IIM-Bangalored!

Well, now that I can't even fool myself that I'm busy, I guess this long due post is in order. 

A year and ten months. That's how long I've been a student at one of the most coveted dream institutes for Management Studies in India. And I can confidently say that the adjectives used in the previous sentence to describe IIM B are not exaggerated or misplaced. Looking back to the girl in the mirror who was eagerly awaiting the IIM-B admission results two years ago, I see her to have undergone a sea change now. 

At the outset, it is obvious that the pounds have increased to help me contribute more to test the bearing powers of mother Earth and bust myths about growing thin in hostels. But behind the hairline that has receded further, I sense the biggest change in me- in the way I think, act and see the world around me.  

An Apprehensive Start.. 
I entered IIM B on June 19, 2011, as a very apprehensive 21 year old who had no clue of what was in store. The first week was just a trailer, packing in everything that I was to go through in the next two years. I was exhausted and excited, at the same time. Then the classes began. I was new to almost everything that was being taught, except a little bit of Quants and I was baffled. With tough-to-handle academics, awe-inducing competition and a first-time hostel life with no one close enough to guide me properly, it is apt to say that I was lost for the first couple of weeks. I applied to take up posts that wouldn't fit me, didn't apply to a few apt posts and in general did random stuff and was filled with overwhelming insecurity. 

The Good things that did come by me..
Meanwhile, on the positive side, I found a really good friendship blooming between me and my neighbour in class, who, to my good fortune, was also in my hostel wing. We realized that we had very similar backgrounds and hit it off really well together. An illness that hit me a few weeks down the lane made me realize that I had been given very wrong impressions about cut-throat competition and the inability to form true friends at IIMB. Three friends- who have now become family to me- took me to a hospital and stayed with me throughout the few hours it took for an Intra-Venal injection to be given to me late in the night, with exams coming up in a couple of days. That night, I recovered physically as well as started feeling very secure mentally - I had a family on campus! :) A day-scholar all my life, I was introduced to group studies, late night shows at the cinemas and night-outs. I loved them all! 

My Experiments with Finance..
The Summer Internship Placements were gruelling and stressful on most mortals. I fell for the Day-0 craze and took up the first job that came my way, without thinking if I'd really love it. Well, the internship was very useful in two ways: 1. I learnt what I do not want in life- I do have Findamental problems! and, 2. I had an awesome trip of Hong Kong and Macau- my first ever International trip, that too all alone. I gained a great deal of confidence, like never before, in myself through that experience.

No longer a Fresher, gaining a Fresh Outlook..

Second year was much more fun- being on the other side during the freshers' orientation week, organizing fests, running a store on campus and much more! I learnt how to manage time, stress, people, multiple tasks and still have loads of fun, thanks to my wonderful group of friends. I was totally surprised in the first week when I received a phone call from my friend informing me that I was to be awarded for being in the top 5% of the Batch (the Director's Merit List) at the end of the 1st year. My surprise was no act of modesty- it was genuine because I had simply not expected this small-town girl from a relatively less-known college to excel in academics when compared with some of the best minds in India. This is not to say that only those in the DML were talented in IIMB or that academic excellence is the only indicator of one's talent or measure of one's success. But, to me, it was this award that brought out the confidence from within that I could achieve things I'd previously imagined myself incapable of, if I could put the right amount of efforts towards them. My self-esteem got a boost and my insecurity vanished. 

Learning outside the classrooms..
There is a lot that I gained through the work I did for the clubs on campus. While one Sunday afternoon was spent in escorting the elegant CEO of JP Morgan India to the Vista Media Conclave, the following Sunday afternoon was spent in navigating through the bumpy and rain-sloshed narrow streets of a wholesale market, negotiating with stationery vendors in Hindi (yes, I learnt quite a decent bit of Hindi too :) ) for supply to our student-run store on campus. This is just an instance of the wide spectrum of learning that I was lucky to get! Getting to interact with people you have seen only in newspapers and television, gives you a perspective like never before. The small-town girl who used to be awed by celebrities on screen got to know how to hold her own ground with them. I am no longer awed the way I used to be. I see them as normal human beings just like me, whom I simply classify as those who are good, simple and grounded  and those who are not. I am lucky to have gotten the opportunity to interact with people of both categories- it has taught me a lot.
And I am one of the lucky few on campus who learnt MBA practically hands-on, running a store! It isn't as simple as one imagines and in a campus where people are hard-pressed for time, ensuring that stock-outs do not happen, estimating what is to be bought at the next purchase and how much, taking care of seasonal demands and bringing deals for the IIMB-branded mercahndise that all of us just love to flout- T-shirts, Sweatshirts, Jackets and making students' lives easier through facilitating things like Photos and Suits for placements... The list here isn't exhaustive! Planet MARS on campus is the place where you learn to do all these and more importantly, you learn to do these in a group of 20 very different people, where each one's contribution is important and therefore team spirit is of essence!
In addition, I also took up Case-writing in my favourite area of Marketing- whether the outcome of that is any good remains to be seen!

