Buddies, no one can deny that dreams of young hearts take the sleep away in every way. Ah! No blushing, nothing that sort of fairy world I am talking about here. My tale is the saga of struggle, not the rosy land of Pinky Rinky. With my first firm step on the roadway to success, I got a knock-knock of an offer letter for an MBA from a very reputed private institute. I shared the news with my First Friend, "my Mom," and afterward, you can presume the mirthful scene of a middle-class family. But, a few days before receiving the offer letter, I received the Stage 2 shortlist from IIM Nagpur. It was my dream to pursue an MBA from an IIM and make my family proud, and the same was going at the back of my mind. God knows, still, that 20th March flashes in my head. It was the deadline day for submission of the Stage 2 form. The deadline was 5 PM. I submitted the form and left for my home, not knowing that it was the last time I was meeting my colleagues at the office. (There would be a complete lockdown in coming days)
After returning home, I passed my queries to my family. Many ifs and buts generated unending restlessness. Like what will happen if I failed to get the next step call for IIM Nagpur, which was on 2nd April. Now the home scenario was totally changed. The melodramatic comedians were looking like sagacious debaters of TV Shows. The suspense ended with an email at 10: 43pm, and I inched for PI at IIM Nagpur. Indeed, friends, I was not alone in this restless state; my whole family was blinking its eyes. Now, I was one step closer to my dream.
The institution was pro-active in converting the entire process to the online mode. Despite the ongoing internships, the admission committee went a step further in clearing all the doubts we had. The night before the interview day, I was a bit worried as my performance in that 20-25 minute interview can decide my future college [on the lines of 70-minute speech of SRK]. Suddenly, the rains started, and there was a power cut. It was a common phenomenon, and generally, the power used to come back the next day. The same thing happened this time also. Due to the ongoing anxiety and power-cut, I was not able to sleep the whole night. I appeared for the interview without sleep and performed decently. The questions ranged from work – experience, graduation subjects, specialization, and considering it was online; the whole process was designed exceptionally well and completed without any glitch.
Then started the wait for the final result. The website mentioned 23rd May for announcing the results. As per previous interactions, I was sure that the results would be announced as per the date specified. It was the D-day, and I started refreshing the admission portal. And at around 2 AM, it read, "Congratulations, you have been selected for the PGP program at IIM Nagpur." The feeling after reading these lines cannot be expressed in words. The dream of pursuing an MBA and that, too, from an IIM was finally fulfilled. And eventually, due to sheer excitement, what lies ahead at IIM Nagpur, I did not sleep that night also.
Now, it's been two weeks at IIM Nagpur. Within these two weeks, with all the clubs and committee induction sessions at 9 PM in the night, working with different people daily, networking through zoom calls, assignment submissions, working on case preparations for the next day's class, more such nights are waiting for all of us. I think these are the moments to cherish. As is the saying, "Nobody looks back on their life and remembers the nights they had plenty of sleep."
[The write-up excludes all the sleepless nights that went for CAT & Interview preparation]
Gomish is an Automotive Design Engineer from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun. He worked for three years, and his recent association was with Honda Cars India Limited as an R&D Executive. He loves designing cars and participated in various competitions like BAJA, Efficycle during his college days. Also, He is a long-distance runner and recently started Blogging.