1st Term @ IIM-A

I apologise to all my faithful readers for keeping this blog very silent all these days, err...months!! Life @ IIMA has been going at an unimaginable speed that I hardly have time even for a wink. This, from a person who used to sleep a minimum of 12 hours during college days!! Well, gone are those days when you have something called 'free time'. I doubt if I will get to see it before my retirement.

But all said and done, IIMA is really THE place!! It rocks big-time!! The academic rigour might try wearing you down with a minimum of 100 pages of cases and readings everyday. But there is a wholly different 'other-side' of IIMA, which takes you on a once-in-a-lifetime fun ride.

D1330 - My address @ WIMWI. UnDaA - My Identity. ClaC - My Section

We were given the "best-ever opening ceremony" that lasted a whole week!! Due to insti-loyalty, I cant reveal much about it to my readers. My Dorm Tuchchas gave us Pizza treats and there was a rampty party (read disco) arranged for us. We learnt our Dorm Tempo Shouts (Tempo shouts - Slogans praising our group [dorm,class etc] and making derogatory remarks about the other groups). Shortly, the dorm-naming ceremony was held and yours truly got rechristened as 'Undaa'!! The naming process and meaning will again lie a secret due to insti-loyalty. Dont get mad at me!! IIMA has lots and lots of such cultures, which is very unique and specific, that the legacy is not to be revealed!!

The four sections (ArbitRaj,Beagles,Clac & Dhinchak) in PGP-I fought hard for the first sports event - the Inter-Section Cricket Tournament. B (beat A) and C (beat D) met in the Finals. ClaC romped home to a comfortable victory (Undaa took 2 & 3 wickets in the 2 matches).

All this amidst a tough academic course, which required a person to stay awake till atleast 4am. Though it looks as if people would be having the toughest time of their lives, I really had a nice time with this kind of rigor. The half-prepared OM cases, looking for some kind of insight into the HR cases, the clueless MANAC, the sleepy Economics classes, high-energy QM classes etc etc. Every bit of it was fun, in a way!! After all, it all depends on our perspective. There is no point cribbing about having to read so much, when you have no other choice. I would rather not look at it as rigorous, but just that the learning curve is a little steep. Life becomes much more easier if you have this mindset.

The Mid-Term examinations came in no time. I fared quite well in some subjects and quite badly in some others. But more than the mid-terms, everyone was looking forward to the inter-section cultural war called "TNite". It starts from the day after mid-terms and continues for 4 continuous nights (and days). TNite is one of the most important phases in the life of a fachcha. He/She gets to know every other person in the class during this time. The whole section bonds together like a gel and continues that way thereafter.

The name ClaC was chosen for our class just before TNite. And as we hoped, TNite was WON by ClaC!! Undaa danced for 'Andangakka Kondakaari' from Anniyan (in a group of 6), sang 'Anjaane' by Strings and 'Du Hast' by Rammstein. The TNite Photos can be viewed by clicking here.

The academic rigour was even more stressful during post-midterm. MANAC went over the head. OM was mostly arbit. I started accumulating backlogs in Economics. Life seemed really tough. But still, I was able to keep my head above the water. End-terms approached much faster. The exams loomed large in front of me, while the prospect of going back home and seeing Deepu was topmost in my mind. The exams were better than midterms (I hope!!). The exams just raced past me, 2 in a day!! And the much-needed, much-deserved holiday of 5 days raced past even faster!!

I am back @ IIM-A, setting foot into 2nd term now. The acads is a given now. No one seems to worry about the rigor anymore. But there is something else thats looming large in front of me now. The Summer Placements. I hope I can get into a good-enough company for my summers. Wish me luck, readers!!

I will definitely try writing more often in future!! I promise!! :)