3:40 am: It's drizzling outside like it almost always is, these days in Indore. The wind velocity is high too. You can almost hear it. I am leaning against a wall, scrolling through the website of the fest I was applying for, on my phone. "My first interview at IIM Indore!".
It is that time of the year again when many b-school aspirants across the country step up with their preparations for CAT. Amidst round after round of mock tests, coaching classes and what not, they often find themselves glaring at the placement reports of various b-schools in the country. Here, the numbers seem to do all the talking and this single page on the website tends to be the game changer for most while nailing down a decision on which college to choose the following year. But there is much more beyond the CTC when it comes to defining the calibre of a business school.
The Aditya Birla Group sponsored Economic Times Young Leaders is India’s biggest platform for recognising and rewarding India’s most promising management students. Apart from the title, the competition has many rewards, with the most exciting reward being a PPI from Aditya Birla Group!
It's been over a month since I stepped inside IIM Indore aka Planet-I, and I feel I have already experienced a plethora of emotions. True to its perception, life at an IIM is truly hectic in every sense of the word. There are a lot of activities going on at the same time and it can become very difficult to prioritise one over the other, but that is what constitutes a major factor of b-school life - TIME MANAGEMENT!
Standing at the entrance of IIM Kozhikode, staring at the statue of Arjuna, ready with a stringed bow and arrow aiming at the sky with the beautiful green carpet covered mountains and endless blue skies as background, I remember the day, I stepped out of the train, nervous and excited, with my dad, proud and a lot more luggage than I could carry. The journey of 18kms from station to the campus with mesmerising beauty of Kerala enriched with slow rains, compelled me to fall in love with the place. We reached our target to find uniformed men ready to welcome and guide us to our respective hostel. Stepping outside of the taxi was a new me, energised and eager to meet my colleagues, the main entities of the two coming years.
“Last night I couldn’t sleep! NO, 24 hours are not enough, not for a PGP-1!”
Do you still cherish the moment of converting a call from top b-school? Why not? You should! You have strived for attaining this for months along with your other responsibilities like corporate job, or studies if you were a fresher before landing into a top b-school. After celebrating all the happiness with family, friends, relatives, seeing that pride & satiation on your parents’ faces, after all the goodbyes, the journey begins. Right from the very first day at b-school, you face the rigour, sleepless nights, quizzes, interviews, selections. You get to introduce yourselves to the brightest minds. You see the number of competitions from different college committees, from other b-schools, from corporate world companies apart from academics. Guest lectures from the top most intellectuals from society, who speak with you like a family and help you carve out a niche for yourself as a business tycoon or a good human.
“Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson. I have realised that failure, whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind, is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and a whole host of psychic rewards. Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is.” ― Robin S. Sharma
