After a year of toil, getting into IIM Ranchi was like a dream come true. As congratulations poured in, I momentarily believed nothing could top this feeling of exhilaration. But of course, I was wrong. I soon realized that absolutely nothing else I have done till date compares to the sheer gamut of experiences that lay ahead of me.
I entered campus looking forward to this new chapter in life which will no doubt go on to shape my future. Hostel allocation witnessed teething issues, but the unrelenting spirit of seniors, and my own peers, made everything seem like a joyride. As I met a plethora of new people, I could see myself settling in with this new family in a home away from home.
As we braced ourselves for the journey ahead, we were addressed by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr Jayant Sinha, who not only provided us with some eye-opening insights regarding our duty towards our nation, but also challenged our intellect, suggesting meaningful literature.
As the induction kickstarted, we were given 3 management tasks to prove our worth as a crow. First came the IREMPEKTAME task, where each team had to come up with their own interpretation of the word, and present a short video on the same within 24 hours. It was our first lesson in management, and a taste of what life ahead will be like. My team adopted a different genre, thriller, which made our video stand out, and we were adjusted winners of the first management challenge. Looking back at my moment of triumph when I got through IIM Ranchi, realisation dawned on me that if done right, my B- school life will provide me with ample opportunities to replicate, and even amplify such moments.
We were soon tasked with management challenge 2, where we had to give our own interpretation of ‘Management in Everyday Life’. My group chose to depict how god manages 2.7 billion people everyday from his company ‘God Zone Ltd’. The task also initiated junior senior interaction by way of a treasure hunt, and threw regular challenges at us to keep us on our toes. While working on the challenge, the group bonded well and we were delighted when our hardwork bore fruit and we amassed maximum stars from the jury, being declared winners.
While we were getting accustomed to life at IIM Ranchi, chugging along at breakneck speed, we also balanced preparatory sessions and Sports Days with the management challenges. The sports days, brilliantly executed by seniors, acted as a bonding exercise and also drove home the message, ‘Deadlines are sacrosanct.’ A group of people awkwardly introducing themselves by adding an adjective to their name were, by the end of the exercise, hugging each other out of ecstasy when they won a round. Life at IIM Ranchi had taken over full force by now.
We were also introduced to various clubs and committees, and we watched in awe as seniors addressed us and performed for us. Each and everyone of us aspired to achieve that level of knowledge, skill and confidence, and see ourselves there instead the next year.
Management challenge 3 was the fun task, where we got to show our creativity and skills in our area of interest. Watching the performances was a sheer delight, and as we braced ourselves for college to begin, we knew we would wistfully look back at what I’m sure will always be some of the best days of our life. We were now crows, on the verge of writing our own version of IREMPEKTAME, the story of our life.
- Tanvi Gupta