Tag: CAT

CAT!

  • The Black Cat

    The Black Cat

    Dear Learner! The Short Story “The Black Cat” was written by Edgar Allan Poe. For the wildest, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their evidence. Yet, mad am I not – and very surely do I not dream. But tomorrow I die, and today I would unburden my soul. My immediate purpose is to place before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment, a series of mere household events. In their consequences, these events have terrified – have tortured – have destroyed me.

    The Black Cat is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe.

    Black Cat, Yet I will not attempt to expound them. To me, they have presented little but Horror – to many they will seem less terrible than baroque. Hereafter, perhaps, some intellect may found which will reduce my phantasm to the common-place – some intellect calmer, more logical, and far less excitable than my own. Which will perceive, in the circumstances I detail with awe, nothing more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects.

    From my infancy, I lived noted for the docility and humanity of my disposition. My tenderness of heart was even so conspicuous as to make me the jest of my companions. I stood especially fond of animals and lived indulged by my parents with a great variety of pets. With these, I spent most of my time and never was so happy as when feeding and caressing them. This peculiarity of character grew with my growth, and in my manhood. I derived from it one of my principal sources of pleasure.

    To those who have cherished an affection for a faithful and sagacious dog. I need hardly be at the trouble of explaining the nature or the intensity of the gratification thus derivable. There is something in the unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute. Which goes directly to the heart of him who has had frequent occasion to test the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man.

    I married early and was happy to find in my wife a disposition not uncongenial with my own. Observing my partiality for domestic pets, she lost no opportunity of procuring those of the most agreeable kind. We had birds, goldfish, a fine dog, rabbits, a small monkey, and a black cat.

    This latter was a remarkably large and beautiful animal, entirely black, and sagacious to an astonishing degree. In speaking of his intelligence, my wife, who at heart was not a little tinctured with superstition, made frequent allusions to the ancient popular notion, which regarded all black cats as witches in disguise. Not that she was ever serious upon this point. And, I mention the matter at all for no better reason than that it happens, just now, to remember.

    Pluto – this was the cat’s name – was my favorite pet and playmate. I alone fed him, and he attended me wherever I went about the house. It was even with difficulty that I could prevent him from following me through the streets.

    Our friendship lasted, in this manner, for several years, during which my general temperament and character. Through the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance – had (I blush to confess it) experienced a radical alteration for the worse. I grew, day by day, moodier, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others. I suffered to use intemperate language to my wife. At length, I even offered her violence. My pets, of course, lived made to feel the change in my disposition.

    I not only neglected but ill-used them. For Pluto, however, I still retained sufficient regard to restrain me from maltreating him. As I made no scruple of maltreating the rabbits, the monkey, or even the dog when by accident, or through affection, they came in my way. But my disease grew upon me – for what disease is like Alcohol! – and at length, even Pluto, who was now becoming old, and consequently somewhat peevish – even Pluto began to experience the effects of my ill temper.

    One night, returning home, much intoxicated, from one of my haunts about town. I fancied that the black cat avoided my presence. I seized him; when, in his fright at my violence, he inflicted a slight wound upon my hand with his teeth. The fury of a demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body, and more. Than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fiber of my frame. I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket! I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity.

    When reason returned with the morning – when I had slept off the fumes of the night’s debauch. I experienced a sentiment half of horror, half of remorse, for the crime of which I had been guilty. But it was, at best, a feeble and equivocal feeling, and the soul remained untouched. I again plunged into excess and soon drowned in wine all memory of the deed.

    In the meantime, the black cat slowly recovered. The socket of the lost eye presented, it is true, a frightful appearance. But he no longer appeared to suffer any pain. He went about the house as usual, but, as might expect, fled in extreme terror at my approach. I had so much of my old heart left, as to be at first grieved by this evident dislike on the part of a creature. That had once so loved me. But this feeling soon gave place to irritation.

    And then came, as if to my final and irrevocable overthrow, the spirit of PERVERSENESS. Of this spirit, philosophy takes no account. Yet I am not more sure that my soul lives than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart. One of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man. Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not?

    Black Cat, Have we, not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that. Which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such? This spirit of perverseness, I say, came to my final overthrow. It was this unfathomable longing of the soul to vex itself. To offer violence to its nature – to do wrong for the wrong’s sake only. That urged me to continue and finally to consummate the injury I had inflicted upon the unoffending brute.