Change of my "Unemployed" status..
Soon enough, it was time to start bothering our seniors again with our resumes to be beautified for the Final Placements. Having chosen a relatively relaxed set of courses in my final term, I had enough time to give my resume a proper spa treatment to ensure it looked pretty and fit. Well, I guess it did and I was shortlisted for interviews by the firms I was hoping to work for. I was guided very well by some good friends and some amazing seniors who took time out from their busy schedules. 
But, as luck would have it, after a few interviews- some excellent, some good and some vague, I realized that I was not destined to become a Consultant. I wouldn't say I wasn't disappointed. Well, long-term career sustainability and all those common-sensical things notwithstanding, it does hurt when you see that you have prepared for something for about 1-2 months and you don't get to see your efforts translated into results and randomness taking over. I was hurt but I was able to see clearly through the haze. I denied to yield to the Day-0 craze again by appearing for interviews for Finance roles. I knew my options clearly. If I ever made it on Day-0, I never wanted it to be in a Fin role where I knew wouldn't be happy. After a gruelling day full of Group Discussions for the Marketing and General Management roles, I was exhilarated to be offered a role by Unilever in Marketing and Sales. I then realized that this was the kind of firm I wanted to join after about a couple of years, even if I were to enter Consulting. Well, no harm with an early start!  
One of my most important learnings in IIMB came out during this time, when I saw many friends- batchmates as well as juniors, coming to tell me that they knew my worth from their personal interactions with me and that it was not something that a firm could decide in twenty minutes. And when I got my job offer, they came in hordes to hug me and tell me how happy they were. I saw genuine happiness there. That showed me how I had, unknowingly, left an impression on so many people. Ultimately, it is this set of cherished relationships that I carry as my biggest takeaway from IIMB. Not the textbooks, not the frameworks, not even the job. These relationships will last through my lifetime and the memories, even beyond that.

The Vote of Thanks..
Well, my dear IIM-B, I shall not thank you for everything you have given me- the wonderful relationships I have been lucky to form within your stone walls and forested grounds, the academic knowledge I have gained and the life lessons I have learned through various activities on campus - because, Thank You is simply insufficient. I shall remain indebted to you for life, for all that you have given me - it is definitely more than what I came to you for. I shall hope to make you proud of me- that will be my way of showing you my gratitude. 
Adieu!

Reflections on a lazy weekend..

It has been two weeks now. Since that night I boarded my first international flight with a medley of feelings- apprehension, excitement and of course missing family and friends- on going to a strange place to take up a role in an area where I had little expertise. Hong Kong is not really that far from India and my communication channels with near and dear ones are still intact, thanks to the fact that I live in 2012. But with me being yet another normal human being- a creature of habit- any change in my life is generally not met with a warm welcome.

The travel was smooth; the accommodation, though small (as every place in HK is), is comfortable enough. The only problem I faced (and still face, to an extent) was with the most primal means of survival- food. In a place where chicken is considered vegetarian food, we had to go around explaining that what we wanted was something with "No meat; No chicken; No Pork; No beef; No egg". In most places we were met with weird looks from the hotel waiters. One particular guy, who was totally shocked, shook his head vigorously thinking of how such homo sapiens could exist in the same place that he inhabited.

Hong Kong is cleaner, more regulated and definitely more automated than India is. It is a pleasure to travel to anywhere here. I do not see India even nearing this place's standards in the above criteria any time in the next decade. But, are all those needed for India? There is some fun and excitement in life back there. Uncertainty over public transport, unruly traffic and people who always think of ways to surpass rules- don't these make living in India exciting and lively, using one's senses all the time, being alert and in short, being human and not a robot?! 

