Satyam Interview Experience

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SATYAM PAPER AT HYDERABAD

Hi friends,

We had off-campus by Satyam. This pool drive was really big that 21 colleges had participated and 3000-4000 students wrote the written exam. Only 300 of them cleared the written exam.116 of them had cleared the h.r and finally got the job. And I am the one of them. I would like to share my experiences with you, as I was very much benefited by the previous experiences of the candidates.

DAY 1: written paper:

friends there were 10 questions from reasoning and 5 from aptitude. The paper was not so tough. But it was really time consuming. So please try to scan the paper first and try to complete the aptitude questions in starting 5 minutes. Then rest of the time you complete the reasoning part.

15 questions,30 min and +1 for correct answer and -1/4 for wrong answer.

1) A question like this he gave a=0 and b=1 and asked us to find the value for the number 5

ans. convert 5 to binary...(101)

2) missing number series..damn tough....(don’t attempt, its simply waste of time)

3) from time and work....a and b can do a piece of work in 20 days. b and c can do it in 12 days. c and a can do it in 10 days. then how much time will a alone would take to do the work..(Direct from r.s.agarwal without changing the numbers)

4)from reasoning. a bit difficult

5)again reasoning. the question was very big

6)a rectangle problem from areas...

7)logical deduction

8)he gave ten statements and we have to deduce the 11 statement by using this 10 statements

9) a problem on Compound interest(direct from r.s.agarwal without even changing the numbers)

10)a passage was given a logical inference should be made.(very big. but easy one)

11)a problem on permutations....(damn easy)

12)a problem from data interpretation. It was on line graphs...very big. Not easy to deduct the solution

13) a problem from profit and loss (direct from r.s.agarwal...he didn’t even change the numbers)

even the other two were from reasoning...

Finally friends...it totally depends upon your time management. It does not depend how many questions you have answered, it depends how many questions you have answered correctly. So even if you know 5 out of 15 perfectly, then just answer 5 questions. As a matter of fact, I answered 8 of them and I was confident on 5 questions and the remaining 3 answers which I wrote were from reasoning. So I don how many were correct. But I luckily cleared written test

DAY 2: MORNING

They gave the resume form and asked us to fill the details correctly (mandatory) even a small approximation in your percentages or malpractice in writing your backlogs wasn’t allowed. Then they gave an essay and asked us to write on it in less than 300 words. And time limit was only 10 min.

AFTERNOON: H.R ROUND :( for me it was 40 min... He asked questions from all my 3 years of ece)

me: may i comin sir

H.R Interview: comin....pls take your seat

H.R Interview: TELL ME ABOUT URSELF?

ME: said (please prepare for this before itself properly because he will be testing your communication skills)

H.R Interview: interrupted me while I was saying my strengths. but I was able to bounce back

H.R Interview: read my essay completely and started asking questions on that

me: answered

H.R Interview: he was not satisfied by my answer

me: i convinced him with my answer by giving an example

H.R Interview: asked about family background

me: said

H.R Interview: started technical (for me this consumed around 25 min)

me: answered all the questions with practical examples

H.R Interview: he saw my extra-curricular activities and started questioning on them

me: answered very well.

H.R Interview: Do u have any questions?

Me: asked one question and he answered that and he was very impressed by my answer.

H.R Interview: anymore questions?

me: asked one more and he answered that

H.R Interview: gave a cool hand shake

me: said thank u and left the room

TCS Placement Experience

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Hi Friends

I am one of those 102 lucky people who got placement in TCS. Around 400 students appeared for the written out of which 169 could clear the online test. The online test wasn't a cakewalk this time. TCS has changed the Quantitative Section. So previous year papers(placement papers before jan,2010 ) won't work this time. But the pattern was same

The online test consisted of three parts

1.) Verbal Section: Synonyms, Antonyms, Comprehension, Fill ups. (40 question,20 min)

2.) Quantitive Aptitude (38 questions,40 min)

3) Critical Reasoning ( 3 question consisting 4 question each,30 min

Don't waste time on preparing Verbal Section. Still if you want, you can read High Frequency Words from GRE Barren's 12th edition. 

