Poetry to history, IIM interviews go beyond obvious

Bengaluru: Vivek Shankar, who graduated from IIT Roorkee with a BTech in production and industrial engineering, walked into the interview hall, optimistic and confident. The IIM-B aspirant had just about settled down when he was asked the first question, one he had least expected: “You have mentioned some themes of your poetry in your SOP (statement of purpose).What’s an abstract theme?”
Passionate about writing Hindi and Urdu poetry, Vivek had jotted down the interest in his SOP. Little did he think that a discussion on poetry will consume 90% of his interview time.
It soon turned into more of a discussion as the engineer was asked why poetry appeals to him more than photography, when both are rich in imagery. “I was flabbergasted by their understanding of specific topics. I was asked to discuss the similarities and differences between a ghazal and sonnet,” said Vivek, a first-year PGP student at IIM-B now.
Like Vivek, for most IIM students, the second hurdle to their seat — the personal interview — is nothing like they had imagined. Often, discussions go beyond the expected, are thought-provoking and sometimes even funny. With time for interview letters to be sent out, TOI takes a peek into what goes on inside an IIM hall.
Ask Nakul Sehgal, alumni of College of Business Studies, University of Delhi, about his experience and he’s quick to respond. “It started with questions on my interests. When I mentioned Indian history, the interview took a completely different turn. From Duryodhana’s sister in the Mahabharata and Lakshman’s wife in Ramayana, it proceeded to dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate,” Nakul said.
Gita Sowmya Parlapalli, their classmate at IIM-B, said she was all set to answer questions on current affairs when the panel startled her with, ‘We’ve had a long tiring day, can you please sing a song from our generation?’. “I never thought that professors could be so cool,” she recalled.
Tara Rajagopalan, a student at IIM-K, recollected how she spoke about her love for Indian mythology and dislike for Chetan Bhagat. Pat came the next question: She was told to estimate the number of copies a Chetan Bhagat book on Indian mythology would sell. Saurav Das, a first-year student at IIM-B, remembered how excited the interview panel was to see a low-cost cellphone charger he had developed.
“It felt more like an engaging conversation than an interrogative session. I felt they weren’t looking for a specific answer to any question. They were checking if I was capable of forming an unbiased opinion on something. One needn’t agree with interviewers all the time but it is necessary to admit when one is wrong,” said Harini Ragothaman, who’s worked with EMC earlier.
Sometimes, even questions for general discussions are quirky. For a GD, candidates were asked to list two wishes, voice them to the group and then discuss which were the most mature and immature ones.
HOW THEY FARED
I was asked my views on the position of women in India… The woman panelist showed me data which said even men in top business schools in India preferred their spouses to be homemakers. This led to a discussion on how urban men not only considered women capable but actually felt threatened by them. I proposed a few solutions to tackle the issue
Harini Ragothaman, first-year student, IIM-B
They asked me ‘why do you want to quit modelling and come to this boring place?’ I said I know the fashion industry but don't know how to run a business — operations, marketing, finance, economics. They asked: ‘Do you think you’ll be able to do MBA. You would hardly get any sleep!’ I said I don’t think that should be a problem. If you are dedicated, you automatically get the drive to work towards your goal
Vidhi Bhardwaj, second-year student, IIM-B
I’d mentioned that I run a football website. The interview focused on the website’s target market, methods to increase viewership, parameters of success and questions on how an English football team could market itself in rural India
Abhishek Iyer, IIM-K student