{"id":55938,"date":"2018-09-06T07:25:22","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T14:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=55938"},"modified":"2018-09-06T08:15:11","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06T15:15:11","slug":"the-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/the-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"The Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was my 70th<\/sup>\u00a0birthday. My wife Anika invited several close friends, mostly doctor\u00a0colleagues, to our home for dinner.<\/p>\n

The conversation started off about the pros and cons of\u00a0buying a Tesla. We then spoke of children\u2019s jobs and grandchildren\u2019s education. Finally, the\u00a0discussion centered on medical school admissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe admission interviews to medical schools are a big fiasco,\u201d Jagadish said.\u00a0\u201cRecommendations from ministers, bribes, nepotism, all these are rampant in India.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot always. I was sixth in the ranking system in science subjects and the interviewers\u00a0wished me to keep up my rank at the medical school as well. No influence, none,\u201d Dr. Sunil said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I belong to Nadar caste and one of the examiners was also a Nadar. We are from the\u00a0same town. I don\u2019t know whether this helped me. He asked me a few simple questions and let me\u00a0go. I was selected,\u201d Dr. Krishna said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about you, Rao?\u201d Prema asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I finished my undergraduate course, I was sixteen-and-a-half-years old and was not eligible to apply for the medical school. I was disappointed. One day, my dad saw a notice in\u00a0The Hindu<\/em>newspaper that even under-aged students could apply and they would be interviewed. I\u00a0packed in a hurry, my certificates, a clean shirt and a pair of pants, and caught a train to Guntur\u00a0for the medical school interview. I filled out the application then and there.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike me there were 300 students, all under-aged. There were three interviewers. One of them\u00a0asked why I was in a hurry to become a doctor and why I couldn\u2019t wait for another year. I told\u00a0him if I were selected now, I would wait for another year and join the medical school the next\u00a0year. They all laughed and wished me good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI anxiously waited for weeks. Then I heard they had selected a candidate related to a\u00a0minister. I spent one year at home learning to play my mother\u2019s harmonium and practicing\u00a0watercolor painting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next year I applied again for the medical school and went for the interview. It was in\u00a0Tirupathi Town and the interviewers were Dr. Jagannatha Reddy and the vice chancellor of Sri\u00a0Venkateswara University.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMy name was called and I entered a small room. A PE coach invited me in and offered me a\u00a0chair. He asked me in what sports I participated. \u2018Volley ball,\u2019 I said firmly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe looked at me. \u2018How tall are you?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFour feet and nine inches, I said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHeight of the volley ball net in the middle?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c7 feet and 11 5\/8 inches for men\u2019s court.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the diameter of the volley ball?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c8.15 inches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Look, you have done the homework well. I don\u2019t think you played volley ball.\u2019 He marked\u00a0\u2018no sports\u2019 on the application. I went back to the waiting room dejected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunil asked, \u201cRao, how did you manage to get the volley ball certificate from your PE coach\u00a0at the undergraduate college without playing the game?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSimple. I bought a dozen, fully ripe Alfanso mangos and went to the Coach\u2019s house. I\u00a0offered them to him and politely requested a PE certificate. \u2018What did you do?\u2019 The coach\u00a0asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Volley ball,\u2019 I blurted out. He looked at me suspiciously and signed the sports certificate.<\/p>\n

He was nice. The mangos certainly helped.\u201d<\/p>\n

My friends laughed. \u201cHow did the interview go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter an hour I was called in. In extracurricular activities, I had marked I could write poems\u00a0in Telugu language. I felt I would be in trouble.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Jagannatha Reddy flipped through my application. \u2018I see, you\u2019re good in science.\u2019 He\u00a0flipped a couple of pages more. \u2018No sports, but you write poems. Interesting. Mr. Rao, let me\u00a0hear a poem you wrote recently.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI almost shook. I gathered all my courage and slowly recited a poem I wrote a few days earlier in \u2018tetha geetha\u2019 meter.<\/p>\n

\u2018Dina jana Kalpakambavu, Tinna nina<\/p>\n

Sri Jagannatha Moorthivi, Cheva kaladu<\/p>\n

Icchutaku pucchukonutaku, Eppudaina,<\/p>\n

Interview nandu daya chupu manti nayya<\/p>\n

\u2018You\u2019re like the celestial tree, the Kalpa Vriksha,\u00a0Which fulfils our wishes. The God Jagannath\u00a0Has no limbs but you\u2019re completely normal.\u00a0You have the capacity to give and take. So,\u00a0Please be kind to me in this interview.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Jagannatha Reddy and the Vice chancellor burst into a loud laughter. \u2018Run away, Rao.\u00a0Keep writing poems. Good luck,\u2019 Dr. Reddy said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunil asked, \u201cRao, you write fiction. Is this real or your imagination?\u201d<\/p>\n

Prema said, \u201cIs this when you got accepted?\u201d<\/p>\n

I smiled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was my 70th\u00a0birthday. My wife Anika invited several close friends, mostly doctor\u00a0colleagues, to our home for dinner. The conversation started off about the pros and cons of\u00a0buying a Tesla. We then spoke of children\u2019s jobs and grandchildren\u2019s education. Finally, the\u00a0discussion centered on medical school admissions. \u201cThe admission interviews to medical schools are a big…<\/p>\n

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