From a some-one to a no-one…At IMT Ghaziabad

It seems only yesterday that i joined this wonderful institution called IMT Ghaziabad. Time has flown by steadily since then. It was only my first day at this place and it was looking a bit weird, to be very honest. The infinitely long guest lectures, the emphasis on attendance, the twenty percent plagiarism rule, the chronic scarcity of sleep – everything utterly failed to impress the engineer in me. Then came the most dreaded part – Senior freshmen interaction ( a gentle synonym for ‘ragging’ ! :P ). It was around 10 pm. All clubs and committees started giving their intros. Some said they were the ‘heart of the college’, some ‘eyes’ , some ‘ears’, some ‘most visible on campus’ etc etc . Then came the ragging part which continued till 4 am. All in all, it was fun. But the real fun began about a week later, when the 20 odd clubs & committees started with their recruitment processes! Every junior seemed to be rushing somewhere. GDs, PIs, tasks – it was all happening. The entire institute was bustling with activity and suddenly, the ultimate aim of human existence seemed to be getting into a club/committee! As far as I was concerned, I was very clear about my priorities – there were three or four committees which, although glamorous, were out of question, as in my perception, I would have to compromise a bit too much on my studies if I joined them. Then there were some clubs, of whom, very little was known to mortals, thus attracting ignorance. Finally, I zeroed in on the Mess committee, which is the body responsible for everything connected to the mess. I chose this committee for two reasons – one, I love food. Two, I was aware of reason one. So, I filled out their google form and went for the interview. The first round was a simple interview and I cracked it. The second round was a powerpoint presentation and I did really bad at it. The result was obvious. I was really heartbroken. I called up a senior, designated as my mentor. He told me – “Beta tu finance ka hai. Club/committee chhod. Padhai pe dhyan de. GPA bana. Main bhi NCC  hun.” “What is NCC ? “, I asked him. “No Club committee” was the reply. That is the most powerful term here at IMT, I now realise. It is a power in itself. The power of 300 odd individuals, upon whom each club is dependent for the success of their initiatives. Soon, I realised how very great it was to be an NCC. NO Club committee(NCC) is all about – NO late night meetings NO deadlines NO dozing-off-in-class-and-trying-to-keep-awake-with-gallons-of-strong-coffee NO club politics NO tension (most importantly ;) ) The best part was when my friends who had jumped sky-high, in the not-so-distant past, on being selected by a club, one by one quit. Each one came to me and said – “Bhai, I quit. Now I am officially an NCC. “, and I would invariably say – “ The vice president of NCC, welcomes you on-board.” ( A close friend took pride in calling himself the president :D ). As an NCC, I learnt quite a lot. I made friends, a lot of them actually. As time was in abundance, took part in a lot of inter B-School competitions, sharpened my analytical skills and the ability to work in different teams with different people. The best part was – I could choose for myself – what to do and when. There was no one controlling my actions. This freedom, I cherished the most! On a more serious note, clubs and committees aren’t bad.  They shape an individual in every possible way. But somehow, I found myself grow better in complete freedom along with 300+ other people. That kind of growth, I do not think any club/committee could possibly provide! That is the power of being an NCC, that is the power of being a No-one !