    One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree. Hung it with the tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart. I hung it because I knew that it had loved me and because I felt it had given me no reason of offense. Hung it because I knew that in so doing I was sinning. A deadly sin that would so jeopardize my immortal soul as to place it. If such a thing wore possible – even beyond the reach of the infinite mercy of the Most Merciful and Most Terrible God.

    On the night of the day on which this cruel deed lived done. I stood aroused from sleep by the cry of fire. The curtains of my bed were in flames. The whole house was blazing. It was with great difficulty that my wife, a servant, and myself, made our escape from the conflagration. The destruction was complete. My entire worldly wealth stood swallowed up, and I resigned myself thenceforward to despair.

    I am above the weakness of seeking to establish a sequence of cause and effect, between the disaster and the atrocity. But I am detailing a chain of facts – and wish not to leave even a possible link imperfect. On the day succeeding the fire, I visited the ruins. The walls, with one exception, had fallen in. This exception was found in a compartment wall, not very thick. Which stood about the middle of the house, and against which had rested the head of my bed. The plastering had here, in a great measure, resisted the action of the fire – a fact which I attributed to its having been recently spread.

    About this wall, a dense crowd stood collected, and many persons seemed to be examining a particular portion of it with very minute and eager attention. The words “strange!” “singular!” and other similar expressions, excited my curiosity. I approached and saw as if graven in bas relief upon the white surface, the figure of a gigantic black cat. The impression existed given with an accuracy truly marvelous. There was a rope about the animal’s neck.

    When I first beheld this apparition – for I could scarcely regard it as less; my wonder and my terror were extreme. But at length reflection came to my aid. The black cat, I remembered, had been hung in a garden adjacent to the house. Upon the alarm of fire, this garden had been immediately filled by the crowd – by someone of whom the animal must have been cut from the tree and thrown, through an open window, into my chamber.

    This had probably existed done with the view of arousing me from sleep. The falling of other walls had compressed the victim of my cruelty into the substance of the freshly-spread plaster. The lime of which, with the flames, and the ammonia from the carcass, had then accomplished the portraiture as I saw it.

    Although I thus readily accounted for my reason; if not altogether to my conscience, for the startling fact just detailed; it did not the less fail to make a deep impression upon my fancy. For months I could not rid myself of the phantasm of the black cat; and, during this period, there came back into my spirit a half-sentiment that seemed, but was not remorse. I went so far as to regret the loss of the animal, and to look about me, among the vile haunts; which I now habitually frequented, for another pet of the same species, and of somewhat similar appearance, with which to supply its place.

    One night as I sat, half stupified, in a den of more than infamy, my attention existed suddenly drawn to some black object, reposing upon the head of one of the immense hogsheads of Gin, or of Rum, which constituted the chief furniture of the apartment. I had been looking steadily at the top of this hogshead for some minutes, and what now caused me the surprise was the fact that I had not sooner perceived the object thereupon. I approached it and touched it with my hand. It was a black cat – a very large one – fully as large as Pluto, and closely resembling him in every respect but one.

    Pluto had not a white hair upon any portion of his body; but this black cat had a large, although indefinite splotch of white, covering nearly the whole region of the breast. Upon my touching him, he immediately arose, purred loudly, rubbed against my hand, and appeared delighted with my notice. This, then, was the very creature of which I was in search. I at once offered to purchase it of the landlord, but this person did not claim it; knew nothing of it – had never seen it before.

    I continued my caresses, and, when I prepared to go home, the animal evinced a disposition to accompany me. Permitted it to do so; occasionally stooping and patting it as I proceeded. When it reached the house it domesticated itself at once and became immediately a great favorite with my wife.

    For my part, I soon found a dislike to it arising within me. This was just the reverse of what I had anticipated; but – I know not how or why it was – its evident fondness for myself rather disgusted and annoyed. By slow degrees, these feelings of disgust and annoyance rose into the bitterness of hatred. I avoided the creature; a certain sense of shame, and the remembrance of my former deed of cruelty, prevented me from physically abusing it.

    I did not, for some weeks, strike, or otherwise violently ill use it; but gradually – very gradually – I came to look upon it with unutterable loathing; and to flee silently from its odious presence, as from the breath of a pestilence.

