chakravyuh

People who follow indian mythology would be well aware of chakravyuh...during which a noble child pitted himself against mighty warriors.
well... what do i have to do with a chakravyuh? for that you have to read this blog.

recently, i had an interview for a scholarship..it is given by a foundation for higher studies abroad....here is the metaphor - me in a chakravyuh!
very much like abhimanyu's chakravyuh, you know how to enter an interview room but do not know how to come out of it...it depends on the interviewers and of course your performance!

after waiting for 2 long hours the moment popped up..(during the 2 hours, i resisted every attempt made to make me eat samosas, pastries...)... it was like feeding a goat before taking it to a butcher!..well, the interviewers proved no less than butchers....
i have faced several interviews till date but this one was unique.

i entered the den replete with confidence and enthusiasm. warm, wicked and plastic smiles floated all over (even on my face)...

the first question shot ->
interviewer: anurag .....?? ...
me: ambekar..
interviewer: hmm, ambekar....why ambekar?
me: may be my forefathers were mango traders ("ambe" means mangoes)
interviewer: hmm....could it be related to goddess amba?
me: yes, even thats possible!
interviewer: you seem to say yes to everything...
me: i am just accepting a possibility.
no response!

we used to do this during our school days...tear apart the names & surnames, badger the cynosure and gloat with that vicious laugh! you never know when life can exhibit analogies!

for one hour i was captivated by rapacious scholars hungry of information. i was defending myself from all the 10 directions...n the worst part was neither did i have a sword nor a shield!

how will you solve the ICICI credit card fraud (here i was assumed to solve a problem worth crores in few mins) , what can you deduce if you know that on fridays diapers and beer are sold together (the expected answer was customers are IT-professionals!!), you have answered why you need not use clustering .. can you tell me why you should not use clustering (highly inscrutable answer).

while applying, in the abstract i had written..i prepared for rigorous interviews...
so the question arrived what are these rigorous interviews?....i expatiated on NTSE, MTSE, SSB interviews..the subjects i had to study, the preparations i had to undergo....contributions of my friends/relatives for the interview questions, googling net for the interview tips....
i had to even quote some of the interview tips (and comments came for the same)...
1) keep smiling ---- hmm thts why you are smiling
2)answer confidently ---- hmm so that you can answer blunder?
no sir, so that you would know that atleast some part of that blunder is correct
3)hide your indifference --- isn't that what you are doing?

i did get a chance to talk about the scholarship foundation history...and to my surprise all the information was novel for the interviewers! i feel here...they tried to hide their ignorance and the agape expressions....its amusing to watch the interviewers baffle :)

these were just the highlights and so you could never ever imagine my torment.
it was a great experience overall and it seldom happens that you suffer knowlingly!

results aren't out yet and its always good to say that with such a great experience it doesn't matter whether you get the scholarship or not...but the fact remains -- jo jeeta wohi sikandar!