I look forward to
writing a post where I don’t begin with “Finally, I’m back”. But truth be told,
it has eluded me so far. Anyway, I’m back again.
This post is a long
overdue. I should have written it in March when one of the most wonderful journeys
of my life came to an official end. A journey that started on the 29th
of June, 2013. A journey that has given me a new identity. A journey that has
helped me improve on all spheres. A journey that has given me so many friends.
A journey that has left me with so many new experiences. A journey that has, in
a way, shaped my life for the years to come. A journey in a beautiful place
called IIM Kashipur.
It is good in a way
that it took me almost six months to come up with this post. That way, I am able
to look back at this journey with a clear, calm mind and present a balanced
picture of the days gone by.
It is also true that I
can write so much about this journey that I can easily fill a 200 page book.
But then again, the market has been flooded with books by IIT/IIM grads
recounting their stories that another book on the same topic would vanish
without a trace. I may still spin a fiction out of this some time. But for now,
I’ve tried to capture some of the real unforgettable memories, as briefly as possible.
Note:
This is not a story but a factual recollection of a few things here and there,
as it happened. This is not a fiction.
Warning:
This is a long post. I wrote it as it came to me. Hence this post could be a
boring monologue. If you’re looking to read something short and spicy, then
this is certainly not the post for you. But if you’re looking to read some
interesting things that happened in the life of a student in a new IIM, well,
then again this is not the post for you, for it may not be interesting. :P If
you’re still up for this, read on.
The
start:
I.I.M. The three
letters that I strived for. You can read about the arduous journey to make it
to an IIM here. If you had read that post, you’d understand how much it meant
for me to be in an IIM – to achieve a cherished dream. So naturally, I was elated.
The first few days were like a dream. Despite the heavy work load and the lack
of sleep, I was on cloud 9. I quickly adapted to the new lifestyle of endless
assignments, quizzes (in B-Schools, it is a practice to call ‘tests’ as
‘quizzes’), case studies, preparation for every class, projects, numerous
lectures, guest lectures, late-night sleeps, sleepless nights and so on. I
admit that it was not easy to adapt to this new lifestyle, but the people
around me were also experiencing the same challenge and their company made it
easy for me. It was that phase where I was still reveling at the fact that I
made it to an IIM and feeling overjoyed about it. That phase probably lasted a
month and a half, post which normalcy returned.
The
Speech:
Since the moment I got
into the institute, I was clear about one thing – that I’d make the best use of
these 2 years in every way possible. On
that note, I was a little enthusiastic in the first few days and tried to
participate in every activity possible. I won the Induction Quiz conducted by
the Quiz Club and that really set the tone. This enthusiasm made people take
notice of me in the initial days, I guess. It so happened that I was chosen to
give the Independence Day Speech. I have to thank my batchmate and friend Divya
Teja for recommending my name for the same. I felt it was a great honour and
that I should do justice to it. But it was also that phase where I felt
supremely confident about myself and everything I did. So I never bothered to
prepare a proper speech for the event. I just thought about a few points that I
would dwell upon and wrote them down in a tiny piece of paper. But it was also
one of those days where I felt that nothing can go wrong. I just stood before
the microphone and words flowed out of my mouth like a river approaching a
cliff. It was the best impromptu speech that I have given till date. The faculty and friends commended me and I
too felt that I did a good job. Only after returning to the hostel, I
recollected that speech and wrote it down, lest I forget what I spoke. You can read it here.