Quantitive section can be prepared from R.S.Aggarwal. The students preparing for CAT can easily crack this section. Time management during the test is very crucial in this section. I could attempt 36 out of 38 questions due to lack of time. Questions are okay but the time required to solve them is more as compared to questions in the previous year papers. So be careful

Critical Reasoning section consisted of 3 questions. Out of these 3 I got 2 from the Barren's 12th edition. So this can be prepared easily from GRE Barren's 12th edition. Go for the questions from 5 model test papers.

Result of written test was declared around 7:30 pm.  Luckily my name was in the list.  

On 10th Feb Recruitment team arrived around 1:00 pm. TCS officials gave presentation of 1 hr. Lots of information regarding TCS was provided during PPT. Note down the important points during the PPT.

Technical Round:
After waiting for more than 7 hrs my name was announced for technical interview. I was asked to move in the cabin where interviewer was sitting.

Me: May I come in sir.
TCS Technical Interviewer: Yeah Virender come in. (He got my name from the Resume in his hands. He was busy in reading that)

Me: Thank you sir

TCS Technical Interview Question: So, Virender are you from Computer Science or Information Technology.
Me: Sir, I am from Information Technology.

TCS Technical Interview Question: Ok, but you have written Computer Science in your Resume and here in form you have filled Information Technology.
(I was shocked to hear that. I lost the hope for the next round when he told me that. Because I knew this mistake wasn't tolerable at all. Actually I have prepared my Resume early in the morning and that too from my friend's Resume who was in Computer Science .Unfortunately I couldn't catch that mistake. )
Me: Oh Sir that’s a blunder.

CareerInfoline Word of Advice: Resume gives your first impression to the interviewer. It tells few things about the candidates upfront. Making mistakes like the above one should be avoided, but at the same time denying a mistake already done can be a bigger blunder.

TCS Technical Interviewer: It's Ok. I can understand. Have a seat.
Me: Thank you Sir.

TCS Technical Interview Question: Tell me about your favorite subjects.
Me: Sir Its Object Oriented Programming.

TCS Technical Interview Question: Fine, Do you know anything about Function Overloading?
Me: Sir, Function Overloading is basically used to have different functions with same names. The functions body may be different but name is same.

TCS Technical Interview Question: Then how they are distinguished?
Me: Sir, The overloaded functions have different signatures. There are 3 types of overloaded function. First one is by Types of Parameters, Second is depending upon No. of Parameters, Third is on order of parameters.

TCS Technical Interview Question: Can u explain the third one?
Me: Yes Sir (I gave him an example on paper lying on the table. He seemed to be impressed).

TCS Technical Interview Question: Ok, Can you tell me what Function Overriding is?
Me: It is the method of redefining a function in the child class.

TCS Technical Interview Question: Can you access the overridden parent class function?
(I was trying to recall. Just then he gave me a hint)

TCS Technical Interview Question: Have you ever heard about Virtual Functions?
Me: Yeah sir that is used in function overriding in order to access the base class functions. We make the base class function virtual and access it by the base class pointer.
(He was smiling. That was enough to boost up my confidence)

TCS Technical Interview Question: Ok , so you must have heard about virtual tables too.
Me: No sir.
(I knew the answer this time too. But I was not sure so I said NO. Don't try to show them that you know everything.)

CareerInfoline Word of Advice: Don’t try to answer something which you are not sure It’s better to tell truth rather than bluffing.

TCS Technical Interview Question: Can you write a program to reverse a string or concatenate a string with recursion?
Me: I can write both sir!

TCS Technical Interview Question: Ok , Then write whichever you like.
(I wrote the reversing a string program. Meanwhile he was busy with his mobile phone.)   

TCS Technical Interview Question: Good. What about Operating System?
Me: Yah sir you can ask questions.

TCS Technical Interview Question: Ok leave it. Tell me your second favorite subject.
Me: Sir you can continue with Operating System.
(Fortunately this was the second subject which i have prepared for technical interview. Luck was with me this time)

TCS Technical Interview Question: What are Deadlocks?
Me: I explained.

TCS Technical Interview Question: How can you stop them?
Me: These can be stopped in two ways. First is deadlock prevention and second is deadlock recovery.
(I explained both the methods. This was the longest answer from my side)

TCS Technical Interview Question: Your training project was in C++.
(He was reading the Resume. Also he was filling something on a form which he attached on my resume. My heart was beating like a generator at that time. I was worried about the mistake in resume)
Me: Yes sir, it was Banking System.

