Life in a b-school adds a pan India flavour to the students’ collective experiences; as your classmates are people with their diverse backgrounds covering ASL-J; age, sex, location and job parameters for most people (fresher apart). This excerpt will take all enthused MBA aspirants and soon to be MBA students into a single day in the realm of a b-school.
So, it all transpired on an evening when an extempore speech followed a script on life during MBA-on all that it holds and all that it withholds. This happened in the first year, first term and the very first committee selection round in a new IIM which much like any start-up is out to challenge its older siblings. The PGP 1’s (as they are referred to) were thrown into the selection procedure of the ‘you matter’ committees.
The day went in a blur, as the academic schedule had kicked in. There is nothing more sacrosanct to a b-school than its schedule and reaching class in time is a must- a lesson best learnt early on. The unannounced marketing quiz at 8:30 in the morning made the benefits of post lecture reading practice quite stark. After the morning breakfast was gulped in a hurry and the surprize test braved, the break of 15 min is when most woke up to what just happened.
Predictably the next class was looked at with suspicion as the gory grip of tests have a habit of showing up later, making a deadly impact on final grades. The course being taught in this class was Microeconomics and the structured teaching methodology put all at ease. Supply and demand was a much chatted philosophy and the nuances were built up in this class creating the perfect setting for what lay in the future.
If one tries to do justice to MBA, sleeping more than 5 hours will be a luxury most student-loan laden souls cannot afford. That the third class of the day was financial accounting in which the asset balancing liability rule made a mark on loan applicants was a mere coincidence. For it was in this very afternoon right after the final class, that the bank manager was handed over all the loan documents.
The lunch was heavy and lulled the students into a slumber which turned into a power nap, as a mail with two hours advance notice for the evening’s test had quietly sneaked into inboxes. The comfortable siesta was replaced by an afternoon which went into recapitulating all that was taught in that course. After the quiz the welcome snacks greeted all as tea/coffee got slurped with test questions being munched. The sports facilities filled up after the evening snacks and everyone soon started playing the game of their choice.
All those who applied for the External Relations committee made their way to the college building loaded with spontaneity-the need of the selection round. The evening was made wittier by the second as thought-provoking interpretations of the topics were shared in this extempore. There was a certain flashback in the minds of some students who remembered all the speech preparations in school, college and even for b-school interviews would come handy today. The students hailing from different parts of the country with their unique experiences made the 2
nd year committee coordinators listen carefully to what they said, for knowledge is limitless-‘
Gyanam Anantham’.
Later that night the students finally dispersed after an evening full of fun filled speeches on the topics tabled. Dinner was followed by a stroll across the campus- a habit in the making. A few more hours into the night the sleepy students think ‘what a day it was’ finally some rest…only to rise up to another day full of things to look forward to, ideas to explore and concepts to grasp.
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Harsh Shukla, PGP 14-16, IIM Tiruchirappalli