The reason I’m
mentioning this speech here is because it was that day I truly felt that I
belonged there and I can compete with my illustrious batchmates, many of whom
were from the IITs, the NITs and the like.
 |
| The Independence Day Speech |
Competitions:
It was September and
our seniors spoke to us on the importance of participating in external events
and competitions in order to build the repute of the institute. Ours was a new
IIM and we had to work towards building the brand of IIM Kashipur. Ours was
like a start-up and the onus was on us – the pioneering batches to set the tone
and build a structure for the years to come. This actually appealed to me. I
was very proud of my institute and I decided that I’ll do all that I can to
help build the brand image of the institute. So I decided to concentrate on
quiz competitions, where I felt that I was fairly good. This was when my
partnership with Arun started. Arun Kandikonda, my senior, was a product of
K-Circle – India’s oldest Quiz Club based in Hyderabad. We instantly hit it off
and what began was a wonderful partnership that yielded so many quiz wins. We
named our team ‘Et Splendidiora’ and by the time we were done, it was a popular
team in the B-School quizzing circuit. We managed to win some 20-25 quizzes –
online and offline – in those six months from September 2013 to February 2014.
This was followed by a runner-up finish in the Tata Crucible Campus Quiz at
Dehradun, with my own batchmate Mohit Mohan. The momentum slowed down in the
second year, but there again I won a couple of quizzes, got a second place
finish in a National-level debate and another prize in a writing contest. Now
when I look back, these competitions - especially the quizzes with Arun are
some of the unforgettable memories that are vivid in my mind from my Kashipur
days.
 |
| Tata Crucible Quiz |
 |
| Quiz on the Beach |
Initiatives:
With the objective of
building the brand name of the institute, we initiated many new things at IIM
Kashipur. There were 5 student committees
and 6 clubs when we came into the institute. The number stood at 8 committees
and 18 clubs by the time we bid our farewell. My seniors, juniors and my own
batchmates worked earnestly to make this possible. In addition to this, we also
brought in a structure, wherever necessary. For my part, I joined hands with a
couple of my seniors – Srikanth and Arun and we started this new Literary Club
and named it ‘Can’t Stop Reading’. In
the Quiz Club too, Arun & I initiated a few new activities and these were
further built on in the second year when my fellow Quiz Club members and I
introduced the Kashipur Quizzing League, the buzzer quizzes, Quriosity – the
Quiz Club Newsletter, ‘Out of Syllabus’ quiz and so on. The final icing in the
cake was our flagship quiz – ‘Rumble in the Jungle’. On the Lit Club side, we
introduced debates and other activities and the culmination point was the first
ever Lit Fest of IIM Kashipur, which my juniors organized with much fanfare. We
also introduced the Yearbook for seniors and then followed it up with a
Yearbook for our batch. The second Yearbook was brought out after much struggle
and I consider it as one of our biggest achievements. Our annual management
fest – Excelsior, our cultural fest – Agnitraya, the Leadership Conclave, the
Annual Magazine – Revista, the IT Conclave, Neev – the Operations Conclave, DigiGo
Social Media Week, MStore, Samanvaya – the HR Conclave, etc. were some of the
other initiatives that I was a part of in some small way or the other – mostly
as an anchor for these events, during this period.
But the biggest
initiative of all was bringing a TEDx event to our institute. I was happy that
I could play a significant role in this initiative.
 |
| Pongal Celebration - Another Initiative :-) |
Academics:
In the very first month
at Kashipur, I realized that this course is not going to be a smooth sailing as
far as academics was concerned. I realized that I have to work hard if I were
to get good grades. Relative grading made it more difficult to get good grades.
Not only should I do well, I have to do relatively well, compared to my
batchmates in order to earn good grades. I did struggle initially and for about
2-3 months, I did feel that I might have made a mistake by joining this course.
But things got better once I got into the groove. Still, this was not going to
be a course where I could top a class like I did in Engineering without much
effort. Here my priorities were clear. I wanted to do well in so many
activities, that academic excellence was not my top priority. Still, I wanted
to ensure that I finished above average and that I finally managed to do
comfortably. Choosing subjects in the domain I liked helped boost my academic
performance in the second year and I finished with an overall CGPA of 7.6,
which placed me in the top 30% of the batch. I was happy with that. Looking
back, I realize that I did have the capability to achieve a CGPA of 8.4 or
more, but that would have meant compromising on so many other activities that I
was able to do. The point here is not
that academics was not important in a B-School, but there are other things
which are equally important and it was important to prioritize things and
balance those priorities well. In the end, I was quite happy and satisfied with
my performance, both academically and otherwise.
