a pretty good time waiting. Of course, there was the usual excitement as soon as someone came out of the interview room, but otherwise we kept joking around and pulling each other’s legs in the waiting area. Candidate number 3 was real fun and brought everyone’s stress levels down. (Thanks, R! Too bad you got stress-interviewed yourself!!)Anyway, time for me to go in. Three member panel. (L to R)South Indian Smiley Chappie (SISC), Main Guy (MG), and Boring-but-Decent-Guy (BDG). Me: Good Afternoon, Sirs SISC: Have a seat. I do so and say thanks. MG: So you’ve heard from others about the interview? Me: I smile MG: Yes, no or maybe? Me: Yes, sir. MG: So how are you feeling- better or worse? Me: Much the same (smiling) SISC: So you did the corrective action too? Me: Oh, you mean the photocopies? Yes, Sir. SISC: What subjects did you score highest in?The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200525Me: Financial management, accountancy, costing and some others that I liked but did not score as well.SISC: Oh, you got _ (high) in costing and __ (low) in management…… Me: Yes, and ironically I like management!MG: You had a paper on management concepts? Me: It was actually ‘Management concepts and practices’MG: What concepts did they teach you? Me: Well, more about development of management thought and about managerial functions like planning, organising, directing and controlling.SISC: Why didn’t you do a job after graduation? Me: Sir, I thought about that and decided I had to gain some more knowledge to be able to work at the jobs I want to work at.MG: Okay, what is activity-type/level costing? Me: (Taking some wild guess). Do you mean operating costing? (Explains the same)MG: Okay, taking your example, how would you account for costs of a hospital? Say, there are four nurses, one receptionist and one doctor? Me: Consider costs like heating, lighting, electricity, rent of building (darn, just remembered---forgot to mention stationery), salaries of employees, cost of medical supplies (depending on patients etc..MG: Anything else? Me: (I thinks and mumble) Don’t think so…MG: And you divide this by the total number of beds? Me: Not necessarily, could divide it by number of occupied beds too (I explain why)MG: What if there is an ICU ward? Me: Oh, you mean there are different kinds of beds?MG: Yes. Me: Some costs would be common, and others can be charged accordingly.MG: What about doctor’s salary? Me: Could be allocated on the basis of number of beds in each ward.MG: Any other basis? Me: Time spent in each ward (gives example and explains)MG: What is a ‘run-on-a-bank’? Me: (I looks clueless)MG: Not heard of bank run? Me: No Sir, I’m afraid I haven’t.MG: heard about the budget? What is this fiscal deficit? Is it good or bad? Me: (Wildly guessing) A small level may not be bad as it indicates we are a developing nation and have developmental expenses; on the other hand, a growing deficit may mean we are not planning financing of our expenditure properly. So it has both good and bad elements to it.MG: What is FDI? Me: (I give the full form and explains in layman terms)MG: What about when Indians invest abroad? What is that? Me: It’s FDI for the respective countries.BDG: Okay, why did you drop one year? (I have a ‘discontinuity’ problem)The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200526Me: (I give some standard answer, mentions things like ‘it was a rebellious mistake’, ‘I was a passive follower of advice rather than active decider’, ‘IT was booming then’)BDG: It’s not good now? Me: Well, it went through a slump but it’s doing much better now.(SISC has been scribbling a standard costing question all this while and hands me the sheet and asks me to account for the variance in profit) Me: ( totally zapped--can barely remember chapter, let alone formulae!, borrows SISC’s pen) SISC: (Seeing that I have turned to stone) You can think aloud. Me: (I do so and gives some simplistic explanation combined with some very slow arithmetic) SISC: So, only these two factors for variance? Me: (SISC almost leads me to the next factor and I thankfully mention that too. I mumble something about having done this an year ago and not being so good at it now, all this with an apologetic smile)BDG: You have mentioned that you took a part in an anti-pollution thing… Is there anything going on about pollution these days? Me: Yes, sir. Kyoto protocol has come into effect recently. BDG: What is that? Me: (I explain) BDG: What will implementation mean? Me: (explains) BDG: Have all countries signed it? Me: