The Induction week started, and initially, I had expected it to be like the chores of student activities that most of us had been a part of in the last 15 years of our education life. However, the scenario at IIM Sambalpur was entirely different; from day one, we were thrown into a flurry of activities, rigorous schedules, professional activities. In the initial days, we all were, a bit agitated, on being thrown out of our comfort zones- being subjected to only a three to four hours of sleep, a rigorous twenty-hour day, that began with sessions with Industry Stalwarts and Eminent Academicians, and ended in the early hours of dawn after completing several professional simulation activities; but only when we started having our regular classes after an intense induction week did we realise that the extremely demanding curriculum that was followed by the institute, following the footsteps of the revered older IIMs, could be followed with ease and a smile, because of the rigours that we went through in the Induction Week. The sleepless nights, back-breaking sessions, etc. were imposed to condition our body and mind to the hurdles that we were about to face from henceforth.
As I was speaking over phone with my family, towards the end of the Induction Week- I was telling them about the Induction Week- what were the takeaways from the program, how different it is from the general idea we have, of Induction Sessions in any other non-IIM colleges; how in-spite of being a third-generation IIM, we could hardly differentiate from the exposure and rigors that we were subjected to, from the way it is done in old IIMs. Mostly our mornings began with meeting VPs, MDs, and other top-level management of renowned companies and eminent Academicians from the elite institutions of India, where the knowledge imparted to us cannot be traded off against even years of classroom learning. The interactive sessions made us humble, and aware of the fact that we might have cleared a certain level of knowledge and got ourselves a shot at success at IIM Sambalpur, but there is a lot more to learn than we can imagine. The late-night sessions and intense team activities (including using the service of professional outdoor learning and motivational grooming firm) brought out the best and worst of us into the open, so we could assess them and work on them. Gradually, our focus was shifting from “I” to “We” and we were becoming better at being team players; the list of takeaways could go on till eternity, but somewhere I had to stop.
I stopped when I realized that all I could tell was how it helped us in getting ourselves prepared for the journey that lay ahead, but I could never impart the essence of those seven days through mere words. The sense of belonging and fraternity that germinated within us on the first day of IIM Sambalpur induction week and continued to grow through the week can only be felt to be understood, from the inner side of the gate, from the busy hostel corridors bursting with activities at 3 A.M. in the morning, from the adrenaline rush of meeting deadlines every moment of the day.
It can be only comprehended when felt with a garnish of the pride that comes while saying, ‘I belong to IIM Sambalpur.’
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