The
Internship:
One important activity
for any B-Schooler in the first year is the Summer Internship Programme. I did
manage to get a good internship offer with Emerson Network Power. I was to fly
to Mumbai for two months to do my internship project in the field of Digital
Marketing. Those two months – April and May 2014 – were probably the most
comfortable and relaxed period during my two years of MBA. It was only during
that period, was I able to sleep well for 7-8 hours every day. I stayed in IIT
Bombay campus and had a wonderful time exploring the beautiful campus every
evening with my batchmates Arnab and Vibha, who also stayed in the same campus
during that period. It was my first time in Mumbai and I experienced everything
that a person visiting Mumbai for the first time experiences. Initially, it was
a shock for the first 10 days and slowly, the shock turned into awe and by the
time those two months were over, I was completely in love with this city. It is
a love story that continues to this day and I’ll write about this awesome city
in a separate blog post. Work was also
pretty enjoyable and I enjoyed travelling to my office in Thane every day from
the IIT campus via the famed local trains of Mumbai. That 60 day internship was
followed by a two week holiday at home in Coimbatore, before I started the
second year. These 75 days refreshed me both mentally and physically and all
signs of exhaustion that were present during the busy months of February and March
2014 were gone. I was now ready for second year.
The
juniors:
One of the things that
we all looked forward to eagerly in our second year was the imminent arrival of
our juniors. Everyone had their own reasons as to why they were so eagerly
looking forward to this ;-) For me, I was looking forward to having people take
forward the initiatives that were started by us. I was eager to share the
responsibilities that rested on my shoulders with them. I had a wonderful time
with my juniors during my second year and developed a good rapport with most of
them. They learnt a few things from me
and I learnt many things from them. Similarly, my other batchmates too had a
great time with the juniors. TEDx, Rumble in the Jungle, Lit Fest and so many
other events happened because of the efforts put in by them, along with my own
batchmates. I am not a tough taskmaster, but I had to act tough on a couple of
occasions. There were so many times when
a junior walked up to me for some advice or the other and I was glad to help
them in any way possible. Overall, the juniors were as much an integral part of
my IIM days as my seniors were. I cherish those memories and the bond
developed.
The
busiest period ever:
It is not often that I
use superlatives to describe anything, but I have termed this period from
August to December 2014 as the busiest period of my life so far, for it was
really that. I was occupied with so many things during this period on all
spheres that I slept for only about 4-5 hours on an average every day. I had
some work or the other to keep me occupied during this period. Be it academics
or club activities or the events that happened during this period, especially
TEDx, or some of the competitions that I took part in or getting ready for
placements, I was always occupied during this period. But this period also
yielded some of the happiest moments of my IIM days. I became a published
author during this period. The book I co-wrote with authors from other IIMs titled
‘Small Big Bang’ got published during this period. It was a proud moment and a
dream come true for me. Another dream – TEDxIIMKashipur happened successfully
during this period. My birthday that
happened during this period remains one of my happiest days in Kashipur. It was
celebrated with so much fanfare and the spontaneous outflow of love (that’s a
polite way of describing the birthday bumps :P) totally floored me (literally
and figuratively: P). This period drained me out so much that I spent the week
of term break in December resting in my room at Kashipur, while my batchmates
went home or went on a holiday to some of the picturesque locales near
Kashipur. This period threw up so many
challenges that I emerged a stronger person with a steely resolve after this
period.
