Saturday, July 12, 2014

First two weeks @IFMR

It was 6 AM in the morning. My mother was almost done with those customary rituals that we have
before leaving home for a holy purpose. After spoiling my last 4 days at the railway counters in vain for
that elusive tatkal ticket, I had finally decided to take a flight to Chennai.

11 AM and I was already above the Indian Ocean, fighting so many thoughts that debarred me to enjoy
the scenic beauty beneath. Not that I was not used to travelling alone, but at the airport, waiting for a
taxi, I did feel as lonely as a landline telephone. In the meanwhile, I had the most expensive maggi of my
life, which taught me a lesson of self-control with every bite.

Taxi came soon and after a glossary of awkward expressions, I managed to tell him where I wanted to
go. After finishing the formalities, I was already in Sri City by 3 PM.




Those untraveled steps outside our comfort zone, which we conveniently dodge. For me, coming to
IFMR was indeed one of them. I came alone, but the baggage was heavy. The baggage of apprehensions
flirting with bundles of expectations. It was like being in a room full of strangers. Amidst everyone
fighting their own mini battles, we shared the same dreams with different eyes.




The first week just rolled past by. Getting to know each other, cribbing about weather, food, Acs and
what not , trying to present the "best me" and the immense loneliness of that. Life inside the campus
was consuming enough to let everything take a backseat. We were introduced to our faculty members
who tried to tell us how stressfully exciting our next two years will be. It was fun in it’s purest academic
form.
The second week, the real world, and the transition was as smooth as switching on to something as
exciting as Game of Thrones from those epic Ekta Kapoor's sitcoms. The mind was ready, the heart and
the body wasn't. Classes began and we took those baby steps towards becoming future managers.




As I write this, I am done with half a dozen tests, a dozen assignments and presentations and most of the
acquaintances have inched closer to become friendships. My life has been upped a gear and I am
enjoying every bit of this madness.




If Engineering is a battle, MBA is war where you just have to keep running and running to stay ahead in
the race. As they say, some wars are just about fighting, beyond the grey shades of winning and losing.

The journey has just begun and so has the dream. More to come later..........



Urmilesh
PGDMB15