Month 1 at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode

‘The Unexamined life is not worth living.’ I had read this saying of Socrates, tried to understand the philosophy behind it and even made an attempt at writing an essay on it. Quite a surprising activity for an Electronics Engineer, isn't it? But all those who have gone through the difficult WAT/PI process of IIM K would empathize with me. Imagine my joy when I read the same sentence on my way uphill to the IIM K campus.

January 9, 2013: CAT Result

January 28, 2013: WAT/PI Call from IIM K

April 1, 2013: IIM K INTERVIEW

And then the anticipation…….the anxious wait for the first list of selected students to be declared….

May 9, 2013: Portal says ‘Sorry you have not been selected for the Post Graduate Programme at IIM K’

Oh the mourning after reading this message! But probably, this was just a test of my faith in God and in his OWN KAMPUS..

June 10, 2013: Waitlisted at 44

June 18, 2013: Waitlisted at 22

And the wait begins again…..the anticipation continues….and finally after a long, tiring wait comes my day to rejoice, my day to celebrate, my day to shout out loud that I have achieved what I had once only dreamt of.

June 26, 2013: Received an email from IIM K-‘Congratulations. You have been selected for the Post Graduate Programme at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode.’

The next two days were the most hectic days that I have ever had. Right from packing my bags, to arranging for the documents that were to be submitted to booking tickets- so much to do and absolutely no time! Every passing second was filled with a mix of emotions- excitement to reach ‘Kampus’, tension to complete the formalities and a sinking feeling that I am going away from home for the first time, away from all the care of my parents, away from the busy life at Mumbai to embark on a new journey.

June 28, 2013: Finally the day arrived! With a new zeal, enthusiasm, hope and a lot of confidence, I left for my destination- The Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode- a place where I had dreamt to be right from the day I began my CAT preparation.

For someone who is accustomed to the concrete jungles of Mumbai, landing at the Kozhikode airport makes you feel so close to nature. The beautiful, pollution free forests of Kerala leave one with no doubt as to how this state got its name- God’s own Country. After a long journey from the airport the IIM K gates welcomed us. The winding road uphill seemed unending. Nevertheless, it made us realize the reason behind this campus getting its name as God’s own Kampus. The road uphill greeted us with the words of wisdom from Socrates, Mother Teresa, Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekannda to name a few.

For a minute, it reminded me of all the WAT topics that I had prepared for. But indeed these words of wisdom gave me a feeling of the intellectual wealth that I will have achieved when I leave this campus. A little further uphill and you are left awestruck! As the Director of IIM K Prof. Debashis Chatterjee rightly stated in his speech during the Convocation this year, “You walked the steps Arjuna once walked.” A statue of Arjuna, bent on his knees with his bow and arrow aimed towards the unending skies welcomes you.

It makes you realize the determination, dedication and discipline that the students are expected to follow here. A look around the administrative block and you see the deep Indian culture that is associated with IIM K. In which B-School in India would one find a Library and Computer Centre named Takshashila, Business museum- Nalanda, and Administrative Block-Kautilya? Where would you find hostels named after the Indian Ragas? IIM K has established a niche of its own. The campus truly lives up to the brand that it has created for itself- Globalizing Indian Thougts.

June 29, 2013: My first morning at IIM K. Behold the beauty that lies before you! Indeed, the pictures of Mother Nature on the official page of IIM K are not Photoshoped! I was left speechless with the breathtaking view on my first day here. The zephyr, the misty mountains, the first rays of the sun that touched the Kampus… it was a photographer’s delight. Alas I am not one!

Thus began my life at IIM K. Induction programmes, interactions with seniors, assignments with ‘sacrosanct deadlines’ gave me a glimpse of a typical B-school life. As a part of the induction programme, we had a visit to the business museum, and the library -places which we would be of utmost importance to us during these 2 years. Places which would mould our character. The first few days here made me rethink my decision of doing an MBA. With seniors giving us assignments on topics that were very new to us to deadlines as particular as 23:59:59, life here was not going to be as easy as I had assumed it would.

And then began the lectures. Oh the pride when I saw my name written in front of my seat! New subjects, new classmates and a very different environment compared to my Engineering college back home. The Indian culture is deeply rooted here as students are expected to rise and greet the professor when the professor enters. The professors are indeed incomparable.  They are dedicated to the cause of not only making us efficient managers but also responsible citizens of India. The patience with which they explain the tough concepts of Accounts, Economics, Marketing etc to us, ‘Coders’ is really commendable.  Every lecture here is interactive. And we had a different experience altogether watching movies as a part of our curriculum. No sooner did we start coping up with the rigorous academic schedule here than came the most dreaded announcement:  Accounts Quiz this Saturday. To add to it came another Marketing Case Study and we found ourselves staying up till morning trying to do our best to complete our first case study. Surprisingly, the quiz was not as bad as we had expected it to be and we all passed with flying colours. Phew! One week down.

Now begins the fun! ROOBAROO- the Inter Section Wars announced. And then began the preparations for it in full swing. Each section had the passion, the desire to win. To outperform the other 5 sections because as they say it ‘Because Revenge is Inherited’. Roobaroo unleashed the hidden talents in us. It made us explore our strengths. 3 days of fun, entertainment, passion to win. On a lighter note, the fervor was so much that it could be comparable to an India vs. Pakistan match. Nevertheless, it brought us all together as a class, strengthened the bonds between us and made us proud of the comradeship shown by our section.  Roobaroo ended on a high note, we proud of ourselves on coming 2^nd, our seniors proud of the efforts put in by us. Indeed, we became the best of friends- our section, other sections as well as our seniors during the week that just passed.

And Monday morning, we were jolted back to reality. We were made to understand our purpose of being here. Micro Economics quiz on Saturday! The next few days were filled with packed schedules. PGP17 was juggling time between student body meetings, assignments and quizzes. Every student committee, Interest Group and Club introduced their work to us. Then began the applications to the various committees. The remedial sessions by the Interest Groups to make us understand the difficult concepts of Accounting and Economics made us realize that we are not alone in our struggle. Our seniors are there to help us even at 3 a.m.! And every PGP17er would agree that our Inboxes were never so full with unread messages! Come Tuesday and 2 case submissions are announced for the next 2 days. At this point we realized that Team work would be the only way to succeed here. Or else we would be lost in the crowd. Come Wednesday and a Marketing quiz is announced for Saturday. Plus an Economics surprise quiz the next day. As we fought against all odds-hunger, sleep, leisure came another quiz. As we waited for a quick dinner on Friday, we almost lost our appetite. Accounts Quiz tomorrow. Wow! It was now that reality struck us. We are in an IIM!! Disastrous Saturday came, quizzes happened and by afternoon we stepped out of our campus after almost a month. The outing was the nearest Reliance Fresh outlet- to buy soap, snacks and other utilities. For a person like me who is used to the busy life of Mumbai, it was so good to be out of the campus, so nice to see people around you, so much of familiarity to see the traffic on the roads. Because once you are on campus, you are in a different world altogether- a world of beauty and serenity, away from pollution and very far away from the mundane local train fights of Mumbai.

My first month at IIM K gave me lessons for a lifetime. It taught me to be independent, to be more responsible and most importantly to aim at the sky like Arjuna.  If the first month was such an exciting and learning experience, I can’t wait to see what lies ahead. As they say it,

For K…Today... Forever….