No matter how long it takes, no matter how many times you fail, few things in life are worth the wait. The wait ended for us a few days back when we stepped into IIM Rohtak.
"The first few days are going to be toughest, but if you can handle it, you can pretty much handle the next two years," said a senior of IIM Rohtak before I joined. Such is the magnitude of the initial days.
IIM Rohtak lets the senior batch take up the responsibility of moulding the junior batch through Aarambh which is essentially a Personal Development Programme (PDP), wherein the junior batch gains an exposure to the different disciplines of an MBA program.
I still remember the words of my friend during the course of Aarambh.
“Bro, Chill. It’s just a nightmare. We will wake up from it tomorrow...or in two years”
Our daily routine during the PDP was similar in line to the one mentioned below.
Receive email about task-> Find teammates-> Prepare Presentation-> Present in front of the Panel-> Receive feedback-> Repeat
We worked right from morning to the wee hours of the next day morning. There were days when we had little to no sleep.
Did we complain? NO
Did we worry? NO
Did we back out? NO
Why? Because we wanted to experience the 'KATHOR' Life
Each day had a plethora of challenges and the initial apprehension gave way to the elation associated with the uncertainty of the next day. Intractable tasks didn’t seem impossible anymore. Our sleep cycle changed drastically. Another big take away is that we bonded with each other. At the end of the seventh day, we became one big family.
People say that life at an IIM is not just about studying, it’s about multitasking. IIM Rohtak has provided us a glimpse of it. The campus has been bustling with activities round the clock. We have had the pleasure of hearing from eminent personalities like Subramaniam Swamy, Rahul Sharma, Major General G.D Bakshi, Ramesh Agarwal etc in the morning and brainstorming the next action plan of the club/committee at late night. Needless to mention, the lectures from some of the best minds in the country all day long.
In short, words can’t describe how exuberant life at IIM Rohtak has been.
I have listed few things that I have observed over the course of a month at IIM-Rohtak
- Being surrounded and having to compete with the some of the best minds in the country will push one beyond his/her comfort zone and bring out the best in him/her.
- The workload in an IIM is beyond comparison but once one gets through it successfully, he/she will be sculpted to face most tasks in the business world.
- No two people will have the same schedule. Each one will have his priorities tuned according to his needs/interests.
- Case discussions are interesting and provide a pragmatic outlook of business.
- The opportunity to work with a determined set of people for Clubs/Committee is a bliss.
- Excel and Power-point are more important than one would expect.
- Reminders are lifesavers.
Looking forward to learning more each and every day :)