TCS Technical Interview Question: Ok Virender. You can leave now.
Me: How was it Sir?
(I asked this stupid question because I was worried due to mistake I have made in my resume.)

TCS Technical Interview Question: It was fine, wait outside for MR.
Me: Ok sir. Thank You Very Much.

MR Round

Me: May I come in sir.
TCS MR Interview Question: Yes come in. Have a seat.
Me: Thank You Sir.

TCS MR Interview Question: Tell me about yourself.
Me: I told everything.

TCS MR Interview Question: You have done projects in C# and C++ (Resume was in hands).
Me: Yes sir.

TCS MR Interview Question: Explain Job Portal project you have made in C#.
Me: (I explained each and every module that took some time. One of my teachers has told me to do so. He has told me to spend most of the time telling about my project so that they don't have much time to ask you questions from anywhere else. I think the idea worked.)
Then there were some more questions regarding my project. I explained him everything.

TCS MR Interview Question: Okay you have used SQL Server as back end in your project.
Me: Yes sir.

TCS MR Interview Question: What is SQL?
Me: I explained.

TCS MR Interview Question: What is difference between SQL and PL?
Me: I told.

TCS MR Interview Question: Have you studied DBMS?
Me: Yes sir. But it was in 4th semester. I haven't gone through it for a long time. (Actually don't remember in which semester it was but still i said 4th semester confidently.)

TCS MR Interview Question: Ok, leave it. Tell me about Object Oriented Programming.
(I think he asked about OOP after reading something in form attached with resume. Don't know what)
Me: I explained.

 TCS MR Interview Question: What are your goals?
Me: Sir my short term goal is to get this job right here right now.

TCS MR Interview Question: Bs (in HINDI)?
Me: Sir this is my short term goal. I prefer to do the job currently in my hands in the best way.

TCS MR Interview Question: And long term goals?
Me: I want to see myself on other side of table within 3 or 4 years. (I mean to say at his place. He smiled over this.)

TCS MR Interview Question: Tell me about your family.
Me: I told.

TCS MR Interview Question: Okay Virender, wait outside for HR.
Me: Thank You sir.
(In my case this round was a mix up of Technical and HR. No situational questions were asked in this round from me)

HR Round:

The head of Recruitment Team was there for my HR. So i was worried a bit.

Me: May i come in mam.
TCS HR Interview Question: Yes come in. Sorry Virender i made you to wait so long.
Me: Its ok mam.

TCS HR Interview Question: How was the day?
Me: It was fine. Most important day of my life.

TCS HR Interview Question: So Virender market yourself.
Me: I explained everything about me.

TCS HR Interview Question: Why TCS?
Me: Mam its the best company that visits our campus and moreover i have heard a lot about the working environment provided by the TCS and today i am able to feel that from TCS team. I haven't seen such friendly people so far.

TCS HR Interview Question: Describe yourself in one word.
Me: Hardworker.

TCS HR Interview Question: what are your Strengths?
Me: Mam I easily get mixed-up with people. Due to this habit I have a lot of friends.

TCS HR Interview Question: Weakness?
Me: Again I easily get mixed-up with people.

TCS HR Interview Question: Can u explain.
Me: Yes mam due to this habit I get fake friends sometimes. blah blah….

TCS HR Interview Question: If i offer job at Chennai?
Me: I'll go.

TCS HR Interview Question: Are you aware about package?
Me: Yes mam.

TCS HR Interview Question: and about 2 year bond?
Me: I know mam.

TCS HR Interview Question: Any questions Virender?
Me: Mam, Should I party tonight?

TCS HR Interview Question: Patience pays. Result will be announced tomorrow. You can leave for the day.
Me: Thank You mam.

Next day after long hours of waiting the result was announced at 4:00 pm. My name was the last name in the list (I hate these alphabetically ordered lists) . Finally I have made it. This is going to be my first step in the professional world. Thanks to god.

Have faith in yourself and Hit the doors of your luck even harder - Success will be yours.

 

New Era in Marketing

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Dr. Y. L. R. Moorthi is a professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. He is an M.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and a post graduate in management from IIM, Bangalore.

"Have Breakfast… or…Be Breakfast!"

Who sells the largest number of cameras in India ?

Your guess is likely to be Sony, Canon or Nikon. Answer is none of the above.

The winner is Nokia whose main line of business in India is not cameras but cell phones.

Reason being cameras bundled with cellphones are outselling stand alone cameras.

