Not just a Study Group

Well, its been ages since I wanted to organize a lot of stuff (online and offline). The last 3 term breaks were not really "breaks" in the correct sense of the term. All sorts of commitments kept me away from the menial tasks that make me feel comfortable with myself. Finally today I felt relieved when the last of my things went to their right places.

However, like it sometimes happens, I went over certain things which reminded me of the last few terms. And, the thoughts left a certain hollow within. The “enthu-cutlets” are no more. Just 4 terms, a rush towards nothing, a little impatience here and a little enthu there! Apu, Chacha, Nikhil, I and Kangaroo Rajat became more of friends who hung out than study group mates.

With the kind of backgrounds we come from, there was no way we could have met anywhere else but in ISB. Ours must be the only group who took sadistic pleasure in public embarrassment of the others in the group. Oh! How Apu (the lawyer) and I kept hurling unpleasantries at each other! Rajat was forever the “soft” target and Gautam “Chacha” must never have faced obscenity at such a level from people almost a generation younger to him. And, what should I say about Nikhil. He was targeted from day 1 for being a “smooth operator”. We were seldom on the same plain while studying. But when it was party time, we were ALWAYS in rhythm. Never to miss a party, our camaraderie was always at its peak during such events.

And, now when I look back (though is hardly been about 2 months), I feel the pinch of not being a full time “cutlet”. I know we all will be in various parts of the country within less than 5 months. God knows what organizations we would be taking to the gutters. But, I hope we get the time to come back and relive some of these moments. I miss you guys.

Sleepless Nights and the Peacocks

Once again, the same old story! I kept fighting with my sleep and trying to complete the Corp Fin assignment and the Entrepreneurship survey. And why?

I had a long day today. After classes, Apu and I met Anand Agarwal (in Ankit biscuits) as we are about to finish the entrepreneurship report that we are writing on him and his business. It took us a long time and by the time I came back, my ELP (Experiential Learning Project) Group was ready to take some more time out of my already miserable life. We booked the tickets for going to Delhi in this term break to meet the Indian Railway Officials.

So, one thing led to the other and yet again, here I am. Up and awake at 04:38 am. And every time I stay up post 3, there is this commotion I hear behind my quad. The peacocks start screaming for some unknown reasons. I used to like it a lot initially. Now, I could do without it.

The Football League

The Football league finally came to an end yesterday. And we did not do too well! The first of its kind, the Football League in ISB was formed in Term 3. We have 5 teams named the Blazing Reds, the Icy Blues, the Lightning Blacks, the Wild Greens and the Golden Rays (the best team, MY team! :-) ).

It was a term full of some exiting football where each team played all the other teams to secure a place in the semi-finals. We played the final do-or-die qualifier with the Wild Greens to beat them 1-0 and entered the semis. However, by this time, we had found our momentum (since we are made of players who have never played together before, it did take us some time to play as one unit).

The final and the match for the 3rd place were held on Sunday, the 16th of August. The match for the title, between the Blacks and the Blues was a thriller. Blacks were leading 2-0 when Viegas, the magician, kicked a beauty to reduce the lead. The match ended 2-2 and there was no decision in the extra time too. Even the penalty shoot outs were 4-4. By that time, all of us were dying with anticipation. Finally the Blues scored over the Blacks in the sudden death to win the title in a match that could have gone either way.

Then WE had our match for the 3rd place. Like I mentioned earlier, we were finally playing as a team. We went in to take a 2-0 lead. Ajay Paul, our captain, scored with a curving kick from the half line. The Reds were no less though. They evened with us to make the score 2-2. However, Ajay once again got through them to make it 3-2. And then, with 8 minutes left in the match, the last of our balls joined its counterparts on the terrace of the recreation centre. We must have kicked almost 5 balls onto that inaccessible terrace and we had to call off our match for that silly a reason!

Though we were leading, we were declared a joint 3rd. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! And that’s how the football league's season 1 ended for me. I am eagerly waiting for Term 5, when the teams shall lock their horns for the next battle!

Faculty - Term 1

Which school is better ISB or IIM (A/B)? There can not be a straight answer to this question. These schools are different in so many ways that there can never be a like to like comparison between them. However, within one term in ISB and I know at least one area where ISB should be way ahead. The faculty! ISB has already exposed me to some of the best professors that I have seen in my whole life. Bruce Allen is the one that I personally adore. He is the Professor of Business and Public Policy, Regional Science, and Transportation at Wharton and also the Director of the Wharton Transportation Program. He is one of the visiting faculties that we have here at ISB.