Actually, USA hasn’t which is ironic since it’s the biggest offender. BDG: Is Delhi more polluted now than it was, say five years ago? Me: Don’t know in terms of actual data but state government has taken steps like conversion to CNG, planting trees etc.BDG: But with highways etc. allowing more vehicles, aren’t emissions increasing? Me: (Thinking of Delhi) But highways are necessary for development also. I think the problem could be migration too….BDG: (interrupts) What? Me: Migration, sir BDG: No, no. I’m talking about the nation not Delhi. Me: Okay. BDG: So you think pollution is a price we pay for development? Me: (Couldn’t have framed it better myself) Yes, sir; it seems so. BDG: Is it necessary to pay this price? Me: No Sir and that is why we try to reduce pollution as much as possible. BDG: How? Can you think of examples? Me: Sir, I believe in China, cycles are given a lot of importance as modes of transportation (actually don’t know this for fact, wonder if it’s true?) Also, automobile companies are now developing solar charged vehicles etc.BDG: What can governments do? Me: Give more incentives to auto companies to keep developing eco-friendly vehicles… BDG: If you are a manager in an MNC, will you go to work on a cycle? Me: No, Sir. I would use a solar powered vehicle!The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200527BDG: Oh, you have that kind of money? We don’t get that much! Me: Well, I’ll be working in an MNC, so maybe (I smile) It also depends on what cost the company is willing to manufacture such a vehicle at.SISC, BDG and MG look at each other and say ‘Okay, thank you’ Me: (Getting up) Thank you, sirs. I hope to see you again. <smile>EXITDid not convert the call, joined SIBM PunePaGaLGuY.com GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200528IIM Ahmedabad - Year 2006 Interview experience of: snova Gave my A GD/PI today...putting just the PI here..me very tired..case study koi aur daal dega...my case study wasn’t good.ProfileFinal year B.E. student in CSE from MBM Engg College, Jodhpur (affiliated to Jai Narain Vyas University.)AcademicsX - 83.8% XII - 77.2%B.E. I - 74.88 II - 75.83 III - 76.00 (consistent huh?)CAT percentileQA - 97.15%ile, VA - 99.77%ile, DI - 93.33%ile Overall 99.77%ileExtra- Curriculars - Not many prizes but I took part in many events and initiatives.First things first, I look like a kid..and that’s what they probably thought when they saw me. Also, my case study performance wasn’t good...was a bit nervous and shaky there..I was the 3rd in my panel..other two guys had OK interviews..mostly techie ones.But because of my nervous bachcha look..and high fundas in my form, they decided to stress test me.3 guys.. SB (Sincere Boodha), KM , GS (Green Shirt). They were sitting left to right in the conference room in above order.GS - So you are from Jai Narain Vyas University..who was Jai Narain Vyas? Me - Former CM of Rajasthan.GS - When did the university get its name? Me: 1962..err..it was founded in 1962, at that time called Jodhpur University..and name was changed sometime in the 1970s .... (GS was least interested).SB - Who was Girija Vyas? Me - I am not sure but she was from the Congress. (which turned out to be correct).SB - Did she have any relation with Jai Narain Vyas? Me - I have no idea (I was then told that she was his daughter probably).SB - Where was she from ? Me - I am not sure but Rajasthan only. (She is from Udaipur...so at least I am not wrong)GS -What are your long term goals? Me - Try to fart about why MBA.GS - Now tell me your long term goals.. Me: I have not formulated what I am gonna do after my MBA.GS - But what are your long term goals? (this happens a bit..but GS is simply not listening to any funda I am throwing..he is simply cutting me again and again). (I knew now that they were trying to stress me out..maine kaha beta yahan funde maarne se kuch nai hoga...aaja aukaad par...dropped all pretensions.) Me - Sir I want to do something for the society in the long run.The Education Network GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200629GS (now he listened..saying the truth always has that effect) - You have done a lot of events in college..do you think college life is like real life? Me - Yes sir.GS - Are they exactly the same? Me - No sir they are not EXACTLY the same..GS - So..you agree that college life is like real life but its not exactly the same..or are you saying its different? (ek baar bol to diya ki they are not exactly the same..!!) Me - Sir from what experience I have had, I do believe they are close and related..but not exactly the same.GS - How are they same? Me - Real life also involves dealing with people and all...