Now, what prevents the cellphone from replacing the camera outright? Nothing at all. One can only hope the Sonys and Canons are taking note.

Try this. Who is the biggest in music business in India? You think it is HMV Sa-Re-Ga-Ma? Sorry.

The answer is Airtel. By selling caller tunes (that play for 30 seconds) Airtel makes more than what music companies make by selling music albums (that run for hours).

Incidentally Airtel is not in music business. It is the mobile service provider with the largest subscriber base in India . That sort of competitor is difficult to detect, even more difficult to beat (by the time you have identified him he has already gone past you). But if you imagine that Nokia and Bharti (Airtel's parent) are breathing easy you can't be farther from truth.

Nokia confessed that they all but missed the smartphone bus. They admit that Apple's Iphone and Google's Android can make life difficult in future. But you never thought Google was a mobile company, did you? If these illustrations mean anything, there is a bigger game unfolding. It is not so much about mobile or music or camera or emails?

The "Mahabharat" (the great Indian epic battle) is about "what is tomorrow's personal digital device"? Will it be a souped up mobile or a palmtop with a telephone? All these are little wars that add up to that big battle.

Hiding behind all these wars is a gem of a question – "who is my competitor?"

Once in a while, to intrigue my students I toss a question at them. It says "What Apple did to Sony, Sony did to Kodak, explain?" The smart ones get the answer almost immediately. Sony defined its market as audio (music from the walkman). They never expected an IT company like Apple to encroach into their audio domain. Come to think of it, is it really surprising? Apple as a computer maker has both audio and video capabilities. So what made Sony think he won't compete on pure audio? "Elementary Watson". So also Kodak defined its business as film cameras, Sony defines its businesses as "digital."

In digital camera the two markets perfectly meshed. Kodak was torn between going digital and sacrificing money on camera film or staying with films and getting left behind in digital technology. Left undecided it lost in both. It had to. It did not ask the question "who is my competitor for tomorrow?" The same was true for IBM whose mainframe revenue prevented it from seeing the PC. The same was true of Bill Gates who declared "internet is a fad!" and then turned around to bundle the browser with windows to bury Netscape. The point is not who is today's competitor. Today's competitor is obvious. Tomorrow's is not.

In 2008, who was the toughest competitor to British Airways in India ? Singapore airlines? Better still, Indian airlines? Maybe, but there are better answers. There are competitors that can hurt all these airlines and others not mentioned.

The answer is videoconferencing and telepresence services of HP and Cisco. Travel dropped due to recession. Senior IT executives in India and abroad were compelled by their head quarters to use videoconferencing to shrink travel budget. So much so, that the mad scramble for American visas from Indian techies was nowhere in sight in 2008. ( India has a quota of something like 65,000 visas to the U.S. They were going a-begging. Blame it on recession!). So far so good. But to think that the airlines will be back in business post recession is something I would not bet on. In short term yes. In long term a resounding no. Remember, if there is one place where Newton 's law of gravity is applicable besides physics it is in electronic hardware. Between 1977 and 1991 the prices of the now dead VCR (parent of Blue-Ray disc player) crashed to one-third of its original level in India . PC's price dropped from hundreds of thousands of rupees to tens of thousands. If this trend repeats then telepresence prices will also crash. Imagine the fate of airlines then. As it is not many are making money. Then it will surely be RIP!

India has two passions. Films and cricket. The two markets were distinctly different. So were the icons. The cricket gods were Sachin and Sehwag. The filmi gods were the Khans (Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and the other Khans who followed suit). That was, when cricket was fundamentally test cricket or at best 50 over cricket. Then came IPL and the two markets collapsed into one. IPL brought cricket down to 20 overs. Suddenly an IPL match was reduced to the length of a 3 hour movie. Cricket became film's competitor. On the eve of IPL matches movie halls ran empty. Desperate multiplex owners requisitioned the rights for screening IPL matches at movie halls to hang on to the audience. If IPL were to become the mainstay of cricket, as it is likely to be, films have to sequence their releases so as not clash with IPL matches. As far as the audience is concerned both are what in India are called 3 hour "tamasha" (entertainment). Cricket season might push films out of the market.

