The First Module “Blues”

Well the first module started on a really interesting note for everyone of us. NITIE is one of the most awesome place to do an MBA from. They don’t call it “God’s Own Campus” just for the name sake. You need to come here to find out the reason. And for people like me, who are in pure love with the rain, this is nothing less than a heaven on Earth. Well I made it through the committee interviews and made it to “THE” committee of NITIE … Team IMPACT … Well this committee has the same effect on everyone as the name suggests. I really wanted to be a part of the same and here I am. No wonder I am so ecstatic. Well the updates on IMPACT later on. Let us focus on something interesting that has been happening with me of late.

Lady Luck has been shining way too often on me for my comfort. Two incidents in three days have literally forced me to realize that it’s no more engineering and it’s no more RKGIT. Things don’t work out the same way it used to in B.Tech. Things haven’t really changed for me until the day before yesterday. Same last row occupancy. Coming late to the class. High dependance on Mr. Google for the mid term tests. Partying on every other occasion (used to create occasion just for the sake of partying).

So it all started day before yesterday in the Industrial Engineering test. I, as usual, was late and strategically placed a chair in the last row as soon as I came in ( the row which was unusually full on the same day .. Courtesy the mid term test ). Just when I started the paper and thought that I have also sneaked in by placing a chair in the first row, there came an announcement. “Students who are not finding it comfortable sitting in the last row can come in the first row and give their test”. The gaze of the professor unmistakeably fixed upon my face. I could not think of any excuse ( Seriously what excuse could have I formed … “Sir I am very comfortable sitting here in hodge podge on this broken chair” … Prof would have replied,”Boy I am very comfortable putting your answer sheet aside and giving you an F Grade”). Well I got up and moved to the first row, which was almost empty except for a few seats, the occupants of whom were looking as disappointed by their fate as I was. The interesting part. There were so many seats empty in the first row but I don’t know what was going through my mind that I went straight and got myself seated in the seat just opposite to the professor’s desk. May be I was in too much of a shock to think of anything at that time. The next one and a half hours a lot less depressing, courtesy to UPTU, which has at least taught each and every one of its student one thing – How to fill 40 sheets of answer booklet completely and convincingly even when you don’t know anything. And while everyone in the back rows was busy copying from notebooks, mobiles and what nots, I was busy conjuring some cock and bull stories.

I thought that I got unlucky that day and it won’t carry forward in the assignments and tests that were to follow. But you can never predict anything could you. The Google and The Wikipedia which has always came to my rescue, too betrayed me in the Stats test. I somehow managed to cruise through that test too ( which was an open book test ). Luckily I liked this subject quite a bit and the concentration that I spared in the classes of Stats came to my rescue where the Online Gurus failed. Just when I thought that it couldn’t go any worse, tragedy struck today, once again.

We were supposed to give a presentation on our assignment today. The presentation was scheduled in the morning, but just when my group was queued in next, professor decided to postpone the presentation to the afternoon ( By afternoon he meant 6:30 PM) … Well my group worked really hard for the assignment, while I just sat there as an observer, praising them for the commendable effort they put in for this project. They kept playing all the while with .doc, .ppt and .xls, while I was either involved with my lappy, my I-Pod or my favorite things – sleep. So all I needed to do was to accompany them to the presentation where I was supposed to take the back seat when one of the guys presented it before the class. So when I entered the classroom ( as usual late ) in the evening, I found my group standing near the screen ready for the presentation. As soon as they saw me, they shouted my name in an unison ( I still can’t decide whether they did it coz of happiness, relief, anger or sheer disgust?? ). As soon as I reached there, the professor asked for my roll no to mark my attendance. Filled with glee and pride I replied,”191, Sir…” . And as soon as I turned, there came this horrifying announcement. Professor called out,” So Roll 191 would present this solution in front of the class now”. Trust me the shock and disappointment that was on my face was nothing as compared to what was on my group member’s face.

Well even though things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to, I still managed to do relatively well in each of them ( even in the presentation, which was like giving an impromptu on something as technical as Industrial Engineering ). Nonetheless, all these events were particularly exciting and even if I get a chance I wouldn’t go back and change these events. These were few awesome learning experiences for me. And suddenly I have realized that this is no more an engineering college. I have moved on to a B-School. And what an awesome B-School this is. The place we all know as “NITIE”.