Now, this is funny. Today, I appeared for India's second toughest exam and surprising as it seems, I finished the test in half the time.
However, I should admit the fact that it was not a very proud moment for me as I was not able to answer half the questions on the test. 
From the time I was doing my engineering, I had made up my mind. Some day I will appear for the CAT, get a call from IIM A, complete my post grad there and join some fancy company that will pay me mega bucks for doing nothing.
Completed my engineering, started working and shunned the idea. But still, whenever I would read reports of IIM grads being placed in MNCs with astronomical pay packages, I would sit and ponder upon my next move.
Finally, this year, I decided to prepare for the GMAT, a test for gaining admissions to B schools abroad. GMAT is relatively easier to crack and so, I decided to retouch my basics by joining a well known coaching center, Endeavour. Turns out, they were just after my money. Or maybe, after being away from books for such a long period my brains couldn't adapt to the fact that I had to solve equations and comprehend passages with words that can't be pronounced. Gradually, after completing the coaching, I shunned that idea too. 
Come November, the CAT adverts were all around the news, something that has become a kind of a ritual. More so, because for the first time in the history of the test, it was going to be held online. So again, I was tempted. I pondered on it for a long time. But, finally gave into my heart's desire. I did register for the test alright, but didn't prepare. I had even got some reference materials from one of my friend. But, it just lay there in my room. My mom finally, got sick of it and dumped it in my cupboard. I am glad she didn't dump it anywhere else as it had the CAT admit card (which I realized the night before the test). LOL.
7th December was the date I picked up as this was the last day for the test. Somehow, I had fantasized that during the rest of the days, the media and the newspapers would leak out some questions about the CAT or there would be some amazing miracle which enables me to crack the CAT. Unfortunately, nothing of that sort happened.
7th Dec, Monday, an excuse to stay away from office. The previous evening, I was out till 11.30 PM, chilling out with friends on the highway while others mugged up the formulas. I had decided, I ain't going to prepare for something in a day that the whole country does for a whole year.
It was insane and impossible. I just wanted to appear for the test. Nothing to lose.
Monday, early morning, I rush to the center. We were told to come to the center almost 2 hours in advance to clear the check in process, i.e., 8 AM for the test at 10 AM. I reached at 8.30 AM. Venue: Vishwakarma Engineering college, Chandkheda. Contrary to the huge crowd that I expected there, it was scarily deserted. The guard told me that the check in had already begun. Who cares? The test is at 10 AM. I strutted along.
Now the check in process is quite stringent. I felt as if I was entering the HQ of RAW.
First I had to remove my watch, Cell-phone, key and even my pen and submit it to the guard, followed by a physical check-up. The lab that I was allotted to was a dump with 24 computers lined and no space even to breath. The class was amazingly silent. All the students had already taken their seats and were busy memorizing stuff. I took my seat and checked out my PC. Unfortunately, it was working. Damn. 
A few minutes later, the invigilator called upon me. I had to how them my ID proof, the admit card and submit my fingerprints for identification purposes. That done, he announced that we could go out of the classrooms and take a break till 9.30 AM. What a relief!
9.30 AM, everyone's back. and the invigilator announced some basic dos and don'ts. Sharp 10.00 AM, we start. I had decided to apply the strategy of the movie, 'The beautiful mind'. For every question, I would check out all the options, close my eyes and then mark the option that appeared in my mind more than once. It is indeed stupid, but with this strategy, I was able to attempt most of my questions with almost an hour to spare. LOL.
They had also given us a 4 page 'Scratch paper' to solve the mathematical questions and other calculations. I did my own bit to decrease global warming and used just one side of the first page. Other relentless buggers scribbled on all the four pages. Damn!!
Anyways, 12.30 PM was the time when the test was supposed to end and I had to sit there the whole time pretending to solve imaginary equations. Another bad thing about this test was that I could not relax and even stretch myself. The computers were so close to each other that any movement you make seemed like an attempt to peek into your neighbor's PC and would lead to your disqualification. I somehow managed to while my time reviewing the answers and pondering over those that I had no clue about.
Finally, when I had approx 5 minutes left on the clock, I ended the test. I was the first candidate to give in the papers. Slowly, people had started to realize that it was about time and that test that they had been preparing for almost an year was finally done with.I was not sad or upset. I was actually glad that finally, I had tried to bell the CAT.
Unfortunately, if I had not left the bell back home (read 'prepared for the test')
, I could have actually hoped to make it to the IIM A (not for the chai, ofcourse).
However, I should admit the fact that it was not a very proud moment for me as I was not able to answer half the questions on the test. 
From the time I was doing my engineering, I had made up my mind. Some day I will appear for the CAT, get a call from IIM A, complete my post grad there and join some fancy company that will pay me mega bucks for doing nothing.
Completed my engineering, started working and shunned the idea. But still, whenever I would read reports of IIM grads being placed in MNCs with astronomical pay packages, I would sit and ponder upon my next move.
Finally, this year, I decided to prepare for the GMAT, a test for gaining admissions to B schools abroad. GMAT is relatively easier to crack and so, I decided to retouch my basics by joining a well known coaching center, Endeavour. Turns out, they were just after my money. Or maybe, after being away from books for such a long period my brains couldn't adapt to the fact that I had to solve equations and comprehend passages with words that can't be pronounced. Gradually, after completing the coaching, I shunned that idea too. 
Come November, the CAT adverts were all around the news, something that has become a kind of a ritual. More so, because for the first time in the history of the test, it was going to be held online. So again, I was tempted. I pondered on it for a long time. But, finally gave into my heart's desire. I did register for the test alright, but didn't prepare. I had even got some reference materials from one of my friend. But, it just lay there in my room. My mom finally, got sick of it and dumped it in my cupboard. I am glad she didn't dump it anywhere else as it had the CAT admit card (which I realized the night before the test). LOL.