Look at the products that vanished from India in the last 20 years. When did you last see a black and white movie? When did you last use a fountain pen? When did you last type on a typewriter? The answer for all the above is "I don't remember!" For some time there was a mild substitute for the typewriter called electronic typewriter that had limited memory. Then came the computer and mowed them all. Today most technologically challenged guys like me use the computer as an upgraded typewriter. Typewriters per se are nowhere to be seen.

One last illustration.

20 years back what were Indians using to wake them up in the morning?

The answer is "alarm clock." The alarm clock was a monster made of mechanical springs. It had to be physically keyed every day to keep it running. It made so much noise by way of alarm, that it woke you up and the rest of the colony. Then came quartz clocks which were sleeker. They were much more gentle though still quaintly called "alarms." What do we use today for waking up in the morning? Cellphone! An entire industry of clocks disappeared without warning thanks to cell phones. Big watch companies like Titan were the losers. You never know in which bush your competitor is hiding!

On a lighter vein, who are the competitors for authors? Joke spewing machines? (Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, himself a Pole, tagged a Polish joke telling machine to a telephone much to the mirth of Silicon Valley). Or will the competition be story telling robots? Future is scary! The boss of an IT company once said something interesting about the animal called competition. He said "Have breakfast …or…. be breakfast"! That sums it up rather neatly.

Tech Mahindra campus placement experience

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Hello friends

Here I present my experience of getting in Tech Mahindra.

At around 1 pm they started with their PPT. I can say in my case that it’s only after going through their PPT I felt that I want to be in Tech Mahindra company. I was very impressed, so I maintained my confidence.

How to crack an Interview?

Career Infoline Word of Advice: Self confidence is important for cracking an interview. Answering interview questions with confidence gives an impression to an interview about your knowledge level.

About written test I can say preparation matters but the main thing is speed and the time management…below I write for you the pattern of the written test.

It consisted of 6 sections having 100 questions in all to be attempted in 1 hr with no negative marking.

1. Verbal section—it consisted of 35 simple clues but again the speed matters. 

2. Non verbal section-it was having 20 questions simple and the main portion was formed by analogy, pattern matching.

3. Quantitative aptitude—only 15 questions of aptitude were.

4-5. These two sections had 25 questions of English—like fill in the blanks with conjunctions, synonyms, antonyms (simple one not the alien words), it was all easy for me.

6. It consisted of 2 comprehensions very-very simple its just speed which is required as you get only 4-5 min to do it .

I waited for the result and was lucky to clear it.

After passing long waiting hrs then the next day my call for the interview came. YES I was bit nervous but was trying to feel better by singing songs….(that’s my best way ever)

Then as I entered the room they welcomed me with so much warm smile that I started feeling comfortable then my technical interview went for almost 45 min…they were impressed by me.

Here is how my interview went.

As I entered the room they I saw that there were 2 persons sitting to take my technical.

I greeted my interviewers with a smile and was asked to have a seat. My resume was asked and then began the questioning part.

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: Dipti introduce your self to us.

Answer. I told them about my schools, my family, my nature and in last about my hobbies.

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: Okay after reading my resume he said that you also took part in swimming competition at district level!! Good. So can you tell me the dimensions of the pool where you participated?

Answer. (luckily I remembered the dimensions written on the pool) so I answered correctly…

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: Tell us about any of your strong point in life?

Answer. I answered.

Career Infoline Word of Advice: Tell about your strong points by giving examples from practical life. It will help them understand your strength better and will also give confidence that you are not faking.

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: We would also like to know about your any negative point?

Answer. I answered ….and by reading their expressions I can say they were impressed by my strong point as I justified it by giving a real example from my life.

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: Now Dipti we want you to solve this puzzle for us.

So they gave me a temple and flowers puzzle that I solved, as I was solving they asked me the method I am using and appreciated my approach to solve it..

 Then they gave me a cake problem which I wasn’t able to solve.

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: Share any moment of life with us when you thought that you are trapped but with your hard work and will you were able to come out of it..

Answer. To this I gave them the example which was also clear in my resume..so he was very impressed to know that I was a medical student with no even optional maths in my 12^th and then I carried on with my b.tech in e&c and that’s with so much good percentage!!

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: If our company give the chance to you to carry with your studies further..would you like to go for it?

Answer. Yes sir sure.

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: So since when you are living far from your parents?

Answer. sir since 4 yrs

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: So do you feel comfortable living so far from them?

Answer. Its comfortable to some extent if I have telephonic contacts with them

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: Any more adjustment…out of house?