(this is a sort of funda and his interest drops).GS - Have you watched the movie Rang De Basanti? (I had an intuition that somehow I may be asked that question, but hadn’t prepared or needed to prepare anything as such) Me - Yes Sir.GS - So the college life..like yours, and its the same in the movie..is that like real life? (here he starts mocking..and does that a lot during the interview, me reminded of aamir's dialog - "university gate ke is paar hum life to nachate hain..aur us paar life humko nachati hai")..you say you have done a lot of things in college, designing posters, websites, and organising things...they must also have done that..dance parties and all? How is that gonna help? (He is almost laughing). Me (now serious, and looked directly in his eyes at one point) - Sir I have never organised a dance party. I started a students club to help my college mates..most of my college mates are from small towns and they can’t speak well in English, and that hampers their performance in Campus Interviews. Though I don’t have very good communication skills either, but I am better than them and held GDs and sessions to help them and that gave me a lot of satisfaction and then I realised that I wanted to do something for the people. (yeh hui na baat..now he stopped laughing..).SB - Only for the people or for yourself too? Me (smile) - Yes sir for me too.Now KM breaks in..KM - So you said you want to learn about businesses.. (This was in my forced why MBA fundas)..how can business help the society? Me - Sir business creates jobs and wealth...gave example of Narayan Murthy's Infosys Foundation.KM- Do you think all businessmen are like Narayan Muthy? Me - No sir..but still...KM - Do you think you can be like Narayan Murthy? Me (looked at him and said honestly) - Maybe I can.KM - Why not go for politics or an NGO or something like that.. (beech beech mei GS koi comment maar maarke hansta ja ra tha..but he was trying to psyche out the wrong guy) Me - (Was saying something about no interest in politics...but ate it midway..he too wasn’t interested in that...)then said maybe I will go for an NGO..told about how other guys from IIMs had gone for NGOs..and even an NGO needs management..people management, finances have to be managed..told something about how a structured education would help me in that...they finally are a bit convinced..may be at my forced use of the word structure . KM - So what type of business do you want to start to help people? Me - Haven’t decided that yet sir...I want to learn more first..KM - What will you learn in management that will help you? Me - Told people management type fundas and structured education types.KM now shifts to academics...KM (looking at first year mark sheets) - hmm..Engg mathematics, electrical engg, civil, mech.. Me - Sir they are 1st year mark sheets..PaGaLGuY.com GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200630KM - Ok I will not ask chemistry then..(huh??) KM - Ok did you have a course in management, I cant find it.. (I knew it would come..and wasn’t prepared, I had studied that subject in 1.2 days before exam)GS (with a smirk) - Was it an elective? Did you take it?KM - But I think management course is compulsory. (mujhko kuch bolne doge?) Me - Yes sir it wasn’t an elective..it was a compulsory subject.KM - So what did you study in it? (yeh to poochana hi tha). Me - Sir only the basics..the various types of organizations...ABC Analysis (again knew they would ask that).KM - So tell us about ABC analysis.. Me - It is about categorizing things into A,B and C levels of priority..I don’t remember much..GS gives some fart examples about classifying various things into ABC...and laughs...I too smile and make no response as such.KM - So which subjects did you like in BE? (abb mara beta, again hadn't prepared this well..what a nut I am). Me - Told about discrete math and basic LOGIC part of digital electronics.