Mid-Terms Are
Over!!!
- by Vinamra Srivastava *
My table-clock says its 3.45 in
the morning, my eyes are blurry, my mind is exhausted but my heart is at peace.
Because finally, the first big exam at WIMWI, the dreaded mid-terms are over!!!
The feeling is so amazing. After the tremendous amount of studies we have put in
past week, now the regular preparation for classes and the everyday studies look
no big deal.
Though I know its not far that the same grind will start again day after
tomorrow, but the relief of getting through the exams is still overwhelming...
Don't ask me how they went, that's another question altogether which I prefer
not delving into.
The past week was full of anxiety
and tension as people didn't get enough time to study for the impending exams...
the regular class study was itself consuming all our time. In the mess during
meals, the topic of discussion veered always towards the mid-terms... it's like
the entire campus was obsessed with it. I won't bore you with the details of the
exams. I will just say that they were unlike any other exams I had ever given.
Most of them were open book, but the papers were so damn application-oriented
that there wasn't much you could do with the books. You don't have to learn by
heart anything for the exams. They purely test your concepts and application
skills. There is no format for the exams, you never know if it will be objective
or subjective or whatever... you do not know how long the paper will be until
you actually get the question paper. So every subject has its own unique
characteristic for the exams, very much unlike our engineering days. The only
thing common to all is that they are all damn tough But then that's what makes
the process even more exciting!!!
Let me move away from the boring
topic of exams! If you are wondering what am I doing at this hour of the night
(or the morning I should say) even when the exams got over today, it's the T-Nite
preparation. Yeah, the much-awaited annual four nights inter-section event
starts tomorrow and we have hardly enough time to prepare for it. So the entire
class was sitting in the classroom and preparing for the same. And boy, its
great fun. So there is one group which is busy making posters, another
practicing the skit, another the dance, another the fashion parade and the
remaining not doing anything, but either clicking snaps or joining in the poster
making... Because the number of posters you make is never enough... the more the
better.
And then suddenly, we all stop
what we are doing, get-together in the centre of the classroom, switch off the
lights and play the music full blast and start dancing... And its an awesome
sight... everyone just letting their worries out and rocking to the beats...
knowing how to dance is immaterial, having fun is the essence. The classroom is
a completely different picture during the preparation than what they are during
lectures. There are paints all across, charts here and there, people sipping
coffee while working, loud music blaring all along... I have captured all the
moments on the camera but can not post it till the T-Nites are over. The entire
preparation is a section secret and can not be leaked out of the boundaries of
the class, lest the other sections take advantage of it... So I will post the
snaps this weekend.
Actually that's the purpose of
the T-Nites, more than an inter-section rivalry, the aim is for all the
classmates to bond together and the friendships we make here go on for a
lifetime. The sense of unity is developing and I can see that the enthuse level
is surely increasing. We also got our section T-shirts...
It's already past half of first
term and I don't even realize it... another month and I will be off to home...
boy, how much I am looking forward to that. But personally, I am pretty much
settled here now. The tensions of studies have stopped bothering me so much and
even the dreaded accounts subject has stopped coming in my nightmares. It's not
that I have maxed the subjects. The truth is actually pretty contrary But the
fact is that my attitude is relaxed and that gives me peace... that's my way of
coping with the load and it sure is working.
Before I finally hit the sack, I
can't resist sharing one tradition here. There are many small traditions at IIM-A
which make this place so special. You will slowly get to know them as my stay
here progresses. Anyway, what happens here is that there is a thing called a
"tempo shout". Its slogan which a big group shouts in chorus and which
demonstrates the unity and strength of the group. The group can be your dorm,
your section, anything... And though there is one standard tempo, each section
does have its own variants. In fact, it's very common to hear the tempo shout
somewhere in the campus every day.
Ok, so now that the T-Nites fever
is on, the section bonding has grown. After class, each section heads for the
mess for lunch. We arrive in hordes of 70 students. And when we enter the mess,
we start the tempo shout... Imagine 70 people screaming at the top of their
lungs... "Section A ka tempo high hai..." And when we are inside the
mess, there are others as well present there. Now why will they keep quiet and
listen to the praises of some other section? So they all will start banging
their steel glasses on the table continuously so that our tempo shout can not be
heard in the din of the glasses.
So the entire scene is so cool.
One group shouting the tempo shout, rest banging their glasses on the table...
the end result is total chaos... and we all love it.
And then there will always be
these tuchchas shouting in the groups to psyche all the poor fuchchas
out... "Muggo fachcho muggo..." But they are the same ones whom you can
wake at 4.00 in the morning to ask about a doubt in a subject.
I want to talk more but my
fingers are giving up, so are my eyes. I will get back soon here in 2-3 days to
give an update on the T-Nites...
Till then... "WIMWI ka tempo
high hai..."