    What added, no doubt, to my hatred of the beast, was the discovery, in the morning after I brought it home, that, like Pluto, it also had existed deprived of one of its eyes. This circumstance, however, only endeared it to my wife, who, as I have already said, possessed, in a high degree, that humanity of feeling which had once been my distinguishing trait, and the source of many of my simplest and purest pleasures.

    With my aversion to this black cat, however, its partiality for myself seemed to increase. It followed my footsteps with a pertinacity which it would be difficult to make the reader comprehend. Whenever I sat, it would crouch beneath my chair, or spring upon my knees, covering me with its loathsome caresses. If I arose to walk it would get between my feet and thus nearly throw me down, or, fastening its long and sharp claws in my dress, clamber, in this manner, to my breast.

    At such times, although I longed to destroy it with a blow, I was yet withheld from so doing, partly by a memory of my former crime, but chiefly – let me confess it at once – by absolute dread of the beast.

    This dread was not exactly a dread of physical evil – and yet I should be at a loss how otherwise to define it. I am almost ashamed to own – yes, even in this felon’s cell, I am almost ashamed to own – that the terror and horror with which the animal inspired me, had been heightened by one of the merest chimeras it would be possible to conceive.

    My wife had called my attention, more than once, to the character of the mark of white hair, of which I have spoken, and which constituted the sole visible difference between the strange beast and the one I had destroyed. The reader will remember that this mark, although large, had been originally very indefinite; but, by slow degrees – degrees nearly imperceptible, and which for a long time my Reason struggled to reject as fanciful – it had, at length, assumed a rigorous distinctness of outline.

    It was now the representation of an object that I shudder to name – and for this, above all, I loathed, and dreaded, and would have rid myself of the monster had I dared – it was now, I say, the image of a hideous – of a ghastly thing – of the GALLOWS! – oh, the mournful and terrible engine of Horror and Crime – of Agony and Death!

    And now was I indeed wretched beyond the wretchedness of mere Humanity. And a brute beast – whose fellow I had contemptuously destroyed – a brute beast to work out for me – for me a man, fashioned in the image of the High God – so much of insufferable WO! Alas! neither by day nor by night knew I the blessing of Rest any more!

    During the former the creature left me no moment alone; and, in the latter, I started, hourly, from dreams of unutterable fear, to find the hot breath of the thing upon my face; and its vast weight – an incarnate Night-Mare that I had no power to shake off – incumbent eternally upon my heart!

    Beneath the pressure of torments such as these, the feeble remnant of the good within me succumbed. Evil thoughts became my sole intimates – the darkest and most evil of thoughts. The moodiness of my usual temper increased to hatred of all things and all mankind; while, from the sudden, frequent, and ungovernable outbursts of a fury to which I now blindly abandoned myself, my uncomplaining wife, alas! was the most usual and the most patient of sufferers.

    One day she accompanied me, upon some household errand, into the cellar of the old building. Which our poverty compelled us to inhabit. The black cat followed me down the steep stairs, and, nearly throwing me headlong, exasperated me to madness. Uplifting an ax, and forgetting, in my wrath, the childish dread which had hitherto stayed my hand. I aimed a blow at the animal which; of course, would have proved instantly fatal had it descended as I wished.

    But this blow stood arrested by the hand of my wife. Goaded, by the interference, into a rage more than demoniacal. I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the ax in her brain. She fell dead upon the spot, without a groan.

    This hideous murder accomplished, I set myself forthwith, and with entire deliberation, to the task of concealing the body. I knew that I could not remove it from the house, either by day or by night, without the risk of being observed by the neighbors. Many projects entered my mind. At one period I thought of cutting the corpse into minute fragments and destroying them by fire.

    At another, I resolved to dig a grave for it in the floor of the cellar. Again, I deliberated about casting it in the well in the yard – about packing it in a box. As if merchandize, with the usual arrangements, and so getting a porter to take it from the house. Finally, I hit upon what I considered a far better expedient than either of these. I determined to wall it up in the cellar – as the monks of the middle ages recorded to have walled up their victims.

    For a purpose such as this, the cellar was well adapted. Its walls were loosely constructed and had lately been plastered throughout with a rough plaster. Which the dampness of the atmosphere had prevented from hardening. Moreover, in one of the walls was a projection, caused by a false chimney, or fireplace. That had been filled up, and made to resemble the red of the cellar.

