How to waste your life's 2 best years

One of the reasons i had to struggle very hard at the end of the term was because I was involved in numerous activites that consumed lots of time. But I do not repent it. Is life only about studying ? Or is it about enjoying it to the maximum ? Should i not make full use of all the opportunities that life gives us ? This is the question i want to ask those of my batchmates whose sole purpose is studying. These guys mug all day, dont take part in any events, dont play any sports, dont go to parties , curse us for organising Events which cause them to miss their preciuos study time . I pity them becsue they are wasting away their life. No other place will offer you more chances to enjoy extra-curriculars than IITB . But to them it does not matter .

Many people will find it hard to believe but we got a lot of flak for the Systems Continuum which we organised so successfuly. And this flak we got from our batchmates for making them attend this event when exams were just 15 days ahead. I ask them - " Are we doing this for ourselves ? " . What will we gain out of the event . Its for the betterment of our school . And if acads is the quesiton, then the worst sufferers are thr organisers who have to work day and night to make the event a success. And yet we get such a reaction from our class . It hurts ! Everywhere we see the same set of guys working - be it events , or placements, or sports. Rest are either just plain lazy of dont work because it will take them away from their studies. And mind you, this kind of attitude comes mostly from people who have some amount of work-ex with them. You would assume that they will be more mature, but then thats how it is .

Is MBA just about studies ? How will you become a better manager if you mug all day ? Ask Nandan Nilekani, Ask Gururaj Deshpande , Ask Vinod Khosla what was their biggest learning at IITB . And their unianimous reply is that the most they learnt was when they organised events such as MOOD INDIGO . It tuaght them the nitty-gritty of mangement. It taught them how to deal with difficult people. It taught them how to manage in a cash crunch . It tuaght them how to work in teams. These are the things which no one will teach at any B-School . Is there any better way to learn teamwork than by playing team sports ? Is their any better way to learn to take defeat in your stride unless you have played and lost in a game ? And yet people think that these activities are a waste of time and time is better utilized studying.

IF you ask these "study-oriented" guys then they will give you their frank opinion - " We have come here to study, not to waste our two years " . I want to ask everyone an honest question - Who is really wasting their two years ?

To Hell and Back !!

I made my last post on a day when i was feeling very down and out. Surely, it could not get any worse . But i was to be proven wrong !! Feb 11 to Feb 23rd have been like a nightmare. Projects, Quizzes, Assignements, EndTerms all went by in a blur of books, xeroxes, slides, Notes . Sleep was a luxury which i could ill afford. A cumulative sleep of 50 hours in these 12 days is what i got (Of couse the problem being compunded my singular inability to sleep in the afternoon and a very bad cold which hindered my night snooze). But blurry , puffy eyes and numerous headaches later, here I am , having survived the toughest 20 days of my life.

I have never worked harder, never cursed Profs this much , never more envied those who dont care about grades, than in these 20 days . The work was back-breaking .The temptation to leave evrything to fate was very strong. But i Held on . If only I would have studied at the beginning of the term. Sadly I suffer from the natural Engineering habit of not studying since the beginning. MBA at SJMSOM is not for the weak-hearted . But out of this , comes a feeling of having done what i would have thought impossible a year ago . It is amazing how you find the internal strength to survive against all odds. My willpower remained my true friend and saw me through .
Now just wanna close my eyes and sleepppppppp.........:)

The true taste of MBA

Till you dont do it, you dont feel it and you can now way predict it. Until now I had only heard about how MBA will make you work like never before, more than 5 hours of sleep will be a luxury, but had never experienced it. SJMSOM was rigorous but at no point I had felt that this was getting out of hand. But the last 10 days have given me the true taste of MBA.

We had a big event Systems Continuum 2006 on 4th and 5th of February. I was a member of the core organizing team and while the preparattion had started 1 month in advance, the last week before the event was extremly hectic. So many things to do and so little time . Only when you organize such an event that you realize that so many small things have to be done to make sure that the event goes off smoothly. We had to work day and night and at the same time ensure that we did not miss out on Classes and quizzes. To our credit, we did manage to pull off the event very successfully. And i can tell you that when the event finished, we were literally on top of the world. We had managed to pull it off.

If we thought that we could relax for one day, then we were very wrong. This term we have projects for all 5 subjects and none of them had progressed beyond the drawing board. Submission of 2 projects was today . I had to work even more than I did for Sys Conti. I havent slept more than 5 hours for the last 10 days . And in the last 2 days a cumulative sleep of 6 hours. Of course, there is no respite in the classes either. Every other day we had quizzes to give or assignements to submit . But I manage to do it . I dont think that I have ever worked harder in my life. MY mind and body wanted to give up but i soldiered on !! Somehow i was sure that if i could make it saturday then i would be fine .

And i have made it to Saturday . We now have 2 days of Holidays . Although 2 projects are to be submitted on Monday and there are 2 presentations as well, but it wont be as hectic in the weekend . Oh and i almost forgot, I also had to play Cricket Matched for the SJMSOM team in the intra-IIT tournament . So, more tiredness and less sleep. Thankfully, we have won the first match and are in the 2nd round .

Our SOM Assiciation elections were held this wednesday and i was elected as the Social Secreatry . This is a very responsible post and I hope i can do justice to it. Our exams are starting from next saturday and now have to prepare for that . I guess I can only relax on 23rd when our exams finally end. Until then -- " Lage Raho !! "

P.S. Now i realize why IITians sing - " Dinbhaar Kaam nahi Araam , Koi ye bataye kahan jaaye " .

Business World Rocks !! Hilarious Ranking

Do check out this ranking of B-Schools by BusinessWorld. They must be the most hilarious rankings ever published. They have given Fore School of Management the rank of Best B-School in India !! . I cant stop laughing !! Guess now we know which is the richest B-School in India ;). Never thought BW would go to such ridiculous lengths. I am betting that the issue will feature atleast a two page ad from Fore (With a promise of ads for 1 year probably) . Wonder what else BW is being offered. Read it here .

Last year India Today had published an equally ridiculous ranking and now BW is following them . Wonder what journalism in India is coming to.

The reality of Strikes

Gaurav Sabnis makes a very poignant and disturbing post . Read it here