Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Happy Days @ IIM Calcutta

 
For a long time now, I have had a dream of being part of IIMC. Being associated with this great institution and to be recognized as one of the alumni has been my longest wish, dream and inspiration. Throughout my years of experience working with various organizations, I have had the privilege of working with some of the great minds who have all been alumni of the esteemed IIMC. Working with them closely has given me an opportunity to understand the core strengths and principles of this institution - depth of the knowledge, dynamism in handling multiple things, decision making, and most importantly - doing it right.
The course - Executive Program in Global Business Management, that I decided to pursue would probably give me an insight into all the domain areas of business management,  the concept of learning, enhancing the current skills and also interacting with people across the country who suddenly became batch mates has been a great experience so far.  The days when we met up for classes online, the questions, the doubts, the explanations,  and all the laughs and fun during the breaks ....started making us look forward to Thursdays & Sundays .
The campus visit - of one week at IIM Kolkata in May / June 2011 was like a life changing experience. Amidst all the sweating weather of Kolkata...getting adjusted to the hostel life...literally running to escape from the continuous stretch of birds on the trees....3 meals in the hostel canteen.... all the walking up and down to classes... the lake fronts and the occasional drizzles... the old & new hostel blocks.... meeting up with professors and attending day long sessions.... taking strolls across the campus early in the mornings and late in the nights....all 7/8 of us trying to fit into Rajan's small car... long journeys outside in to Kolkata city in the evenings... , Rajan's fainting session and Saurabh's rolls and jokes and nonstop laughter schedules .... Sonia's amazing capability of organising things and Disha's vegetarian problems... Prashant & Sanjay's struggles with our shopping and Tagnya's traditional cuisine recommendations..... the official gala dinner and all the photo sessions...meeting Venkats, Vinods, Ran pandays and all the other numerous names from our online sessions....the life seem to have transformed into a different world. Those 6 days were an amazing part of my life.... as I have never laughed so much in my life.... I have never spoken so much in my life....I have never walked so much in my life....... and I guess I have never lived for myself so much in my life.... I wish it had continued.....




The exams - all the mad rush for studying through half the nights…telling half the people we meet about  the vast portions we have...the crazy schedule of endless questions in zipping past minutes….. everyone eager to know if we have scored enough… and almost taking the jokes from our kids… it’s definitely fun after so many long years… 
The class mates – We study, we struggle, we bring snacks for others, we help each other with logins, we keep pulling each other’s legs during the breaks and I guess we have already become like friends for life. Saurabh Chakrabarti, Rajan Modi, Sanjay Gomes, Sonia Pahuja, Disha Nariani, Prashant Lotlikar, Tagnya Bhatt & Shweta Gupta…. We rock!
I do hope at least some sediments of all these knowledge sessions seep back into my already saturated head and remains there for future reference.  Till then, these days will always remain in my mind as a phase of Happy Days in my life.

Is this where she ends ???

Somewhere down the paths of life
You seem to have taken different ways
As she went far away from you
Life seems to have disappeared in many ways

There is this emptiness inside
A void that refuses to get filled
mind hops on to multiple things.. while
the heart just waits there...stilled

On this journey thats taking her far
Can she see ahead beyond these bends?
Is this where she begins again or
Is this where she ends....?