Prof. Allen taught us Microeconomics. The first interaction that we had as a class with him was one email that he sent to all of us. Usually all class related communication is already in the course details and additional information is sent by TAs. I especially liked the gesture that the Prof. himself sent out an email to the class. However, as we were to learn soon, Prof. Allen himself sent all his communication to us. The following lines in the first email kind of gave me jitters and I was curious to see this guy. “…..Otherwise, there’s nothing else to do except come with a healthy appetite for learning (this has a double meaning as you’ll soon see!) and discussion.”

The first time I saw him, he came across as a giant. He must be taller than 6 feet and has a very domination presence in class. Because of his stature and the beard, for a moment I could not help but think that he must be a biker by passion and must own a Harley Davidson or something like that. :-) But, the best thing about him is his energy. He must be close to 60 yrs of age and yet he still reeks of energy and enthusiasm. His syllabus was vast. But, it was the most interesting part I learnt in ISB till date. Game theories were so much fun because of the unique style he explained them in. And I have never understood an alien concept like I understood insurance and warranty. The man was just too good in class.

Then there were Mark Finn and John Zhang from Kellogg and Wharton respectively. Both were amazing in their own ways. Mark Finn made Financial Accounting extremely easy to understand and implement because of his systematic teaching. He understands accounting practices in just about any place on the face of the planet. And he gave some very interesting examples from around the globe. Whereas as John Zhang has this amazing sense of humor. He uses that to quote some crazy stuff which eventually helps imprint the concepts on the subject in your minds. His last class on marketing communication is etched on my mind and I think it shall stay there for a long long time.

Would I be able to learn from such people anywhere else? I don’t think it is possible. And this is what I guess makes ISB unique. This opportunity to learn from the best of different schools around the world adds so much to our learning experience.

Mid Terms – Term 1

“When senior managers in a corporate commit blunders they like to term these mistakes as Learnings”. (Leeeeaaaarrrrrnnings – as Mr. Ramesh Samudrala would like to put it!). I had some instances in my professional life when I could relate to the above comment. I don’t know what others would feel about it nor am I going to ask. It better is left for everyone to read and smile to himself.

Let me come to the issue at hand. We got our course packs for the first term in ISB and that was the first time I kind of heard the words “mid-terms”. Anything that read “exams” was too far off as we had just begun our course. I was more exited about the fact that I would be learning new subjects like Marketing Management, Financial Accounting and Managerial Economics. I had statistic in my blood. So that was not a worry at all.

New people, new subjects, new ways of learning and birthday dunkings were the major attractions for me. Then there were also lectures to attend, presentations of clubs and such activities that were equally important. I was under the impression that I had a whole year to get accustomed to this new life that I am in.

The pre-reads for classes kept getting postponed in the other activities that I tried to be a part of. I sat at the LRC for studies and made some new friends there too. Everything was going fine. Except the fact that the so called distant mid-terms were not so distant anymore! One fine day I (most of us in the class of 2010 actually) realized that the mid-terms were like just around the corner. And thus started the desperate attempt to catch up!

Believe me, nothing changed much. I still had the same number of classes per week. The amount of pre-reads was no different. Activities other than classes were also more or less similar. What really changed was that I had to also cope up with everything I had missed in the earlier 2 weeks. And boy! It was not possible. Not for me at least.

This resulted in the same old desperate attempt behind studies. Sleepless nights, selective studies and a feeling that I was better off with my job (this struck me more often that the others). I mean we all are used to the grind, but is that what I am doing an MBA for? Whatever happened to value addition! I had a real bad week. And a mid-term which could surely have been much better! Hence, I am scribbling on this online space.

If I want to be a manager, let me like some managers that I have met in the past call my behavior in before the mid-terms a leaaaaaarrrrrrning. I know that if I repeat this, if will be unforgivable. But, just for the sake of the first time, allow me to call it a ‘learning’. So here is the summary of my learning. ‘There are loads and loads of things that can be done at ISB. But, you can not do them all. You got to prioritize. (I know everybody knows that, but there is a saying in Marathi. “Kalatay Pan Walat naahi” – though you understand that you should not do something, you can’t help and do it nevertheless). So prioritize. And if grades is among your priorities, dude study! Grades won’t come easy here. If you leave something for tomorrow, leave it assuming that the tomorrow is never coming. Whatever you leave, is gone.