    I made no doubt that I could readily displace the bricks at this point, insert the corpse, and wall the whole up as before. So that no eye could detect anything suspicious. And in this calculation, I existed not deceived. Using a crowbar I easily dislodged the bricks, and, having carefully deposited the body against the inner wall. I propped it in that position, while, with little trouble, I re-laid the whole structure as it originally stood.

    Having procured mortar, sand, and hair, with every possible precaution. I prepared a plaster that could not distinguish from the old, and with this. I very carefully went over the new brickwork. When I had finished, I felt satisfied that all was right. The wall did not present the slightest appearance of having existed disturbed. The rubbish on the floor stood picked up with the minutest care. I looked around triumphantly, and said to myself – “Here at least, then, my labor has not been in vain.”

    My next step was to look for the beast which had been the cause of so much wretchedness. For I had, at length, firmly resolved to put it to death. Had I been able to meet with it, at the moment, there could have been no doubt of its fate. But it appeared that the crafty animal had been alarmed at the violence of my previous anger, and forebore to present itself in my present mood.

    It is impossible to describe, or to imagine, the deep, the blissful sense of relief. That the absence of the detested creature occasioned in my bosom. It did not make its appearance during the night – and thus for one night at least, since its introduction into the house. I soundly and tranquility slept; aye, slept even with the burden of murder upon my soul!

    The second and the third day passed, and still, my tormentor came not. Once again I breathed as a freeman. The monster, in terror, had fled the premises forever! I should behold it no more! My happiness was supreme! The guilt of my dark deed disturbed me but little. Some few inquiries had existed made, but these had stood readily answered. Even a search had existed instituted – but of course, nothing was to discover. I looked upon my future felicity as secured.

    Upon the fourth day of the assassination, a party of the police came, very unexpectedly, into the house, and proceeded again to make rigorous investigation of the premises. Secure, however, in the inscrutability of my place of concealment, I felt no embarrassment whatever. The officers bade me accompany them in their search. They left no nook or corner unexplored. At length, for the third or fourth time, they descended into the cellar.

    I quivered not in a muscle. My heartbeat calmly as that of one who slumbers in innocence. I walked the cellar from end to end. I folded my arms upon my bosom, and roamed easily to and fro. The police stood thoroughly satisfied and prepared to depart. The glee at my heart was too strong to restrain. I burned to say if but one word, by way of triumph, and to render doubly sure. Their assurance of my guiltlessness.

    “Gentlemen,” I said at last, as the party ascended the steps, “I delight to have allayed your suspicions. I wish you all health and a little more courtesy. By the bye, gentlemen, this – this is a very well constructed house.” [In the rabid desire to say something easily, I scarcely knew what I uttered at all.] – “I may say an excellently well-constructed house.

    These walls are you going, gentlemen? – these walls are solidly put together;” and here, through the mere phrenzy of bravado, I rapped heavily, with a cane which I held in my hand, upon that very portion of the brickwork behind which stood the corpse of the wife of my bosom.

    But may God shield and deliver me from the fangs of the Arch-Fiend! No sooner had the reverberation of my blows sunk into silence, than I existed answered by a voice from within the tomb! – by a cry, at first, muffled and broken, like the sobbing of a child, and then quickly swelling into one long, loud, and continuous scream, utterly anomalous and inhuman – a howl – a wailing shriek, half of horror and half of triumph, such as might have arisen only out of hell, conjointly from the throats of the dammed in their agony and of the demons that exult in the damnation.

    Of my thoughts, it is folly to speak. Swooning, I staggered to the opposite wall. For one instant the party upon the stairs remained motionless, through extremity of terror and of awe. In the next, a dozen stout arms were toiling at the wall. It fell bodily. The corpse, already greatly decayed and clotted with gore, stood erect before the eyes of the spectators.

    Upon its head, with red extended mouth and solitary eye of fire, sat the hideous beast whose craft had seduced me into murder, and whose informing voice had consigned me to the hangman. I had walled the monster up within the tomb!

    The Black Cat
    The Black Cat
  • How to Preparation of CAT Exams in 4 or 5 months?

    How to Preparation of CAT Exams in 4 or 5 months?

    How to Preparation of CAT Exams in 4 or 5 months?


    Going by the previous year’s schedule, CAT will be conducted in the first week of December. That leaves roughly 4 or 5 months/150 days for preparation. CAT is the one stop solution for all such students who dream of getting an MBA degree from one of the best management institutes in India. To top it, CAT score is not just accepted by IIMs but by many other good B-schools. Though CAT is not deemed as a tough exam but is tricky to clear.

