"BIM: A Rendezvous with
Destiny..."
- by Mahantesh Kolli *
As I slouch in my chair at these weird, unearthly hours of a
wintry January morning, I turn nostalgic trying to delve into my glorious two
trimesters at the sacrum sacrosanct, BIM, Trichy. I ask to myself, "Is it worth
my while to squander these precious hours on retrospection?" But then I placate
myself and get on to reliving my last seven months.
When I entered the BIM campus, a sense of pride and delight
overtook my jitteriness. I did see some cherubic faces here, but was soon given
a hard-bitten reality check. My class was as lifeless as a wooden log. But then
I live in a nano-technology world, where people would rather squander time with
quantum computers than with pretty faces. As someone here has rightly said, "We
view romance in the rear-view mirror." As soon as we were allotted flats, we
were given a case study in Decision Modeling (DM). We had to submit it in two
days using our Operation Research (OR) knowledge. We slogged that night to
arrive at a solution. Only later, we found out that DM was one of the most
dreaded subjects and OR, as we knew, was nowhere near DM. For a person who has
been away from the academic rigor for almost four years, like me, the fundas
were very high sounding and my chutzpah was defeated to the core.
Then came accounting. I didn't understand when the class got
over, but I saw that enviable smugness on the countenance of those commerce
graduates. Having work experience in sales, Marketing sounded better. My aplomb
was vaulted a bit. Everyone in our class seemed genius in a way. If one was a
computer whiz kid, another was a communications stud. If one was a quantitative
punter, other was an accounting pundit. I remembered what Swami Vivekandanda
said once, "Every soul is potentially divine." And I felt better. For the first
time in my life I was attending a marathon five hours lecture. I felt like I was
down in the dumps and without my cognizance I had taken a siesta. My routine was
totally thrown out of gears. I'm used to it now.
Then we had IEVM (Indian ethos and values in management, a
two-credit course in the 2nd trimester), which was nothing less than a pure
nirvana. A transcendental journey from Bhagavad-Gita to today's business ethics
(I'm still in a fix whether to call it an oxymoron??) was very much engrossing.
These are just a part of a complex patina that our life is made up of.
Then came our foreign language classes. French never sounded
so mellifluous to me. Our French accent can now put even those dulcet darlings
from Paris operas to sleep !!!
In the second week itself, we were exposed to the agony and
mental affliction of the highest degree. Surprise tests, improvised group tasks,
off the cuff presentations, skimming day and night through the net for
assignments (we need to submit written assignments to avoid our favorite copy
and paste technique) and what not... you name it, we have it, and these bombard
you even harder when exams become imminent. They call this stress management!!!
On a beautiful Saturday evening when I attend special lectures, I'm forced to
think, "Am I doing justice to myself, listening to the discourse of gyan, when
people revel at a tavern far away from the worldly conundrums?" As I jog down
the memory lane, I endeavor to cerebrate what this seven months of B-school
education has done to me. Whenever I see juxtaposed M's, I'm reminded of
Modigliani-Miller propositions. Whenever I see letter 'P', marketing mix hits me
hard. A triangle makes me ruminate over what level of needs I'm at on the
Maslow's hierarchy.
I still fail miserably to comprehend why people are so crazy
(I used to be one!!) about this three-letter acronym, MBA. But what I am really
chortled at is, this has brought about tremendous changes in me. After two
trimesters of solid grilling and roasting I've developed a carapace kind of
skin. I wouldn't relent come what may. I still remember we finished fifteen
chapters (first time reading) in one night and smashed the exam next day. (Now I
understand why RC is given such an importance in entrance tests).
One more thing I must confess... I've started using jargons
(very much generic to MBA schools), the parlance that is respected the most in
the corporate arcade. We've developed propensity to living life on the edge.
Life has suddenly started seeming BIG... and we dream when we are awake. We've
started viewing traditions as legendary and are always on the prowl to discover
that extra secret beyond the horizons. We are no more bothered about those
carping Cassandras and we hold our composure always in the buoyed state. I think
we have been accoutered with the wherewithal to deal with life, a showcase of
doomed destinies and twisted fates. We are taught to defy Murphy's Law. All that
can go wrong can be set right.
Even in the midst of these so-called cataclysms, we enjoy our
life to the fullest. I relish those humorous moments when we get together for
tea at night. I want to make the most of these two years. I know that sooner or
later God would send summons for the ultimate trial. He is surely going to ask
me what did I do on the laps of mother earth. When I narrate this two year fable
to him, I'm quite sure he wouldn't ask to any B-school grad again.
It is high time now. I should hit the bed. Guys, remember one
thing. Work hard, party even harder (I don't like using clich�s, but it was
inevitable), kya pata kal ho na ho !!!!!
