Coming to IIM-K with great trepidation, the institute was an enigma for me. Countless stories and anecdotes from friends and acquaintances painted a picture of a place so beautiful, yet exhausting; so collaborative yet competitive. On reaching the Kampus, I could subdue all the canned thoughts and buck fever, for the Kampus is exceedingly great for its zealous surfeit of wisdom and beyond. The very first ground rule in IIM-K is that everything is K and K is everything, right from the Kampus to Konquest to Konsult. The lush greenery of Kampus spreads over 100 acres on two hillocks, and we live literally among the clouds. Every day we are used to waking up to these views...
“All that glitters is not gold” – You must have heard it a million times but you hardly remember it when you need to. Well, this is neither an angst-filled rant nor a failure story. This is about the trade-offs you make in life, sometimes when you’re hardly aware of it.
The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, established close to 6 decades ago, is one of the most reputed management institutes not just in India, but even across the globe. IIM Calcutta is one of only four Indian business schools to feature in the top-100 management institutes across the globe.
On 20th July 2018, I arrived in Mumbai. My Enfield was low on fuel and I was low on patience. What should have been a short ride of 4 hours from Pune to Mumbai had turned into a nightmare. I was drenched in rain, had no place to stay, I took a wrong exit near Navi Mumbai and spent nearly an hour in a traffic, and to top it off my dad forgot to send my luggage to Mumbai, which meant I had to shop for new clothes. So when I stood outside Plaza, Dadar; all I could think of was the expectation vs reality sequence from 500 days of summer. The rains washed the color right off of my rose-tinted glasses through which I adoringly looked at Mumbai.
I have been reading a lot about the break up of the Acads-WorkEx-Exam-GD-PI-WAT score for calculating a composite score to be given to determine if one has secured admission in a college or not. I feel these are pointless talks since it simply doesn't matter. One simple reason is you don't have control over the things you did in the past. Can you change your academics or per say CAT score? Obviously not!
Remember that scene from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai where SRK quotes this - "Hum ek baar jeete hain, ek baar marte hain, shaadi bhi ek hi baar hoti hai, aur pyaar, pyaar bhi ek hi baar hota hai."
MBA, a coveted word, which binds in itself varied meaning for different people. For some, it’s a gateway to the fascinating corporate world, for some it’s an escape from the existing mundane carrier path. Irrespective of the underlying reason, it’s a life-changing journey for everyone. Sitting in my room, in the sacred campus of XLRI, with the first year coming to an end, I look back at my own journey which started long back, when the word “MBA” was a just a black box for me. First year of bachelors, accompanied with newly discovered freedom, friends and an inherent desire to discover my identity, was the period when I got introduced to this very word, while discussions with seniors who were about to step into the outside world with a degree and plans for future ahead. I was fascinated with the very idea of pursuing MBA, without the slightest notion of the prospects of the course. But the idea remained in the hindsight until the time arrived for me to explore the corporate life. I was working in literal terms but inherently, I felt the need to pursue something else. MBA seemed the obvious choice, not because it was what everyone else looked forward to, but it was a fascinating field, which seemed to open new avenues for future. I started devoting time towards preparations, in bits and pieces after the usual work schedule on weekdays, while weekends were filled with sessions, mocks and their analysis. With disheartening scores in many tests, there were few specks of hope in between. The D-day arrived, and I was filled with excitement and fear and was able to do well or so I thought until the results came and the expectations were broken. With every passing entrance test, I felt the destination moving away from me at a rapid speed. “Next year, maybe”, the notion filled my though process gradually and I started looking forward to alternatives for the year ahead. “You have been selected for personal interview round of PGDM-HRM”, said the portal of XLRI. It brought in its wake another period of confusion with Human Resource Management, seeming as an unexplored domain. Exploring the field of HR, connecting with folks who had built their careers in the same field, though with little hopes of conversion of the interview call, the wait for the results seemed unending. “Congratulations!” the words popped on my laptop screen and the journey seemed to have reached its destination. The period that followed was filled with varied emotions - of leaving friends behind, of entering into a new arena, but experiencing the happiness on the faces of my parents was a newly explored treasure. A few months later, I found myself admiring one of the most beautiful campuses and trying to discover the way ahead. It seems difficult as you are challenged to stretch beyond your limits, learn realities you were unaware of, explore the present forth opportunities in every domain, but over all other learnings, it makes you discover yourself. With these thoughts, I switch back to the song, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger!” and dive back into my world of thoughts till the next time.