Any day, I'd prefer living in my dirty and non-automated India eating dosa, sambhar and vada instead of a pack of microwave-heated bread that was purchased after carefully reading the ingredients.

Hong Kong is very good as a holiday destination- not as a place for everyday living. 

But, a bit ironical as this may be with what I have written above, it is living in Hong Kong that has taught me some basic daily household chores! Whether my knowledge of financial markets has increased or not, my ability to cook my own rice and wash my own clothes has been honed really well :) Looking forward to 7 more weeks of this different way of living!

    

Fight of a Genius

"A Beautiful Mind" has inspired this post.  

I was apprehensive about watching this movie, initially. I'd heard that it was similar to the horrenduous "Mayakkam Enna" (ME)- a recent Tamil film that made me resolve to never watch any creation of the director Selvaraghavan again. There are people who saw some form of genius and beauty in the film. Not me. My simple purpose was to unwind after back-to-back Finance and Quant quizzes. ME achieved something never before done by any movie- making me shut out all sight and sound, wanting to run away from the theatre!

Hence, on a lazy holiday evening, I double-clicked the icon "A Beautiful Mind" in my laptop, deciding to close it in less than five minutes if it were anything similar to ME. 

But i forgot the small "x" button at the top-right corner for the next two hours. This story- which in contrast had a logical flow comprehensible to mere mortals like yours truly- was engrossing. And yeah, there is the fact that parts of my Microeconomics reading did help me relate well to the dating logic explained beautifully in the pub (this was soothing, given that the reading didn't help a bit in the exam).

The film talks about an extreme genius whose brain imagines to the extent of making him schizoprenic. The wife's care that helps him cope with it is touching. Yes, some of this part of the film seems to have inspired ME but if this is the director's way of improvising and adapting a story to a different context, the attempt has been pathetic. There is no part of the older movie that can be called gory. Everything seems natural and credible. There is no so-called "stark reality" that pains an average movie-watcher.

Both movies have a happy ending- the protagonist wins a prestigious award. But as the adage goes, it is the journey, the storyline, that matters. One shows a genius fighting a disease and winning over it, while the other portrays a sequence of random happenings- weakly linked, gross and mostly illogical.

'Term'inated

Okay, I am one-third an MBA now. Almost, that is.

It has been a mind-boggling ride so far. Term 1 initiated me to the system and showed me the various aspects of life outside home. But the most strenuous and memorable one was the second term, which deserves this blogspace.

On day one of term 2, a senior at the breakfast counter gave me a warm welcome with "If you survive this term, you can survive anything within and outside IIMB. All the best!". Apprehensively, I began the term. The academic load was minimal, compared to the previous term. It was more than compensated for by the much-dreaded "Summer Internship Placements". Days were filled with Pre-placement talks, pizzas, resume mentoring, preparatory group formation and getting back to school and college teachers to verify your accomplishments that you never gave much thought to, back in the good old days.

As the days went by, the shortlists started arriving for the much-hyped "Day Zero" firms and preparations took a serious turn. The Summer heat was on! Well into the wee hours of each morning, the consulting aspirants were seen cracking cases and making guesstimates while those inclined towards finance were invariably found sleeping with books open on macroeconomics, derivatives and puzzles, or reading up on M&As, sectors and valuations. Newspapers- those non-white-coloured ones we booked in the first term with dreams of reading "Business stuff" (but never did anything beyond dump them in a corner)- started being respected and read religiously. "The Economist" became The Bible.

Those were the dark days when no one was happy on campus. While the agony of the non-shortlisted candidates was obvious, the shortlisted people were bothered about impressing the company representatives and ensuring that they beat the fellow shortlisted people in getting that dream job. There were just a handful of guys cool enough to either remain nonchalant or sign out of the process to pursue their dreams.

Well, everything scheduled to happen will invariably happen whether you fear it or not; so did the "Day Zero" on the 9th of November. The beautiful MDC lawns were filled with people in dark business suits, looking smart at the outset. A deeper look into everyone's eyes revealed the tension within. The following five days were a medley of cheers and tears. Gratitude for the unwavering support offered by the senior batch in helping us all get through those days is etched deeply in every junior's mind. Come November 14th 2011- we were all back to our childhood in a way- cheering, applauding and celebrating the end with champagne!