(my logic is ok..so I was hoping they would catch that..they didnt).KM - But what about your core subjects? Me - Sir but discrete math is a core subject..and it’s used in all high level design in CS.KM - Okay what is predicate logic? Me - (could not articulate the answer well..this was one time when I was in a fix in the interview...I should have prepared DM better, clearly said that I cant give a precise definition)KM - Did you study graphs in DM? Me - No sir.KM - Ok, which language uses predicate logic? Me - Prolog.KM - Tell me the differences between prolog and C. Me - Some fundas about high and low level languages...discussed a bit on that..rule base and all that...but was never very convincing.KM - Okay have you studied databases? What about 3rd and 4th Gen languages? Me - (Didn’t remember about 3rd Gen languages, told about database languages being the 4th level languages)KM - Why are they different? Me - They have added facility to manage databases..KM - But if I add a library to C, even that can be a 4th generation language then, we can always use structures to manipulate databases in C. Me - Sir but in C that would be a lot more complicated..structures are complicated..4th generation languages are not that complicated and one can easily manipulate databases through them.KM - What all languages did you learn in your course? Me - C/C++, CORE Java and prolog.KM - That’s all? Me - Yes sir..(ab SB ki baari..he was also trying to laugh a bit).SB - So what do you do apart from organising events? Me - I enjoy reading (This was there in the form too).SB - What do you like to read? (abb aayi ball mere paale mein..so I thought)PaGaLGuY.com GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200631Me - I read Philosophy..mainly Indian Philosophy. Vedanta. Swami Vivekananda's works basically.I guess this is what they wanted..they pounced on me...all three of them started questioning and mocking me regarding philosophy..laughed again and again..but I kept my cool..smiled ..I talked about all knowledge coming from contemplation..scientific discoveries made through contemplation..Newton, August Kekule.. ..GS said why don’t you go and sit under a tree and learn there..we should have one tree for every student at IIMA...and laughed..but at many times his laughter was forced and deliberate.. I was cool..like zabardasti haskar kyun energy kharaab kar re ho...I know you are faking it and I wont be psyched out...I smiled and played along..logic breaking down, quantum physics, wave particle duality etc sab discuss kiya..they tried their best to break me..but didn’t happen and at one point I gave my final answer with some force..and they suddenly accepted it and became silent...then asked about some other books..I talked about Godfather but wasn’t very convincing here...again they tried to psyche me out..do I have any Godfather type person in my family? have I been like or been with a person like the Godfather? (I smiled and said no)..I stuck to my point..like I learned this and this from the Godfather and that’s it.I guess that was the end..they offered me a toffee and I left..I had left my pen behind..KM - you may want your pen also. Me - Saying Thank you sir again and again to everyone and leave.Felt very good after the Interview was over...I had actually prayed for a stress interview, I knew I wouldn’t get stressed..they tried a lot to psyche me out..and I never felt the faintest hint of stress (compare this with the situation in my campus interviews where I had my hands shaking and tongue faltering) ..I never felt that these were IIMA profs..they were just good as any bunch of guys to me..I was cool and smiling throughout and put my points well and was reasonable..esp in my social work thing and philosophy...and in both these areas, they finally accepted what I had to say..at times I was a bit forceful..but never angry or loud or disturbed..whatever natural force my personality may have..it all flashed there..and then they had to listen.But now looking in retro..I am worried about the acads part..that’s what IIMA stresses on most. I am OK on paper..performed consistently in BE exams...but I guess nowhere by IIMA standards..Here's a quick analysis --ves - Acads, case study performance was bad,short term goals not clear, not from a hotshot college. +ves - OK CAT percentile (99.77), confidence and coolness in the interview, acads consistent on paper, good extra curriculars in organisational activities.real tired now..khana bhi nahi khaaya hai....this was long, but that’s my humble token in return for all the help I have taken from PG.PaGaLGuY.com GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200632Interview experience of: keviv Hi all,The IIM saga for me began today.I was amongst the few to be a part of the first day first show at IIMA.Venue: IIMA KLMDC annexe. Time: 9:00 AM Panel: 2My profile: Fresher B.Tech ICT (Information and Communication Technology), DA-IICT, Gandhinagar. CAT percentile : 99.97 %ile Calls :BLACKICase study:There were 9 people in each panel (2 ladies in my panel). 