Answer. Yes sir with food.

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: Do you have any questions to ask?

Answer. First I asked their names then their experience in Tech Mahindra. The scope of electronics students in this sector and also whether they can efficiently take on the work load or not.

After this they said that I can go now and they wished me to have a great future with them.

Then my HR went as below

(it was of hardly 20 min)

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: So Dipti hello

Answer. Hello sir and very good afternoon

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: So have you taken your lunch?

Answer. No sir

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: So are you not feeling hungry?

Answer. sir yes but it happens sometimes when your work is very imp.

Reply—you are right dipti ..you know I more often miss my lunch coz of my work!!

But are you feeling comfortable?

A.Yes sir

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: So dipti I want you to speak on the topic modus pollus for atleast 3 min.

Answer. Sir actually the topic isn’t very clear to me

Reply—so he explained to me what modus pollus is all about the he asked me to now justify it that it’s right.

I spoke for about 2 min on it then he said its okay good…

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: Tell me about the company tech mahindra?

Answer. To this I told them everything that I knew about tech mahindra.

CareerInfoline Word of Advice:  This is important question in an interview. It shows your inquisitiveness for joining the company. Also it tells that you are well prepared for the interview and shows your attitude.

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: Why do you want to join tech mahindra?

Answer. Sir actually being in electronics trade I have the knowledge of the hardware that’s used in telecom industry but now you want to know about the software which makes this hardware work…and your company provides a good interface between the both so I want to join your company..

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: Dipti why dint you went for TCS?

Answer. Sir I dint clear it’s written test.

Tech Mahindra Interview Question: What they told you in their PPT?

Answer. Actually sir it was only for those students who were short listed for the interview.

Then he gave me a form to sign and my HR was over

After about 1 hr result was announced and I was very happy to hear my name in the list of 21 selected students and then it took me around 2-3 days to realize that yes m placed in tech m….it was just like m living in dreams before!!

So my friends the main thing that u should have in you to get in some good company is to have confidence in your capabilities…and yes time management during the written test!!

Thanks for reading my experience and whatever I have written here will be worth for me if it will help you in any way.

All the best!!

One for the Monk - Old Monk

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That squat dark oddly-shaped bottle. That funny fat bald old man in a robe beaming at you. What is the magic of Old Monk that never dies? What is the basis of the unquestioning faith that the Old Monk drinker reposes in the brand? What is the source of the extreme brand loyalty it generates? After all, there are millions of men who start their hard liquor life with Old Monk and never drink anything else till the day they die.
The facts, for the record. Old Monk is a dark rum blended and aged for seven years (though there is also a more expensive 12-year-old version, the Old Monk Gold Reserve). It has an alcohol content of 42.8 per cent and is produced by Mohan Meakin, based in Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. It is the third largest-selling rum in the world, and has been the biggest Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) brand for decades. Old Monk is the only spirits brand to figure in advertising guru Ian Batley’s list of potential Great Indian Brands, which could tap the world market. Suzuki Motor Corporation Chairman Osamu Suzuki is a connoisseur of wines. In his personal dining room and bar where he entertains his guests, there is a bottle of what he believes is the best liquor brand from each of the 192 countries the company operates in. India is represented by Old Monk.

But Old Monk enthusiasts couldn’t be less bothered with the numbers. For them this rum is more than just a drink. It is a close friend, a confidant, a keeper of memories. With every sip that you take, incidents come flooding back. The first time one got sloshed and got caught by the hostel warden. The first time one confessed one’s love but to the wrong girl in a moment of drunken recklessness. And finally the heartbreak when nothing but Old Monk could soothe the pain. Nostalgia is definitely something that Old Monk brings. Even if you are rich now, and only drink Scotch or wine, you retain a special affection for the brand.
The sense of kinship that comes with being an Old Monk drinker is legendary. There are tales galore about how strangers became fast friends over a glass of Old Monk. Mention Old Monk or “budha sadhu” (as he lovingly calls it), and Aditya Dhar, manager-training with American Express, and memories of the good times he spent with his friends crowd his head. “I can never forget this one cold January evening that we spent at a friend Neil’s place. We kept on drinking and Neil continued to strum the guitar till his fingers bled. But did he stop? No, not at all. Old Monk was the only remedy required and he played every single song in the book,” reminisces Aditya.