And the campus started looking more beautiful. Though a mountain of assignments, projects and quizzes eagerly awaited our return to academics, we were not worried. Life was more chilled out than ever. The four weeks from then to now remain a blur of strenuous academic activities, all going late into the night, but done on a light note. 

Surprisingly, Spring has come after Summer to our campus! And it shall stay on. 

P.S. Again, I left the campus for the vacation with the strong belief that friends make life beautiful and cheerful, during times good and bad. :)

Exploring Inward...

"What is this life full of care,

There is no time to stand and stare"

- these lines occur to me daily, as I rush past the lovely campus, on the way to some class or quiz or getting some Assignment printed. 

Just what am I doing here? Is all this madness justified? Well, yes. Once you start to look at this place as something that adds value to you, not merely in terms of academic grades, but something more, you will realize the worth of being here. 

I have been learning a lot since I came here - and the learning that I did for the mid-terms last week was just a negligible fraction of the whole. The best thing about IIM B is the diversity of people I get to interact with. I frankly did not imagine that a CA-CS who quit SEBI would be my batchmate when I mentioned "diversity" in my SoP! What was an abstract term then, makes a whole lot of sense now. 

And my development as a person is taking a new dimension, these days. Overcoming flaws and trying to identify and interpret the true me are everyday activities here. There have been moments of happiness as well as those of disappointments. Overall, I am learning. To Live.

A Fortnight later!

The fervent packing, the farewell, the train journey, the visits to all relatives and finally, the ride to my home for the next two years! It has been two weeks since I spent my first night here in this cozy room (I am one of the lucky few who got the new block rooms at the hostel here) but everything that happened since then seems to be one crazy blur in my memory, with no sense of date or time. 

The Orientation week had me freaking out (Ah! Proof that I am a normal human being!) and wondering why I even thought of CAT in the first place. What seemed to be endless hours of torturous sleep deprivation, now seems fun! The "official" team activities were both enjoyable and enriching!

The next week was a faster whirl of cherished memories. The classes - some good, some globe - end here at mid-day. Aarambh 2011's drama practice, general body meetings and activities extending well into the next day had us well-occupied. There was a point when, walking alone amidst the trees at 3 a.m., not unlike a zombie, I wondered what had ever happened to that kid Shilpa who was afraid of ghosts in the dark!! 

Aarambh happened yesterday and was a runaway success with our skit being very well appreciated! :) The Exhilaration was fantastic after all the group effort! 

As I gear myself up to face the tsunami of Assignments, tutorials and quizzes, amidst other stuff here, I shall do whatever is within my capacity to visit this space with updates on life @ IIMB or some of my insights which shall truthfully obey Sturgeon's Law!

A Memoir

I remember the first night she spent here, in my proximity. Seven years ago. A scared 14 year old, she jumped up at every minute sound- real and imaginary. There was an instant when she almost ran outside, to her parents; but stayed back due to some magical willpower. And she has stayed, ever since. 

She mostly reads in my company; she occasionally tattooed on me, played ball with me and shared with me every exam scheduled for her. She loved to collect Harry Potter paraphernalia and went about it furiously. Then came this queer contraption she sat with often. She fiddled with it continually and the device even sang for her, played movies for her and had her enraptured. I was jealous- her long contemplations, face-to-face with me, were remarkably reduced. Still, I tolerated it. I was happy to see her study hard and bore her occasional barrage of French words at me, with patience- maybe she was in for something good, though she was always cynical about it. 

To the world, she appeared to be a nerd. But I knew better than that. 

Then there came a time when she was in a mild dilemma. She almost left me. But she chose not to, for several reasons (and I am sure that missing me was one of them!). 

The four years following that most fortunate decision have been the most interesting ones for me. I have seen her in various moods, going through phases- good and bad, making mistakes as well as a few right decisions. I am happy to say that I have truly stood by her through everything.

But even the best of times must come to an end. And she is leaving me. She will return, occasionally, for a handful of days at a stretch. But it will not be like the old times. 

Oh, come on. I should stop feeling bad. In fact, I should not feel anything at all. After all, I am just a wall in her room.