There is another saying that I would like to bring your attention to. Preaching is easier than practicing. I have tried giving myself some gyaan here. But, I hope I do not sit after the term – 1 exams and type similar things all over again. If I do, then there is no difference between me and the managers that I do not want to follow. And if that is truly the case, then I do not deserve to be in ISB.

To end: the ISB experience is too prodigious. God, just give us the strength to focus our energies on what is the best for us.

Of Birthdays and Dunkings.

You come to ISB and realize that there is this awesome ritual of dunking people into the school's swimming pool on the eve of their birthdays. Great practice, and a very good way of bonding. Supposedly in a corporate way! But I, in particular, never really liked this "oh so formal" way of celebrating birthdays. What happened to wishing like men? What happened to raising people in mid-air and bashing them till their chairs are out of shape? I was dejected!!!

And, then comes 12/05/2009. Vinit's Birthday! Vinit (Garg; Section E) is that one guys who is always at the forefront when it comes to having a gala time. Be it the dunking sessions or the gate-crashing of parties, our man is always a sport. And when it is the birthday of such a guy, it is only obvious that the celebrations have to be unique. Hence, a plan was chalked out.

I found if very difficult to finalize a gift for him. After pondering over it for hours, I thought of the best gift I could give to a friend in ISB. How many people in the Class of 2010 will actually end up with swollen as*es on their birthdays? Hardly anyone, right? So, then is this not a unique gift for a unique person? The best part is that, it would also be very hard to forget such a special gift. :-) Believe me, not every one is open to taking multiple kicks that are being hammered on his behind. You have to have loads and loads of _____ to undergo such plight. And, who else would be the idle guy but Vinit?

And so, as usual, we reached the pool at around 11:45 pm. Me and Apu have not been playing football for some time now. So we started warming up for the kicking session. I wanted to score the maximum today and hence was extremely keen about stretching before the onslaught (kaun mar raha hain, aur kaun onslaught face karne ki baat kar raha hain...). I even wore my shoes for the occasion. :-)

Nevertheless, by the time people arrived, we were more than ready for the bumps session that happens the "good old" way. Sushant happened to provide a detailed explaination for the same earlier. Here it is…

"Another version in India practiced usually among boys is to hold the arms and legs of the birthday boy, and kick him in the buttocks with or without shoes. This can be done gently, or in a manner which causes pain depending on the level of frustration the kicker has on the kicked. The belief is that all anger and bitter feelings which the kickers have on the kicked are vented and forgotten on the birthday of the kicked - wikipedia".

Satiety!!! Have you known it? Can it be better than a group of "men" deriving sadistic pleasure out of birthday bashing a friend? Not at all...With each kick, Vineets face changed expression. From a wide grin while being lifted up, to a "Please! I have had enough" expression after numerous kicks, it was great fun to watch the various forms his face took. Thanks Vinit for being such a sport and giving us a chance to celebrate in the fashion in which we did. And I hope we have many more celebrations like today. What a Birthday...!!!

Life at ISB Begins...!!!

The last few days of my job were really hectic. However, I did pull out some time to go through some emails written by fellow admits to ISB. And for a lot of reasons, I was disappointed. I was wondering whether the class would actually have people such as I kept reading on the yahoo group.

Then I went home and did not have any time whatsoever for apprehensions. Finally the day arrived. I came to ISB in the morning on 11th April 2009. I was extremely happy with my quad. My room is in a cosy corner of SV-3 and I ended up having good quad-mates. The quad itself is amazing. I think I shall have a very comfortable year agead on that front. The first day was registration day and it was quite smooth. The usual buzz around was, "Hey, whats your name, where are you from and whats your work experience???". When you see so many new people it gets really difficult to remember who was who. Met lots of people through out the day. (Also got a shock when Anish told me he would not be joining.)

From 12th onwards my life has been on the run. Studies haven't started yet. However, the previous batch has organised a great orientation week for us. The lectures do get quite boring. However, instead of the arbit introductions, we got to meet a limited groups of people through various activities such as the team building and treasure hunt. I must say that the last week did help me know some people in a significant way, exposed me to lot more things about ISB and kinda helped me get a feel of what my year ahead is going to be. The 2009 batch did do a good job of getting us to ISB.

And as far as my apprehensions are concerned, they all died after coming here. A significant number of students are still from the IT background. However, the sheer variety of the work experiences is amazing. I came across some people who really made me say, "Wow, this guy is good." There are people from SO many walks of life. And its not the end yet. I have hardly met people here. There are 576 of them and I am hoping to make some ever lasting friendships with some real achievers. I had an idea that ISB would add significant value to me. But, now I think ISB is going to surpass all my expectations.