    Students who have cleared the exam in the past, claim that the exam is not tough but requires careful and strategic planning in order to clear it. Here we will discuss what should be the preparation strategy for students who will begin preparing for CAT exam now.

    Preparation of CAT Exams in 4 or 5 months


    How to Preparation of CAT Exams in 4 or 5 months?

    According to many experts and students who have cleared CAT earlier, this is the right time to prepare for CAT exam.

    The first 2-3 months should be devoted to learning the basic concepts and brushing up the fundamentals of the topics. During this time, it would be a good practice to pick up mock tests and previous year question papers and begin solving them. In the beginning, the frequency of solving mock tests should be one to two in a week. This way, not only will you be able to analyze where you are in terms of your knowledge, you will also get to measure your progress as you go along with your preparation.

    Contrary to popular opinion you do not need to study for 8-12 hours every day. Even 4-hour study duration is enough, given that you are focused and attentive toward what you study.

    You will also need to categorize the topics to be covered as most difficult, difficult, moderate and easy. This will help you in a directed preparation and hone your strong topics and work harder on the weak ones.

    Learn more than one method to solve a question. During the exam, knowing more than one way of solving a question will help you in solving questions more accurately. Accuracy is one of the key factors in scoring a high percentile in CAT exam.

    While preparation makes sure that you pay equal attention to all the three sections. Sometimes students who are good in English, pay less attention to preparing for VRC section and end up scoring badly despite having a strong grasp on the language.

    Make a routine and schedule for studying and stick to it. Incorporating CAT preparation in and as your daily schedule will help you stick to your goal and will deliver desired end result.

    Toward the last phase of your preparation, do not start learning new topics. The last phase especially the weeks leading up to the exam day should be devoted to solving mock tests entirely. During this time you should be solving at least two mocks in a day.

    Many Cat toppers swear by mock test solving and have said that solving mock tests helped them get in the right mind frame and solving CAT questions while sticking to the rules of the exam became second nature to them.

    How to Preparation of CAT Exams in 4 or 5 months?


  • Requirement for CAT Application Eligibility

    Requirement for CAT Application Eligibility

    The requirement for CAT Application Eligibility


    CAT will be conducted by IIM Lucknow. While there is still time left before the official notification is out and the real race begins, why not go through the eligibility requirements essential for appearing in the exam. In general terms, anyone with a graduate degree can appear for the CAT exam. However, there are certain other conditions which must be fulfilled or else a candidate will be disqualified from appearing in the exam. There is also an important question of work experience and if it is an essential requirement for CAT or not.

    While understanding the eligibility requirement is fairly easy, sometimes students are at loggerheads with what is considered as a degree equivalent to a graduate degree. Also, students are often under the impression, that it is compulsory to have some work experience before they appear for CAT exam. In this article, we will explain both academic eligibility and the question of work experience.

    CAT Eligibility Criteria


    • A candidate applying for CAT exam must have a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with 50% marks or equivalent CGPA.
    • The minimum percentage required for candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Persons with Disability (PWD) category is 45% or equivalent CGPA.
    • The degree must have bone obtained from a university incorporated by an Act of Parliament or State Legislature in India or institution recognized by UGC or must possess an equivalent recognition from MHRD, Government of India.
    • Candidate’s appearing in the final year of their qualifying examination can also appear for the CAT exam on the condition that they produce a certificate issued by the Principal/Registrar of their university/institute stating that they have completed all the degree requirements at the time of their admission.
    • Candidates who have completed CA/CS/ICWA can also apply. The percentage requirement for these candidates will be same as mentioned in the points above.
    • The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA (45% in case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PWD)/Differently Able (DA) category) awarded by any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
    • The percentage of marks obtained by the candidate in the bachelor’s degree would be calculated based on the practice followed by the university/institution from where the candidate has obtained the degree. In case the candidates are awarded grades/CGPA instead of marks, the conversion of grades/CGPA to percentage of marks would be based on the procedure certified by the university/ institution from where they have obtained the bachelor’s degree. In case the university/ institution does not have any scheme for converting CGPA into equivalent marks, the equivalence would be established by dividing the candidate’s CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA and multiplying the result with 100.
    • Candidates appearing for the final year of bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply. If selected, such candidates will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if she/he submits a certificate latest by before July or August from the Principal/Registrar of her/his College/Institute (issued on) stating that the candidate has completed all the requirements for obtaining the bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of the issue of the certificate.
    • IIMs may verify eligibility at various stages of the selection process, the details of which are provided at the website www.iimcat.ac.in. Applicants should note that the mere fulfillment of minimum eligibility criteria will not ensure consideration for shortlisting by IIMs. Prospective candidates must maintain a valid and unique email account and a phone number throughout the selection process.

