"Keep Going On, Come Hell Or High Water" | The Spirit Of JBIMS Mumbai

There's this one incident which I'll never forget. I had to skip dinner the night before, and was as famished as one could be. At 7 in morning, I ask the girl beside me if she has something to eat. Without thinking twice, she just handed me her tiffin.  Those nutella sandwiches tasted like heaven. I can still remember how Siddharth was looking at me with hungry eyes, and I am not justifying myself in any way; but I was scared that if the girl saw me giving her sandwiches to another guy, she'd take them away. Hell, I'll admit it: I would have cried that day had it not been for those sandwiches.

Life at JS Hall is a different story altogether. Calling JSH a hostel is like calling Hamilton a driver, it does no justice to the stature of this institution. It is not only home to future managers, certain cats who have no affiliation with University of Mumbai also consider this a home. And how these cats have managed to become huge chonkers still amazes me.Where do they eat from? Do they have separate mess for cats? Because no human can gain weight by eating at our mess. It literally is a mess! And the less we speak about living conditions, the better. This building is dirty, dilapidated, and a health hazard. But I won't trade it for anything else. Because when you stand in the balcony with friends by your side and view of Mumbai skyline, you get a sense that you have MADE it.

So what has JB taught me? A lot.

While I am definitely not an ideal student, JB has so much to offer that only a fool will return empty handed. One thing that stuck with me was something that our Director said: It is not the building, the location, or the infrastructure that makes an institution, it is the people who operate from within. And every time someone from JB achieves something, it reminds me of this statement. There is a reason people take pride while saying that they are from JBIMS: surviving JB is a task in itself. It prepares you for the corporate world. Whenever an alum starts talking about his time in JB, you can see it in his eyes. Whenever you talk to people from other colleges, you can hear it in their voice.

JB has earned this respect over past 60 odd years. And I can't help but feel glad to be a part of it.