Glenn Satur, one of Internet’s unknown poets, puts it thus: “You’ve brought feeling to our lives, at moments of desperation. For most of us, you have been our mentor and our inspiration. We don’t give up on things, even if we think our lives have sunk. There’s always a solution to a problem when we have you dear Old Monk Rum!”
Arijit Ganguly, team leader with Royal Bank of Scotland, shares his story about a friend who just couldn’t take the freezing cold of Himachal Pradesh. “We were in Chail and we had to change buses. It was freaking cold and we found to our consternation that the bus would arrive only after an hour,” he recalls. One of his friends was so cold that even three trousers and countless number of sweaters couldn’t keep him warm. “Suddenly he took out a bottle of Old Monk and gulped down 100 ml of it in one shot. Within 15 minutes, his eyes and ears had turned red and soon he was found singing ‘My balls are on fire’ in a mere sweatshirt and jeans.”
Perhaps another thing that works for the Monk is also the sense of reassurance that one gets on seeing the signature design that hasn’t changed a bit in years. It is a soothing thought that in this ever changing world, one has something constant to hold on to. Of course, the fact that quality has never faltered helps. Then there’s the distinctive taste, different from every other rum in the world. Anyone who has ever had Old Monk will recognise the taste in any blind test.
When drinking with Old Monk enthusiasts, one has to adhere to the proper etiquette. One cannot say, “I am having a glass of rum,” when you are having Old Monk. Old Monk is not a rum. Old Monk is Old Monk. It is utter sacrilege to drag this priceless drink into the category of regular unexciting rums. You need to feel the pride, the proper respect, the honour when you hold a glass of Old Monk.
There is something about Old Monk that makes you feel all-powerful, that you have the strength to take on the whole world. A friend, Arindita Gogoi, could muster up the guts to tell her mother that she drinks only after she had had a few sips of Old Monk: “I was in Delhi, having Old Monk with a friend on a chilly December evening when my mom called from Assam. When she asked me what I was doing I told her very emotionally that, ‘Maa, it is very chilly here and nothing but a dark rum could save us.’” Her mother hung up. But to this day, Arindita continues with her unfettered fealty to this amazing drink, in spite of her mother’s displeasure. “You don’t feel stylish with Old Monk. It just makes you feel more rustic and grounded,” says Arindita.
However, Old Monk hasn’t been without its own share of heated debates. The one that has been plaguing its fans since eternity, or well since cola companies took over the world, is what is the best way to have this drink. With cola or hot water? On the Old Monk Appreciation Society page on Facebook, enthusiasts discuss such topics with a vengeance.
While some suggest having it with three-fourths Coke, topping it off with two cubes of ice, others consider the use of cola sheer blasphemy. It’s hot water or nothing at all.
While legions of fans argue on Facebook, Vikram Gour and Chaitanya Chadha sit back and watch as their creation achieve all that they had envisaged for it. When they created this society on Facebook, they wanted to find like-minded people who shared their love. And they weren’t disappointed. People from all across the world answered their call. Today, the society boasts of 1,100 members.
Some of the overseas fans have even been able to sniff out Old Monk vendors in the backlanes of their cities. “A fellow group member, Jeet Singh, based in New York, joined this group because he had had Old Monk many years ago. The thought of enjoying this drink again led him on a hunt through New York where he actually managed to find a bottle! Imagine that!” says Vikram.
If you go looking, you will be able to unearth countless anecdotes related to the Monk, most of them bordering on the insane and bizarre. Our favourite is the one about the drunken cockroach posted by director Shekhar Kapur on his blog. Remember the scene from Mr India in which Sridevi jumps on to the bed in alarm when she spies a cockroach? Did anyone notice how the cockroach was so well behaved throughout the scene? ‘Well, I needed the cockroach to be very still for the camera as he/she eyed Sridevi threateningly. Focusing takes a long time and the cockroach needed to be patient. So we got the cockroach drunk!! No kidding, we surrounded the cockroach in a pool of my favourite Old Monk Rum and it was soon lolling around like a drunken sailor, giving in to director of photography Baba Azmi’s every demand. Unbelievable, but hey, talk to anyone on the sets. It was true!’ We believe you, Shekhar.
So what is it about the budha sadhu? We believe that the subconscious reason for the way the fan thinks of the brand is that Old Monk never tries. It is a rum with no frills, no add-ons, no come-hither branding and advertising. It’s just a damn good rum and it wants to be treated with the respect that a good friend deserves. That is its only demand from you. It is totally no-nonsense. Thus, there is something pure and trustworthy about it. It has always wanted to be just a tasty rum, and by focusing on that, has transcended liquor and become something else. Completely.

