“Why try to fit in when you are unique”
A year into college, and it seems like an eternity. The buildings seem mundane, the roads weakened, the steps measured, BUT the atmosphere remains dynamic. Atmosphere. That is what makes TISS, TISS.
Core Management students? I think not. We are human service professionals and our course has evolved from Social Work! Regular management students talk about diversity in a batch; we talk about diversity in the college – 21 Schools, 45 Centres – ranging from Livelihoods and Development to Habitat Studies to Human Ecology, all unique in their own way. Then comes field work where we learn & apply and vice versa. At every semester’s end, we contribute to an organisation for a project that is related to the learnings of our previous semester. Humorously and rightly so, we are more on the field than in class!
The year gone by in TISS has been a rollercoaster! It starts with the elections, where the campus turns into a battlefield. Sloganeering and canvassing are common sights. Then the semester hits us. The motto, "There is nothing as practical as a good theory,"rightly said by Kurt Lewin, is practised in TISS. Culture Cafes, Zumba sessions, Adda Conversations, and Cultural events keep us sailing through the tiresome semester. Each school has its own annual fest. The themes range from Behavioural Economics to Hedonic treadmills to Secular ethics. Conferences, Panel Events, Seminars are routine.
As I come to last leg of my Masters, I know I will really miss this place. But the thing that makes me happiest is that I will carry this place with me forever.
TISS is not a place. It is an adventure.
We are the odd ones in management. Unconventionally thinking. Always.