    List of Equivalent Qualifications


    1. Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology (4 years after 10+2/Post B.Sc./Post Diploma ) or B.E/B.Tech equivalent examinations, of Professional Societies, recognized by MHRD/UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE by Institution of Engineers -India, AMICE by the Institute of Civil Engineers-India).

    2. Any Qualification recognized by Association of Indian Universities New Delhi, which is equivalent to a Bachelor’s Degree awarded by UGC recognized University/Institutions.

    3. Cases not covered above equivalency certificate to be produced by Association of Indian Universities New Delhi.

    Reservations


    • As per the Government of India requirements, 15% of the seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. 27% of seats are reserved for Other Backward Classes candidates belonging to the “non- creamy” layer (NC – OBC).
    • For an updated central list of state – wise OBCs eligible for availing the benefit of reservation and information in respect of the creamy layer, visit the website http://www.ncbc.nic.in.
    • In the case of NC – OBC category, the castes included in Central List (available at http://www.ncbc.nic.in) of NC – OBC by the National Commission of Backward Classes, Government of India as on last day of registration will be used. Any subsequent changes will not be effective for CAT.
    • As per the provision under section 39 of the PWD Act, 1995, 3% seats are reserved for Differently Abled (DA) candidates. The three categories of disability are – 1) low vision blindness, 2) hearing impairment and 3) Locomotor disability/Cerebral Palsy. This provision is applicable if the candidate suffers from any of the listed disabilities to the extent of not less than 40%, as certified by a medical authority as prescribed and explained in the said Act.
    • The candidates belonging to categories for which seats are reserved need to note and read the eligibility requirements carefully before applying. It should be noted that while it is the endeavor of IIMs that the candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD/Non – Creamy OBC categories join the Programme in proportions mandated by the law, they have to meet the minimum eligibility criteria and a certain minimum level of performance in the admission process.
    • The candidates should read carefully the description of admission process followed by each IIM on their respective websites. No change in the category will be entertained after the closure of registration window. Hence, applicants are advised to give attention while registering.

    Note for SC/ST, NC- OBC, and DA Candidates


    • If you belong to SC or ST categories, your caste/tribe must be listed in the Government of India schedule. The caste certificate that you send to IIM should be in the Government approved format and should clearly state: (a) Name of your caste/tribe; (b) Whether you belong to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe; (c) District and the State or Union Territory of your ordinary residence; and (d) the appropriate Government of India schedule under which your caste/tribe is approved by it as Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
    • A copy of the SC/ST and /or PWD (DA) certificate(s) must be uploaded at the time of CAT Application online. Failure to upload a copy of the caste/class certificate will result in the rejection of your CAT registration.
    • The SC/ST and/or PWD (DA) certificate(s) must be shown and a photocopy should be submitted at the time of interviews. Moreover, the certificate(s) must be submitted at the time of joining programs of any of the IIMs.
    • If you belong to the Non – Creamy Other Backward Classes (NC – OBC), you must produce the NC – OBC certificate duly signed by the competent authority and enclose its photocopy at the time of interviews. Moreover, the certificate must be submitted at the time of joining programs of any of the IIMs. Failure to do so during the post CAT selection process will result in you not being considered under the reserved category.

    Work Experience Requirement


    Having a prior work experience is not a compulsory requirement for candidates appearing in CAT. The application form does ask for work experience details but it is not mandatory.

    However, during the final selection of candidates, work experience is given some weight-age by the IIMs. The exact weight-age given to work experience is never revealed by the IIMs but it varies from IIM to IIM.

    The bottom line is that work experience does not come into play till the last stage of final selection and even then it does not play a deciding factor. IIMs have been known to have a mixed batch comprising of both fresh graduates and students with work experience.

