First Term at IIM-A

[started on May 21, 2006]
Whoa! After a monumental stint of four years at IIT-K, I reached IIM-A. Not bad, one might say!
But I guess this was the maggu-est combination one could hope to achieve without a PhD. Nevertheless, the battle had begun. On June 22, 2005, I reached the corridors of IIM-A, armed with nothing except my long drawn fears and a spirit to struggle. Was this the right thing for me? Will I find this interesting? Sure enough, the bet had proved worthy in B Tech and I had developed a liking for Comp Sci. But wasn’t this weird? I liked a subject but didn’t want to delve deeper into it! Instead, I was entering into a completely unknown territory. Was I also becoming a part of the mad, mad rush!!??

I guess it was the fear of ignorance at work. During preparation for IIM interviews, I had read a lot of business magazines and came across terms which made no sense to me. I wasn’t even equipped to read a business magazine and I was hoping to be successful in the corporate world! [I was always sure I wasn’t suitable for a research career!] I decided to pan out. And landed at IIM-A. Just like that. And I see that this doesn't sound very modest, but who cares! :)

The first week was intimidating. So much to do, so much to worry about, and all of that in the meager 24 hours of a day. For the first time, I felt overwhelmed by the enormity of the tasks that lay in front of me. I decided that this was the one defining moment that can make or break. And I pulled up my socks and braced myself.

The pressures of the academic life brought some people close together. I developed a good rapport with my neighbors. I had met Mansur the first day itself, but couldn’t talk to him much. On the next occasion that we met, I was duly impressed. He had a knack for bringing home the point he had in his mind, though sometimes [and I am sorry Mansur for saying this], he wouldn’t care about the brevity of the argument! Nevertheless, he was a very interesting neighbor to have.

Apart from the neighborly interactions, I had taken surprisingly long to adjust to the new atmosphere. It was probably because some roots still stuck me to IIT-K. After all, 4 years of bonding is difficult to replace! All the long hours spent with friends just loitering in the green campus was too difficult to forget!
True, I made some really cool friends, but the feeling was never the same. And whenever I said “my campus”, I would invariably be referring to the IIT-K campus!

I was lucky to get a group of people who were helpful, cheerful, lively and very pleasant to work with. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them.

I was also lucky to get acquainted with another friend - Nishant. I must admit I enjoyed going on treats with him. It was as close to the kind of friendship I could ask for as I ever expected.
True to my long held tradition, I had mini crushes on some people [Names not to be disclosed here! ] . Predictably enough, none of these lasted long. Meanwhile, the IIT-K bond [;)] strengthened despite the distances.

I sailed through some courses, struggled in others and worked hard in others. Overall, there are very few things I would like to change about it all, except of course, the many faux passes. Like asking a friend her marks in Eco and receiving a terse, unforgettable reply which left me speechless. I confess it was a very bad attempt at starting a conversation! [ And yeah, I had had a fleeting crush on her ;) ]

Amidst all the academic rigor and settling in, three months just flew away. Before I realized, I had crossed the first hurdle. I was still trying to find things that would excite me. A background in engineering gave me an edge in some courses but I wanted to try new things. This was my first encounter with economics {I always thought it was a boring elective in IIT-K!} and I enjoyed it. Was I again going to be a part of the mad, mad rush, I wondered yet again!

How different the description of the first term at IIM-A looks from the description of first semester at IIT-K! Even considering the difference in duration, the difference is stark. I guess it’s a reflection of the fact that at IIM-A, there was very little apart from academics that I focused on. I made some new friends, but the real foundations were laid only later.

The first memory of making new acquaintances that grew strong is the day we got to know about our study groups. Ours was the group of people with long names - a Gult[later christened Srini], a Gujju [Ami aka Mimi and later syko], a UPite [me] and two Biharis [Bhookhe and Tuppe] were put into a single basket. "Group number 5", I shouted out into the melee, and at a distance, a girl seemed to look back with reassurance. "Hmm, so she is the one with 4 names", I thought. Then I met the Gult guy, and then the other two. The meeting was short and sweet, each one hesitant and anxious.

The start of the term was good, and I was gloating at having aced the first quant quiz. However that joy didn't last long with all those scary Manac quizzes. I think I developed some phobia of those things. The more I tried, the worse it became. Making stupid calculation mistakes didn't help either.

Over time, my circle expanded and existing acquaintances deepened. The study group became more cohesive after the visits to an Udipi restaurant, a hospital and innumerable group meetings. We got to know each other over a dinner at Tomato's. On hindsight, I think I revealed very little about my own IITK connections, and I still don't know why! It was an eclectic set of people - a chirpy, bubbly and energetic syko, an ever_eager_to_take_work_on_his_shoulders Tuppe, a funny and sleepy Bhookhe [not to mention forever hungry], a mature, sweet and sincere Srini, and finally, a [suitable adjectives] me !

So long without the mention of my neighbour Kota would be an aberration. He was the calm, studious fellow you could always go to and talk about anything. His distinctive style of humor was interesting. Not to mention that I was impressed by his sincerity. [ And I still am!]

And who can forget the heady days of T-Nite. The mad rush at the wee hours to give a presentable shape to the next day's newsletter, the numerous creative ideas that emerged out of nowhere... the Adobe Photoshop collages... the shouting to hoarseness, and the glee with which we proclaimed the heralding of a new print! The memories get hidden behind the plethora of other businesses we did, the almost every day surprise quiz, the assignment, mid terms and all that stuff... but the memories aren't lost. I still recall, at times with vivid imagery, the HR classes. Sitting perched on the top row, in the corner seat, it looked like one was watching an animated discussion on arcane issues. With an ear that was always keen to spot double entendres [sometimes beyond the capabilities of saner people]. Sample this:
"We will apply pressure from ourside, you apply pressure from your side. Lets see what comes out of this!"