Tech Mahindra Interview Experience

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Thanks to CareerInfoline and it’s a matter of pleasure for me to share my experience with all those who are willing to get into Tech Mahindra.

I recently got a job offer from Tech Mahindra and in this write-up I will discuss my interview experience with all the readers of this blog.

The interview process had two rounds of interviews. A Technical and a H.R round, though I feel that their intention was to test a person’s IQ level and more importantly communication skills.

Let me begin by detailing you about the Technical Interview experience

After a long wait, a person shouted my name and so it was time for my technical interview of Tech Mahindra. I was excited as well as a bit nervous. I entered the room and politely requested for the Interviewer’s permission to be seated. With the certificate file in my hand, I was a bit confused as to where to keep it. Should I take the liberty of putting it in front of him on the table or to keep it on my lap and let him ask for it. I choose the latter of the two not willing to show any dare-devilry over here.

Before I could get comfortable with the surroundings, the first question was shot to me. Introduce Yourself? This was how I had expected my interview to begin. With well prepared speech I began though constantly focusing that the interviewer must not feel that I had mugged up all that I was blurting out. I had heard it from many people that a well prepared introduction with clearly emphasized focus points can play the trick of turning the interview in your preferred direction.

A few words of my introduction picked became the focus area and those words luckily were Electronics & Communication. With these two words started the Matrix like action sequence where the Interviewer was shooting questions and I was trying to fend them off.

1.    What is the difference between Electronics & Communication

2.    What is the difference between Instrumentation & Communication

3.    Write a C program to swap two numbers without using the third variable?

4.    One candle completely burns in 60mins. How can u burn it in 30 mins?

5.    There are 3 containers of 8ml, 5ml and 3ml capacity respectively without any marks on them. 8ml container is filled with milk. Divide milk in 8ml and 5ml container each having 4ml of milk?

Luckily I was able to answer most of the problems though the basic differences between Electronics, Communication and Instrumentation had put me in a spot.

After this, the interviewer started with a series of personal questions which too were from the few words I uttered in my Introduction.

1.      You like to read novels, so what kind of novels do you read?

2.      Name the authors of the novels that you have read?

3.      You said you want to be a responsible citizen of your country, what u exactly want to do?

Till this time I was able to manage my answers well and then, a googly was thrown at me

4.      What are your strengths?

I had prepared well about my strengths, but this is one of the weak links of everyone’s interview. I hoped that the interviewer doesn’t delve too deep into my strengths. I spoke of my two strengths with caution “Sir, I’m industrious and I can teach”.

The interviewer followed soon “What do you mean when you say you are industrious?” With more caution, I gathered strength to answer this one hoping that the cross questioning stops then and there. “Sir, I’m hard working and energetic”. Interviewer went a step ahead “How can you say that?” I replied “Sir, I take part time tuitions after my college hours and then too my academic performance is up to the mark. So you can make out that I am industrious”. Luckily it ended here and we went ahead to the next set of questions.

5.      If you have to work on tight & hectic schedule. How will you manage?

6.      Have you ever lived away from you home and family members?

7.      How will u manage to work in distant places away from your home?

The answer to this question was the high point of my interview. I politely said “Sir, technology has really made world to shrink. One can communicate with their loved ones anywhere, anytime. I don’t see any problem staying away from home. As a matter of fact my home is just a phone call away”

I could recognize that smile on his face which made me doubly sure that I had impressed him. So the interviewer was done with me and asked me if I had any questions. I promptly asked the following questions.

1.      What about Tech Mahindra impressed you the most?

2.      What qualities do you try to find while recruiting freshers?

After answering my questions, I was asked to leave and wait for the next round.

Sometime later, I was asked to appear for the H.R interview. The interviewer asked me the following questions.

1.      Why Tech Mahindra when any other company can provide you whatever we have to offer you?

2.      Did you know about Tech Mahindra before the placement drive?

It was a real short interview. The results were declared a few hours later and luckily I was among the selected few. Frankly, hearing my name in the list was one of the most memorable things that have happened to me.

All the best to every reader of this blog. Hope you all get through to great companies.