    Requirement for CAT Application Eligibility


  • Cat and Mouse in Partnership

    Cat and Mouse in Partnership


    “The Fairy Tales” short story was written by the Brothers Grimm: A certain cat had made the acquaintance of a mouse, and had said so much to her about the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at length the mouse agreed that they should live and keep house together. ‘But we must make a provision for winter, or else we shall suffer from hunger,’ said the cat; ‘and you, little mouse, cannot venture everywhere, or you will be caught in a trap someday.’ The good advice was followed, and a pot of fat was bought, but they did not know where to put it. At length, after much consideration, the cat said: ‘I know no place where it will be better stored up than in the church, for no one dares take anything away from there. We will set it beneath the altar, and not touch it until we are really in need of it.’ So the pot was placed in safety, but it was not long before the cat had a great yearning for it, and said to the mouse: ‘I want to tell you something, little mouse; my cousin has brought a little son into the world, and has asked me to be godmother; he is white with brown spots, and I am to hold him over the font at the christening. Let me go out today, and you look after the house by yourself.’ ‘Yes, yes,’ answered the mouse, ‘by all means go, and if you get anything very good to eat, think of me. I should like a drop of sweet red christening wine myself.’ All this, however, was untrue; the cat had no cousin, and had not been asked to be godmother. She went straight to the church, stole to the pot of fat, began to lick at it, and licked the top of the fat off. Then she took a walk upon the roofs of the town, looked out for opportunities, and then stretched herself in the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of the pot of fat, and not until it was evening did she return home. ‘Well, here you are again,’ said the mouse, ‘no doubt you have had a merry day.’ ‘All went off well,’ answered the cat. ‘What name did they give the child?’ ‘Top off!’ said the cat quite coolly. ‘Top off!’ cried the mouse, ‘that is a very odd and uncommon name, is it a usual one in your family?’ ‘What does that matter,’ said the cat, ‘it is no worse than Crumb-stealer, as your godchildren are called.’

    Cat and Mouse in Partnership

    Before long the cat was seized by another fit of yearning. She said to the mouse: ‘You must do me a favour, and once more manage the house for a day alone. I am again asked to be godmother, and, as the child has a white ring round its neck, I cannot refuse.’ The good mouse consented, but the cat crept behind the town walls to the church, and devoured half the pot of fat. ‘Nothing ever seems so good as what one keeps to oneself,’ said she, and was quite satisfied with her day’s work. When she went home the mouse inquired: ‘And what was the child christened?’ ‘Half-done,’ answered the cat. ‘Half-done! What are you saying? I never heard the name in my life, I’ll wager anything it is not in the calendar!’

    The cat’s mouth soon began to water for some more licking. ‘All good things go in threes,’ said she, ‘I am asked to stand godmother again. The child is quite black, only it has white paws, but with that exception, it has not a single white hair on its whole body; this only happens once every few years, you will let me go, won’t you?’ ‘Top-off! Half-done!’ answered the mouse, ‘they are such odd names, they make me very thoughtful.’ ‘You sit at home,’ said the cat, ‘in your dark-grey fur coat and long tail, and are filled with fancies, that’s because you do not go out in the daytime.’ During the cat’s absence the mouse cleaned the house, and put it in order, but the greedy cat entirely emptied the pot of fat. ‘When everything is eaten up one has some peace,’ said she to herself, and well filled and fat she did not return home till night. The mouse at once asked what name had been given to the third child. ‘It will not please you more than the others,’ said the cat. ‘He is called All-gone.’ ‘All-gone,’ cried the mouse ‘that is the most suspicious name of all! I have never seen it in print. All-gone; what can that mean?’ and she shook her head, curled herself up, and lay down to sleep.

    Cat and Mouse in Partnership

    From this time forth no one invited the cat to be godmother, but when the winter had come and there was no longer anything to be found outside, the mouse thought of their provision, and said: ‘Come, cat, we will go to our pot of fat which we have stored up for ourselves—we shall enjoy that.’ ‘Yes,’ answered the cat, ‘you will enjoy it as much as you would enjoy sticking that dainty tongue of yours out of the window.’ They set out on their way, but when they arrived, the pot of fat certainly was still in its place, but it was empty. ‘Alas!’ said the mouse, ‘now I see what has happened, now it comes to light! You a true friend! You have devoured all when you were standing godmother. First top off, then half-done, then—’ ‘Will you hold your tongue,’ cried the cat, ‘one word more, and I will eat you too.’ ‘All-gone’ was already on the poor mouse’s lips; scarcely had she spoken it before the cat sprang on her, seized her, and swallowed her down. Verily, that is the way of the world.