One of the reasons why
I was busy during the above mentioned period was because of my involvement in
many student clubs and committees. During my second year, I was the Secretary
of the Quiz Club, Secretary of the Lit Club, Head of MStore, Executive Member
of the Magazine Crew, Executive Member of the Marketing Club and an Executive
Member of the Infrastructure & IT Committee. I was the reason why the then Student Council
framed a rule citing that no student can be a part of more than two clubs and
one committee. But all this did not happen by choice. It happened by
chance. If left to choice, I would have
been a part of just the Quiz Club and the Lit Club. But in some way or the
other, my presence was needed in all these clubs & committee and I accepted
the opportunity with open arms. I had a good time in the Quiz Club and the Lit
Club as mentioned above. I had a nice time in Infracomm, where my
responsibility was to coordinate with the concerned authorities and get the
problems in IT, electricity, carpentry and plumbing rectified in Hostel 1, whenever
necessary. I learnt quite a few things about networks, wifi and routers in this
role. I was also a part of the editorial team (Magazine Crew a.k.a. MagCrew)
that brought out the first and the second editions of our institute’s annual
magazine – ‘Revista’. In the Marketing
Club, I was a part of the team that conducted a series of competitions during
the DigiGo Social Media Week, including two brand quizzes. But my maximum time
was consumed by MStore, where we struggled a great deal. You can read about our
MStore story here. To sum it up, I can definitely say that I can’t talk about
my IIM days without mentioning the clubs and committees which consumed a
significant chunk of my time during my time at Kashipur.
 |
| A Buzzer Quiz in progress |
TEDxIIMKashipur:
The one event that
became a benchmark for all other events was this event – TEDxIIMKashipur.
November 9th, 2014 will remain etched in my memory forever. It was one of the biggest challenges that we
faced and it was one event where everything fell in place, just in time. It was
also one event that gave me an opportunity to lead from the front as a Licensee
of the event and brought out a new facet in me. I enjoyed my role and I have to
place on record that it was a massive team effort that made it happen. The
teamwork was on display the day before the event when everyone chipped in, one
way or the other and I felt completely happy that day. It was a huge team of 55
people and everyone performed his/her role to perfection and we managed to pull
it off. The event was widely praised and it was only on the night of November 9th
that I managed to sleep well in over 2 months. I will cherish the memories of
the event forever. What the event also did was convince me in the abilities of
my juniors and on that day, I got the confidence that these people will carry
forward the good work done by my seniors and my own batchmates in building the
brand image of our institute. Needless to say, they have ensured that a grand
TEDx event happens this year too and I am completely confident that it’ll be
bigger and better than last year’s event and raise the bar higher for the years
to come.
 |
| TEDxIIMKashipur Team |
The
Dream Quiz:
In January 2014, Arun
and I qualified for the finals of the prestigious Quiz on the Beach (QOTB), the
flagship event of TAPMI in Manipal. We had a wonderful time and it also gave us
an idea of hosting a similar quiz event in our institute. TAPMI had a beach
close to their campus and hence they made use of it. We had the famous Jim
Corbett National Park located close to our institute and that gave us the idea
of having a Quiz in the Jungle. In my second year, our team meticulously planned
for this quiz. A lot of constraints were there and we were not sure if we could
do this quiz until December, when we managed to get a venue sponsorship from
Aahana Resorts, located within Jim Corbett. That pepped us up and in two months
time, we managed to host the quiz which we called the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’
(RITJ). We gave away very good prize money and Mr. J Krishnamurthi, a renowned
Quizmaster from Hyderabad hosted the quiz. Despite many hurdles, the quiz
happened on February 7th, 2015 and it was indeed a dream come true.
The seeds were sowed for a bigger and a better RITJ this year. That was my last
hurrah, as far as events in IIM Kashipur were concerned. It was a fitting final
bow and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being a part of so many events
during the two years.
 |
| Rumble in the Jungle - The Dream Quiz |
Clamour
for Jobs:
For many, the prime
reason for struggling to make it to an IIM is to give a fillip to their career
with a good job. Ours being a new institute, we had a rolling placement process
– the companies keep coming throughout the year once the process starts and are
not confined to fixed days. Our season began in October 2014. Since then, the
companies kept coming at regular intervals and one by one, my batchmates
grabbed the job offers of their choice. Yes, it’s a choice. For my part, I
wanted to wait for the right company and the right profile that would suit me.
