IIM Lucknow -
Journey Towards Excellence
- by Supriya Sharma *
It freezes in that one moment.
The moment you step into institute campus for the first time, the tensions, the
rigour, the aspirations, the desires, the hard work, the optimism of time spent
preparing to get admission into the best B-schools in the country comes together
in that single second.
As one enters into the IIM-L
campus there are two statue replicas that can be seen, one that of Lord Krishna
guiding Arjun and the second that of the Mahatma guiding his followers, both
teachers and leaders like the world has never seen before. This one sight
ensures that the feeling "this place is different from others" starts to sink
in. It's not for the last time that you feel this, it reiterates at every step,
every moment from that time on.
IIM Lucknow is known to be famous
for its infrastructure. It definitely matches or even betters the expectation.
Lush green surroundings, clean jet black roads, library which is a dream come
true, CC (computer center) where all facilities one can ask for are available at
the click of a mouse, class rooms that would give most conference halls across
the country a run for their money, faculty sitting for whose lectures is an
opportunity of a lifetime for most, a peer group that never fails to amaze -
everything, that one needs to be able to learn, unlearn or relearn is present.
But it was not like this some 20
years back when IIM-L was just instituted. We operated from rented premises in
the city where adequate supply of even basic infrastructural things like water
and electricity was a problem. From those humble beginnings to one of the
largest B-school campuses in India must have been a difficult journey. Present
batches still discuss about seniors and professors who were makers of this
transition, with tremendous respect and probably a tacit realization that this
needs to carry on further.
Our senior batches never had the
kind of resources that we can command but what we might never experience is that
conviction which drives an individual to succeed inspite of constraints. It's
not surprising though, what they managed to achieve - dedication, perseverance
and excellence are the cardinal rules here in campus. It's a choice whether you
learn it the hard way or accept it easily but you must and will learn, that is
certain.
Within a week of class
commencement, the incoming batch is invited for the selection processes of
various committees. As a new batch this is where you get to interact with the
seniors wholesomely and gain experience about what deadlines, priority settings,
time management, impression management @ IIM-L are going to be. By the time this
process ends you know that the next two years will take some toll as within
couple of weeks, hopes change to desires, desires to aspirations, aspirations to
hard work and hard work to resounding successes or to frustrating failures. Even
if you survive the onslaught of the committee selection process, the impending
midterms, project submissions, assignments, quizzes and presentations would
knock you down.
To say that pace of life is very
fast here would be an understatement. You always have something or the other
like celebrations, events, and contests to be a part of, whether or not one has
the time to do so is another question. This week we are going to be 20 years old
.The entire campus is abuzz and engrossed in preparation for the same even as
seniors have taken a weeklong break after their exams. At times, I wonder who
would make better managers - the earlier batches who despite the resource crunch
ensured that their learning was wholesome and enriching or our batches who have
all the resources within reach and yet at times cannot utilize it properly.
Probably the answer lies not in exclusivity of infrastructure or education or
experience but rather in an amalgamation of all three.
Working lunches in the mess to
complete assignments, midnight coffee breaks at Nescafe, the long lonely walk to
the library in the night, the morning sprint to class with toast in hand,
chatting up with friends on exodus, active class participation followed by the
infamous bumps, the stress, the strain, the hardwork, the competition, the
comradelier each experience has an exuberance attached about it and a learning
value attached to it. No matter what you are doing, with each step you take, you
realize "this place is different from others". It actually breathes...