7th December was the date I picked up as this was the last day for the test. Somehow, I had fantasized that during the rest of the days, the media and the newspapers would leak out some questions about the CAT or there would be some amazing miracle which enables me to crack the CAT. Unfortunately, nothing of that sort happened.

7th Dec, Monday, an excuse to stay away from office. The previous evening, I was out till 11.30 PM, chilling out with friends on the highway while others mugged up the formulas. I had decided, I ain't going to prepare for something in a day that the whole country does for a whole year.
It was insane and impossible. I just wanted to appear for the test. Nothing to lose.

Monday, early morning, I rush to the center. We were told to come to the center almost 2 hours in advance to clear the check in process, i.e., 8 AM for the test at 10 AM. I reached at 8.30 AM. Venue: Vishwakarma Engineering college, Chandkheda. Contrary to the huge crowd that I expected there, it was scarily deserted. The guard told me that the check in had already begun. Who cares? The test is at 10 AM. I strutted along.

Now the check in process is quite stringent. I felt as if I was entering the HQ of RAW.
First I had to remove my watch, Cell-phone, key and even my pen and submit it to the guard, followed by a physical check-up. The lab that I was allotted to was a dump with 24 computers lined and no space even to breath. The class was amazingly silent. All the students had already taken their seats and were busy memorizing stuff. I took my seat and checked out my PC. Unfortunately, it was working. Damn. 
A few minutes later, the invigilator called upon me. I had to how them my ID proof, the admit card and submit my fingerprints for identification purposes. That done, he announced that we could go out of the classrooms and take a break till 9.30 AM. What a relief!
9.30 AM, everyone's back. and the invigilator announced some basic dos and don'ts. Sharp 10.00 AM, we start. I had decided to apply the strategy of the movie, 'The beautiful mind'. For every question, I would check out all the options, close my eyes and then mark the option that appeared in my mind more than once. It is indeed stupid, but with this strategy, I was able to attempt most of my questions with almost an hour to spare. LOL.

They had also given us a 4 page 'Scratch paper' to solve the mathematical questions and other calculations. I did my own bit to decrease global warming and used just one side of the first page. Other relentless buggers scribbled on all the four pages. Damn!!

Anyways, 12.30 PM was the time when the test was supposed to end and I had to sit there the whole time pretending to solve imaginary equations. Another bad thing about this test was that I could not relax and even stretch myself. The computers were so close to each other that any movement you make seemed like an attempt to peek into your neighbor's PC and would lead to your disqualification. I somehow managed to while my time reviewing the answers and pondering over those that I had no clue about.

Finally, when I had approx 5 minutes left on the clock, I ended the test. I was the first candidate to give in the papers. Slowly, people had started to realize that it was about time and that test that they had been preparing for almost an year was finally done with.I was not sad or upset. I was actually glad that finally, I had tried to bell the CAT.
Unfortunately, if I had not left the bell back home (read 'prepared for the test')
, I could have actually hoped to make it to the IIM A (not for the chai, ofcourse).


















