“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” - Lao Tzu.
I arrived at Dhanbad on 3rd August, one day before my reporting day at ISM. I stayed at my local guardian’s house, about five kilometres from the campus. After arriving, I double-checked all the necessary documents that I needed for physical registration the next day.
The next day I reached the campus around 8.30 AM and then headed straight to the physical verification of documents. The verification process went smoothly. I was provided with my ID card there. Next, I registered at the hostel and then moved in with my luggage into the hostel. The registration at the hostel took some time as there was a long queue, as most of the master' students arrived on the same day. The staff and authorities handled the entire process flawlessly. I moved into my room at around 4 PM. In the meantime, I had lunch at my local guardian's house.
All the first-year boys got accommodated in the Jasper Hostel. It is massive, having a total of twelve hundred rooms (double-bed) divided into four blocks. There are dining blocks (mess), canteens and common rooms (which remain closed as B.tech students haven’t arrived) on each floor. As for the quality of the mess food, I will quote my roommate on this “If anyone has ever had mess food before, they will like the food at ISM. If they have never had mess food before (only had a home-cooked meal), they will not like it”. The quote stays true even after one month. The girls got accommodation in Rosaline and Ruby hostels.
On the first evening, I went out with my roommate and explored the campus. The first thing we checked was “The Central Library”. It is a stone’s throw distance from the boy's hostel. It has seven floors, with one of the floors dedicated to a reading room. The plethora of books available in the library is insane. There is also a Barista bakery and an Amul store below the library.
The next thing we noticed was that only the faculty and staff of ISM were allowed to bring in vehicles. All the students (be it PhD, B.tech, or M.tech) were only allowed to use cycles within the campus to commute. After a while, we checked the cluster of shops outside our hostel. They had everything from hair cutting saloon, Ironing and washing, a cycle repair shop, another small bakery, and a general store. And of course, the famous “RD” tea shop, named after its first owner “Ram Dhani”. The rates were extremely reasonable.
Over the next few days, we had multiple interactions with our seniors from MBA- Core and MBA-BA. They were helpful and kind. They shared their experiences of what we could expect in our first few months and how we could tackle those problems.
We also visited SAC (Student Activity Centre). It has a couple of Indoor badminton courts, Table Tennis, a Gym, and Swimming to name a few of the facilities offered. ISM also has basketball, volleyball, and Lawn Tennis court. It has two more large grounds for football, cricket, hockey, and other sports.
We also had an induction program at GJLT (Golden Jubilee Lecture Theatre). We had an address from our Director, Professor Rajiv Shekhar Sir. Our lovable Professor J.K. Pattanayak Sir also addressed us. Post the formal part of the program, we had lunch. Then we had an informal session with our seniors. They introduced all the clubs and committees and also were open to any questions we had. We also had a face-off-the-batch contest. The event ended with an open-stage dance.
The classes started over the next few days. The important details were mailed to the institution's e-mail address that had been provided to us. Due to my engineering background, subjects like Managerial Economics and Accounting are not my cup of tea. On the other hand, subjects like Decision Modelling, Research Methodology and Statistics are relatively a walk in the park. We are allowed to choose our specialization in our second year. We have four specializations at ISM. Finance, Marketing, Human Resources, and Operations.
The classes take place in the Department of Management Studies, a seven to ten-minute walk from the hostel. Some of the classes have students from other batches [M.Tech. (IEM), Ph.D., B.Tech]. Three hours of classes are held on average every day. We have labs on Tuesday and Thursday.
We organized a Teachers’ Day event in the DMS Auditorium recently. It was completely managed by the first years. The program went well, and I was glad to be a part of the team,
Overall my first-month experience at IIT (ISM) Dhanbad has been superb. I have got to meet lots of new friends from different backgrounds. Interacting with experienced batchmates was refreshing for me as a fresher. I am looking forward to what this journey holds for me.
“Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don’t lose the passion and love for what you do.” Nadia Comaneci
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