4 moderators sitting in one corner each of the room and observing us. There was a round table with number tags indicating our positions. They first checked our admit cards and then collected our forms and the photocopies that they had asked for in the call letter. Thereafter, the general instructions for the case study were given - 5 minutes to read, 20 minutes to discuss and 5 minutes to summarise. Summary to be written in running format, not in points. We were given a writeup with the case, a pink page to note down our points and a ruled page to write the summary. In the end, all three of them were taken back.The case:Bharat had subscribed for a recently launched Tech magazine (launched in Dec. 2004). But I was asked to wait for 2 months before he could receive the first issue. Moreover, in Jan 2005 he was told that he would have to pay more for the magazine as the costs had increased. Bharat felt that this was unfair as he had already paid for the subscription and any prise rise thereafter should not affect him. He threatened to take the distributors to the court. The distributors are in a fix because if Bharat is paid a refund, other customers will ask for the same. Moreover there cannot be a double pricing policy. So what should distributors do?Very peaceful discussion. Everyone was able to speak whenever he/ she wanted. Not much digressing from the topic. But the points raised were also very general. None of the points was such that the group hooked on to it and discussed it for some time. In fact, with 5 minutes more to go, one of us almost brought an end to GD but saying that "in the end we have agreed that...". Fortunately, a new point came up (courtesy: yours truly) and the group could discuss further till the moderator asked us to stop.The interview started within 10 minutes of the GD. I was the second person to be interviewed. And so I had no pre conceived notions of the panel. Went inside with butterflies in my stomach. But the panel soon made me comfortable. In the beginning, when they were stuck on one question, I thought that they were planning for a stress interview. But nope. They soon became very jovial. They were laughing all the time and therefore today, for the first time in an interview, I too smiled. Really, very cordial panel.Four people. Sitting on one side of the round table. However, only 3 of them asked questions. The fourth one was sitting slightly further from the table, looking at me all the time, smiling and noting down something.Interviewers: P1, P2, P3P1: Yes ___, what is Dhirubhai Ambani doing (me from Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of ICT) Me: Sir, ..(with an astonished look on my face)P1: Yes, Yes, I know he is dead. (Bursts out into laughter. I too smile). P1: So what are his sons doing? Me: Sir, they recently parted ways.P1: So whose side you are on? Me: Tried to be diplomatic. Both are good and blah blah.PaGaLGuY.com GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200633P1: No, but I want to know that if the brothers declare tomorrow that all DA-IICT students have to declare their allegiance towards one of them, whom will you choose? Me: In that case, I would go with Mukesh because I find my personality more similar to his than Anil's.P1: And what makes you think so? Me: Sir Anil is highly enthusiastic and dynamic. Mukesh is calm, patient, confident blah blah ..P1: So you are not dynamic? Me: Sir, I believe in taking up one task at a time and doing it in the best possible manner. (Here P3 chips in).P3: You said Mukesh is cool, calm and so are you too. But cool these days also means dynamic. As you people say "Cool dude". Which cool did you mean? (laughter all over). Me: Sir, I meant Mukesh has a cool temperament.(P2 looks at the mention of the prize I had won in an event called crossword. But thinks that it is something about the bookshop crossword. He asks me whether I am a member of the crossword. When I refuse and explain him about what crossword actually is, he again bursts into laughter. He laughed a lot during the interview)Now comes P2. Tech guy. Asked me only academics. And never seemed to be convinced.P2: You studied ICT? Did you specialize in anything? Me: Yes sir, CT.P2: How does an analog telephone work? Me: Didn't know exactly. But told him about the carbon resistance in the microphone changing due to vibrations of the membrane when we speak, thereby changing the current in the wires. (I think that the concept is correct but could not give a very technical explanation).P2: What is the EMF of the battery used at the exchange?