COVID 19 has brought the world to standstill and b schools are trying hard to cope up with such life-changing event. COVID has impacted to such a extend that marketeers are calling it separation of era i.e Before COVID After COVID so next time you see B.C don't mistake it for before christ but it would be before corona.
It all started with my initial career plans. I had decided during my school days that I wanted to build my career in IT field, as I was highly interested in and wanted to explore the field. Following that, I did my B.Tech in IT and after graduating, was happy joining my first organisation, Tata Consultancy Services. The profile I got in my organization, included quite a bit of management related work and communicating with clients on a day to day basis. I started understanding how business works and started gaining experience in maintaining customer relationships. I also got myself involved into client billing process, to understand the business aspect in a better way. On the other hand,I wanted to pursue master’s degree. To be specific, I wanted to pursue M. Tech and was simultaneously preparing for it. I attempted GATE thrice but failed every time. I was always hesitant to go for the idea of MBA, as I felt it was an expensive affair and was worried to take up a heavy loan.
July 21, 2020 - I was calling it a day at Sovereign Wallet Networks and typing my progress for the day on Slack. When an email ping distracted me, it was titled - “IIM Jammu Chairperson”. I carefully clicked on the notification. To my surprise, I had received an admission offer letter from the Indian Institute of Management Jammu for the MBA 2020-22 program. Finally, I got in!
With more than 2.44 Lakhs aspirants this year, breaking the records of the past nine years since 2010, many were able to get admission in their dream B-School. But, all the plans— plans of studying on campus with the brightest minds and partying with them on weekends seem distant now. Thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak.
We love movies but we don’t believe them. We find ourselves immersed in novels but question it the very next moment we shake hands with the real world. But is it so? Are movies completely different from what we call real? Are words capturing emotions in a novel found to be lifeless when applied to real life? For me, the case is more tilted towards NO. Each day we are writing a new chapter of our life. We all know that we are not good with the pen. We are aware that the previous chapter could have been framed in a better way. And then we try to compensate for it in the coming future and this is what life is.
I’m sure you have experienced ‘Fear of Missing Out’ at various times in your life. It turns out that a business school is a fantastic testing room to study this phenomenon. Given the intensity of competition and overwhelming opportunities it is almost certain that each of us would experience this fear atleast once in their B-School journey.
Section 377, an Indian penal code introduced in 1861 during the British Rule in India. This stated that "Sexual activities against the order of nature is illegal". That is love and marriage between same gender people are considered illegal. We all know that love is a feeling which never shows any discimination. It can happen to any person of any gender, any age. But the 100 years of following the rule and stating that going against the order of nature is not traditional was really wrong. The true meaning of love is not properly approached because of the restrictions of Section 377.