So I was in no hurry to apply for jobs. While the clamour for jobs made many in
my batch get into a frenzied mood, somehow I remained unaffected by all that
for a long time. Now looking back, I really don’t know what gave me the
confidence to take it light, but that allowed me to concentrate on organizing
events like TEDx and RITJ. At the back of my mind, I was confident that
something right will click and I just have to be patient. It did click, even if
it was a little later than I expected, but I was happy that I got the right
job.
The
irreplaceable loss:
I could have just
finished this post with the high points, but that wouldn’t do justice to all
the struggles experienced. No journey is without its fair share of struggles.
This journey was no different and I experienced my fair share of struggles on
so many fronts during these two years. If you had read that post on MStore,
you’d have got an idea about one of the major struggles that I experienced
during this period. There were many disappointments too, for no journey is
complete without experiencing the highs and the lows. But none of these
disappointments would even come close to the shock that we all experienced on
the morning of January 31st, 2015. One of our beloved batchmates,
the brilliant Bharat Bansal, who was also the topper of the batch, met with an
unfortunate accident and passed away. The fact that he was a nice person and a
good friend to all of us, made it even more difficult. A product of IIT Madras,
he was, in the words of our Dean, the most intellectual student to have studied
in our institute so far. The reason that I mention him here is to remind and
recollect the memories and cherish them. His was an irreplaceable loss. That
really affected all of us in the last two months of our stay at Kashipur. I
have no shame in admitting that he was a much better writer than me. Yet, he
always insisted that I edit his articles which he wrote for our annual
magazine. From your heavenly abode, if you’re reading this, please know that we
miss you and your memories will always be cherished by us, my dear friend.
The
last few days:
The last few days in
Kashipur weren’t really the best of days, atleast for me. On the one hand, it
was a struggle to ensure that we got the Yearbook for our batch that we
promised. On the other hand, the ideal job that I was waiting for was not
coming. As of February 21st, 2015, our course was over and we were
free to leave the campus. The Convocation was scheduled for the 17th
of March, 2015. So people who had already got their jobs packed their bags and
left the campus by the end of February. Some people went on tours to the
choicest of places like Goa, Nepal and the like. It was at this point, I began
to feel a little pressured for putting off the task of finding a job. I was
left with no choice but to apply for any company that came for placements then.
The other struggle was the numerous issues that we faced during the final few
days with regards to our Yearbook. Since I had taken up the responsibility of
the same, I had to work to sort out those issues and get some clearances and
ensure that the Yearbook got delivered in time for our Convocation. In the last
few days, we also had to hand over some important responsibilities like TEDx,
RITJ and so on to our chosen successors. All these tasks ensured that I had to
stay on in Kashipur till Convocation, even though many of my batchmates had
left. It was in March 2015, in the days leading to our Convocation that I felt
lonely for the first time in Kashipur. I was desperate to go on a holiday, but
could not. A couple of good companies with the right kind of profile that I was
hoping for were to come for placements then and I had to ensure that I crack
one of them. I eventually cracked one of them. In short, the last few days are
something that I wouldn’t like to remember, but they bear testimony to some of
my struggles in Kashipur.
The
Proud Moment:
The day of Convocation
finally dawned upon us on the morning of March 17th, 2015. All
people who had left for their homes and elsewhere returned one last time with
their parents, siblings and relatives in tow. It was as much a proud moment for
them as it was for us to finally graduate from an IIM after two years of hardwork.
Yes, it’s a hard task to be frank. People only talk about the struggle to get
into a B-School like an IIM, but it is equally difficult to graduate
successfully. So it was something that we all eagerly waited for and the day
was finally upon us. My parents and my brother came to Kashipur for the same.
What made it more special for me was that I was awarded the ‘Medal for the Best
All-Round Performance’ for the class of 2015. I was overwhelmed and so were my
parents and my brother. The efforts put in towards building the brand image of
the institute through various events, competitions, clubs, and committees and
so on, probably helped in me getting the medal.
It was a surreal experience to pose for newspapers and give interviews.
That was indeed my proudest moment in the institute. I wouldn’t call it the
happiest because so many other emotions were running through my mind then,
including the fact that it was finally time to bid farewell to the institute
and its people. But it was a very proud moment even for my parents and brother.
