"Life Of A Zombie"
- by Anuj Arora *
Before I start this article, I would like to WARN you!!!
Anyone who has got big expectations from life in IIM or any other good MBA
institution should shut this page and go to something prettier because this is
gonna get messy over here.
For all those who have read my previous article, "I'm BACK".
But in tatters. One month in IIM-A has already taken it's toll and if that was
not enough, I'd my first Mid-TERMS, which means the torture of whole months
concentrated in 6 exams!!!
To start from the beginning, it is business as usual and I
have formulated a weird daily pattern that is sustainable.
I wake at 8:30 am EVERYDAY and sleepwalk through the minimal
effort required that makes me look "presentable" in class. Every day, I've to
make critical decisions regarding "time management" such as:
- have both bath and breakfast (becoming a rarity)
- bath but no breakfast
- breakfast but no bath
- neither (becoming alarmingly a regular option)
Every day, I've to take solace that, some people arrive in
far worse shape than me, others fight a losing battle with sleep and
occasionally doze off right under the prof's nose. Four hours later, I lumber
off to the mess, and just can't wait to fall on my bed, UNLESS, the class notice
board has the deadly signs of a quiz at 2:30 pm. Which means, another hour of
frenetic page turning followed by sitting emptily through 15, 30, 40 minutes
back in the classroom for the quiz to get over.
About the proffesors - they are GOD!! Many are in consulting
as well for big MNCs and GOVT OF INDIA. The classroom is akin to an
amphitheatre, with name slips arranged, to confine each soul to his dreadful
misery for the rest of the year to a single seat. For example, my name Anuj
hasn't done anything good since I've to sit in front row right under the Prof's
nose. So in evening, I manage to get a hour or so of sleep which is very
necessary for those "long nights!!" It's 6:00 pm and I'm confused about which
subject to start. I would like to add that for each subject there is a long
reading to be done, usually exceeding 15 pages, and the very inevitable small
fonts to ensure we read more!!!
Then it is 8:00 pm and still no headway in preparation for
the next day's class, so I give up and head for the mess, and sit amidst people
who give my confidence a bad jolt by offering some free advice on the mess
tables. "Haan, Economic Analysis kaa next chapter ho gaaya, read the case also,
very easy to solve yaar..... Pass the water please".
Soon it is 10:00 pm, and after some more struggle between
Accounting and Human Resources, I give up and head for the CA in the adjoining
room, who gleefully smiles and is chased around by several of the so-called
engineering types like me. At 12:00 midnight, we have a birthday in our
dormitory, and there is a proper round of cakes and bumps. Birthday's are a nice
thing here, dorms have proper dorm "birthday manager" who formally circulates a
mail across the institute, arrange for cake and pastries, and also get the share
of bumps. Also, they ensure that there is a fair sprinkling of the feminine kind
around to witness the inanities other people impose on the birthday boy. Also
there is this tradition of getting one's face smeared by the birthday cake and
cream by a girl of your choice, if she obliges. Else some sympathetic lady comes
forth to do the honors. The face looks ugly, but I believe it is worth it. So I
cannot wait for mine to come by..�
Also my dorm (hostel) "D2" has a glorious past. It is well
known for it's special characteristic of "dunking" the other students. So I've
to live to the expectations as well.
It is 2:00 am and I head for the canteen, after promising to
wind up the day by 4:00 am. At 2:00 am, everybody is awake. There are meetings
scheduled at 3:00 am in the night sometimes 5:00 am and everything is a mess
now.
My standard of living has been decreasing everyday. Earlier,
I'd rarely wake up till 3:00 am, but now things keep getting worse each day. So
now I've woken up till 4:00, 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 am!!! It's our duty to tell
the birds that wake up guys!! We'r a kind of their alarm system.
That's about it. In case of a detailed description of life at
a B-school, a guy called Peter Robinson has done a far better job with
"Snapshots from Hell". In case this induces fear, then that is what it is meant
to do. Keeping sanity is an uphill task.
Hence, as a payment for writing this article for you guys, I
expect you all to prey for some less mortal souls like us who are facing this
music everyday!!!
Byeee and enjoy your life because you never know how bad it
can get!!!