(Before that I had mentioned about the central batter exchanges). Me: High because they supply power to several subscribers.P2: You said that there is the variable carbon resistance between the two wires connecting the handset and the battery. So I should get a spark when I short the two wires. But I don't Me: (Clueless here)P2: Ok. How does a call reach from here to Timbaktoo. Me: Told about the exchanges, trunk lines. regional exchanges. etc.P2: How many exchanges are there in India? Any guess? Me: No idea. But may be around 200 in each state. So around 5000. (Totally clueless here too).P2: Ok. you have studied networks? Me: Yes sir.p2: Tell me, what network topology will a telephone network be? Me: Mesh topology.P2: Heard about tree topology? (I think the mesh answer was wrong. Tree was the correct answer). Me: Explained it.P2: Network topology of BSNL? Me: No idea.P1 is back into action. P1: You never felt curious? Me: (Kya bolta? Dekhte raha unhe).P2 back to acads. P2: You seem to be good at probability. (Asks me a probability question.) Me: I gave the answer. He wasn't convinced.P1: How were the cellular operators in a region decided in India?PaGaLGuY.com GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200634Me: I told them about the spectrum auctions and the policy of maintaining a minimum and maximum number of operators in a circle.P1: Why is there a minimum limit? Me: For competition.P1: Why maximum limit? Me: Too much market segmentation. Problems in spectrum allocation as spectrum is limited.P1: Number of cellular operators in Gujarat (Here, due to one of my answers there was again a round of laughter. I used that time to count the number of operators). Me: 2 CDMA. 4 GSM.P1: Name them. Me: Named.P1: Why CDMA and not GSM? Me: Explained the difference between the two.P1: Why only two for CDMA? Me: told them..P1: Which countries use CDMA? Which use GSM? Me: Answered.Passes the baton to P3.P3: Tell me about your other interests. Me: Sir, reading and writing.P3: What do you write? Me: Articles for college magazine, daily diary, blog.P3: What was the last article in the magazine? Me: About my experience with CAT.P3: Why would anyone want to read that? Me: blah blah.P3: What did you write? Me: Told.P3: When did you update your blog? Last blog? Me: Told. Also told them about a bloggers community in our institute.P3 jokes that we should check his blog there and then to see if I was telling the truth.P3: Why blog? Why not just talk with people in your institute? Me: Blog without borders. Interaction with people from far off places and all that stuff (seemed convinced).P3: Looked at one of my certificates and asked me about that event. Me: Answered.At that point, our college festival "Synapse" came into picture. So P2 asked me about actual meaning of synapse. I gave them the definition (the connection between nerve fibres) and told them that is all I know.P1 again chips in.P1: Do you watch movies? Me: No.P1: Why? Me: I am slightly impatient (haha. Earlier, in one of the answers I had said that I am patient. thank God they didn't notice this). Can't sit through 3 hours of a movie.PaGaLGuY.com GD-PI Anthology: IIM Ahmedabad - Year 200635P1: Last movie? Me: Terminal.P3 is back.P3: Which book did you read last? Me: (last book I read was Fountainhead but after reading PG threads, didn't have the guts to tell that to the panel as I am not that well-versed with Rand's philosophy). Told them about Kiran Bedi's book that I am currently reading.P3: Why that book? Me: Told them that I prefer biographies.P3: Why not Gandhi, Nehru's autobiographies? Me: Read Gandhi's. Nehru's could not complete.P3: A few general questions about jails.P3: Ok, take your chocolate and you can go. Me: Thank you.So, this was all. No Why MBA? Tell me About yourself? Do you want to ask us something? Strengths and weaknesses? None of these.Lasted for about 30 minutes. In fact never realised that I was in for 30 minutes. I though they hadn't asked me anything. So when they said "one last question", I was surprised. It was only after I was out that I came to know that mine was one of the "long" interviews.Was quite happy after the interview, though later, on analysis, I found nothing special about my interview. Did not give good answers to some questions. But most of the time, it all seemed to me like a casual chit-chat. We all were laughing a lot. It was much better than all the mocks that I had given. The panel was very good. Whatever might be the outcome, I enjoyed the process.Next is K on 21st at Mumbai.All the best to all.Cheers, Vivek