My most profound feeling at the end of that day was that of sincere gratitude.
I felt thankful to all the people who had helped me in that journey, in some
way or the other. I’ll never forget that day.
 |
| My Proudest Moment in IIM Kashipur |
The
Job:
It was only a week
after my convocation that the fate of my job got sealed. On the last day of my
stay in Kashipur, I gave an interview via video-conferencing and on the 24th
of March, I was summoned to the Head Office of Indofil Industries in Mumbai. I
had to take a detour from Kashmir, where I was holidaying with my parents, to
fly down to Mumbai. I got the job that day and I flew back that very night to
Kashmir to rejoin my parents in their holiday. It was all like a scene lifted
out of some movie, where there’s a fairytale ending. That’s how it really was.
In the end, the three months of struggle since the start of the year bore fruit
and it all ended well. I went back home to Coimbatore a happy man with a job in
hand and a medal-winning performance to show for. Now looking back, I can
safely say that I did the right thing in waiting for the right job. Yes, it was
a risk laden with so many things and I had to bear so many talks and so many
unheeded advices, but in my mind I was very clear about one thing. I would
rather wait now for the right job, than take something that wouldn’t
suit me and regret later. It did pay off at the end, but it is not something
that I’d advise anyone to do.
The
Legacy:
It has been more than
six months now since the journey ended (infact, it’s been seven months exactly
today) and this time has certainly helped me to reflect and look back at the
journey with pride. These six months have brought in so much happiness and
cheer, that it has reiterated my belief that it was all worth it. I now work as
a Manager in the CEO’s Office (called Growth Office) in Indofil Industries Ltd.
and I have enjoyed this journey so far. Time and again when my boss mentions
that me and a few of my colleagues in my department are the bright young minds
from IIM, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride and gratitude towards my
institute. But it also means that I have to live up to the expectations that
people have of me. The same is true for my batchmates too. It is a huge
challenge, no doubt, but it’s something that we are learning to take it in our
stride and face it with a sense of pride and a smile.
Parting
Shots:
Now I am sure if you’ve
read till here, some questions might be cropping up in your mind. What about
all the masala - the masala that Chetan Bhagat cleverly employed in his stories
about an IIT and an IIM? Well, all institutes have their own masala elements.
One of the frequent questions that I often get asked is if I found a girl in
IIM Kashipur. I blame Chetan Bhagat for doing this. Fortunately or
unfortunately, I never had such luck, but it never bothered me. I was clear as
to what I wanted from the institute – the IIM tag that I can proudly flaunt and
make up for my IIT miss. I got that and much more. I also got so many friends
that I’ll cherish that association for life. The hostel wing that I stayed in
was called ‘The Hive’. We made up that name and I wrote a song for it. Some of
the best memories of my life so far are associated with ‘The Hive’.
 |
| The Hive |
It’s always
a debate as to whether it is the institute that makes its people or if it the
people who make the institute. I strongly believe in the latter and I was
blessed for the wonderful people that I spent this journey with. I am not a fan
of Chetan Bhagat, but I really liked his parting shots in ‘Five Point Someone’.
So I am borrowing the same here. I may have graduated from the institute and
may have moved out of Kashipur, but a part of my soul still resides there. It’s
probably taking a stroll down the corridors of ‘The Hive’ or in the H1
Classroom or holding a microphone in the auditorium or having a cup of chai in
the night canteen. It will always be there, for sure.
- Ashwin Murali
PS:
I’m a firm believer in the idea that one swallow does not make a summer.
Likewise, none of the above events/initiatives/whatever are one-man efforts. It
never was, it can never be and it will never be a one-man effort. Every single
thing mentioned in this post is a result of efforts put in by a lot of people.
I am just one of them. Keeping in line with that spirit, I’ve taken care to
mention we, us, ours, everywhere. If I had missed it somewhere and mentioned I,
me or mine anywhere, then please know that it’s a genuine mistake and that’s
not how it was intended to be.
