Term 1 at IIM K was one great learning experience- a new
environment, new friends, new subjects and of course an insight into the corporate
world. Nevertheless, it also meant cut-throat competition, endless quizzes,
projects and finally the Summer Placements. So, when Term 1 ended, we were all
left wondering- is this what we shall be doing for the next 5 terms? Will this
drudgery continue in Term 2 too? But, it was not long before we got our answer.
In the wee hours of 16th October, 2013 (Yes, 9:15
a.m. is considered as wee hours here), there came with a gleam in his eyes, a
warm, welcoming smile on his face, our Business Law lecturer, Prof. Sebastian
Tharakan. What most professors do here on the 1st day of class is
put up the course outline on the screen, number of credits assigned for the
course, percentage distribution of marks allotted for quizzes, mid-term,
end-term, class participation, and the list is endless. And what most students
do is take a note of all these distributions and start making a mental map of
their methodology for that subject-‘Oh! No CP for this subject. Wonderful! I
can sleep!’ ‘Damn! 40% for quizzes. I need to prepare well for them.’ But, when
Prof. Sebastian showed his first slide- there was something that left us awestruck.
Something that made us develop an instant liking for the subject, even before
we learnt what a legal right means. And it was this:
“Dear students
of Batches : PGP-17 & FPM-07 of IIM-K,
Welcome to the exciting study in the
commercially important and vibrant subject of ‘Business Law 2013’. As your Faculty-Resource-Person, I invite you
to enjoy and to actively participate in the learning of this vibrant subject. I
invite you to focus on ‘enjoying’
the learning process and I assure you that all our BL-Sessions will be exciting
voyages of knowledge, discovery and
innovative creative learning.
Sebastian Tharakan – your
friend
The Businesslawlecturer “
Yes, voyage
of learning as he calls it. And thus began our journey of the Vibrant Subject
of Business Law-2013.
‘Fantastic
Aff’, as he calls our class, eagerly awaited the BL classes. Every class was an
experience in itself- a new learning, a new concept and a new case that none of
us will ever forget. A new case? What’s so new in a case? We do it everyday, in
every subject- a Harvard Business School Case-Study, which I am sure none of us
remember. So what made these cases unforgettable? Well, when you are studying
about contracts of bailment and you see a slide which says:
Ms. Prakriti Sharma purchases a piece of cloth and delivers
the same to Kavita Fashions, a fashion designing / tailoring and boutique unit owned by Ms. Kavita Yajnik,
to stitch a salwar.
Who is the bailor? Who is the bailee? What are the rights of
both of them?
Will you ever forget what contracts
of bailment are? Or rather, do you even need to memorize something where you
yourself maybe the plaintiff or the defendant?
Business Law
was one subject which had no marks for Class Participation, no project presentations. Yet, the
class would be on its toes to answer every challenge, every question that was
posed before us. Intriguing, isn’t it? Why would a student who once imagined
taking his 40 winks in a class that had no marks for CP suddenly be ever so vigilant
to answer a question? Well, it was in the pride associated with it. Pride? Yes,
the pride to make Sir ‘climb the highest
mountain and swim the deepest sea’ to give you a handshake as warm as ever.
The pride when Sir would write on his slide a ‘Well done Ms. Kavita Yajnik’ or when Sir would tell the other
sections how well you had performed in the debate or how you had answered his
toughest question.
Such were our BL classes- vibrant
and filled with childlike enthusiasm where, Sir, with his eloquence made every
class memorable. Sir, we may not remember the details of every case that you
taught. But, we shall always remember your words- ‘Before the ink on the paper
could dry….’, ‘For all the rubbish that you right, you can get a copyright.’, ‘I
have taught 25 Sahils. But you are the 1st one… (Details best left
to Section ‘Aff’ or else Sahil might sue me for defamation by way of libel).’
How we wished 13th
December would never come! How we wished that our voyage of learning with Prof.
Sebastian would never end! But, as all good things must come to an end, so did
our BL classes.
As I clean up my shelf today to
mark the successful completion of Term 2, I might do away with all the quiz
papers, but the quizzes with the 4 blue stars and a well done note by you, Sir,
will never be disposed off. So Sir, until we meet again, I assure you that we
shall, in your words, ‘Seize and enjoy every moment of great learning in our
PGP Course @ 'God's-Own-Kampus': IIM-K ! ’
Thank You Sir.
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