I completed one full week on the campus today. I know it is not a long enough time to feel proud of, but then realising a long cherished dream is big in itself. And the first seven days filled with such moments is bigger still, and definitely worth reminiscing about.
So much has happened in these seven days that it is not possible for me to cover every significant experience. That is one reason why a sensible soul suggested that I maintain a repository of daily experiences, but me being me, I did not even attempt to do so.
Cut to the point. The first day on campus- I somehow felt that I would be highly excited in the moments before I get the first glimpse of the scenic IIM Lucknow campus. But, things in real life seldom turn out exactly the way we have been imagining them to be. And so, as things turned out, I and the friends I was travelling with, were bored with the travel and drained out by carrying our luggage across the length and breadth of the Lucknow station because of a short cut that we stupidly followed without gathering any authentic information on it. Thus in the journey from the station to the campus, I was hardly excited about the awaiting moments. But thankfully, the excitement did notch up by couple of places once we entered the campus; and then it stayed at that level for the rest of the day.
The next thing I will vividly remember for a long time is my first reaction on seeing the hostel rooms and more specifically the loos. Never having had to stay in a hostel before, I was not aware of the ground realities, and the hostel conditions came as a rude shock. The sight of lizards and frogs moving with absolute abandon in the rooms, and a loo that seemed to have been placed right in the middle of the amazon was enough dose for me to get disappointed. But then the room was properly cleaned by the cleaning staff here, and it did seem largely inhabitable which lifted my spirits quite a bit. About the loos, well the filth and the myriad of insects are still there and I have learnt to make peace with that situation, though they are now in much better a condition than before.
While this was one experience slightly on the disappointing side, one bright spin-off on the first day was meeting a whole lot of batch mates, first in the hostel and then almost everywhere on the campus.
That was pretty much all that we did on that day. We were expecting a call from the seniors that night, but that did not happen. Evidently, as it later turned out to be, the seniors had decided to start the fun from the next evening. Anyways, the next morning saw the beginning of our induction ceremony. I knew that an induction ceremony cannot be interesting, considering its very purpose and nature, but I was hoping against hope that somehow things would be different at an IIM. I was comprehensively proven wrong, as the induction turned out to be as boring as it was during my engineering days.
I have so much to say about all the “fun” that we had, or rather the seniors had at our expense. But clearly this is not something to boast about (!) and I would shelve the topic right here. The first week at an IIM is a very hectic one, and it was not any different here. On an average, our batch must have slept for about a couple of hours a day for the first few days. I, however, could not restrict sleep to less than four hours. Coming down from a healthy twelve hours a day, you must say even that is an achievement.
During the induction ceremony, I distinctly recollect going on a rather long after-dinner stroll with some of the new friends that I had made on the campus. The stroll turned out to be pretty long, because we got got lost en route. Jokes apart, the campus is such a beautiful place for such leisurely walks that I hope I indulge in such walks at reasonably frequent intervals during my stay here.
Oh, I am into the fifth or sixth paragraph and I have not even mentioned food so far; that is so unlike me! Well, we all know that mess food is not exactly comparable to your mother’s cooking, but it should still be edible. Here at IIM Lucknow, things are a bit weird. The morning and evening breakfast meals are pretty good, both in terms of variety and quality. Whereas, the lunch and dinner meals are not all that good. But all in all, the food is good- almost always edible and quite frequently enjoyable too, what more could I ask?
Our classes began on the following Thursday. Insofar I have faced only a handful of lectures. So my opinions voiced in this post might not gel with my long-term opinions. Talking purely out of personal experience, of the two professors I have been introduced to, one is amazing in both knowledge as well as teaching, whereas the other one is not as good as I expected from an institute of this stature. This is only an initial impression, and is subject to change. Though I do not see that happening in my case.
If I felt that the extra-curricula scene in my engineering college was good, the same in this institute can be described as huge, at the very least. Tomorrow we will be officially introduced to the barrage of committees and clubs on the campus. That should be fun, and I am looking forward to that.
As of now, in about an hour’s time, we will be having our first institute party (supposedly a bi-monthly affair). Lots of music (which I love), all the nicely dressed females (who does’nt like that?) and a lot of booze (which does not concern me)-all in all, it should be fun. It will most likely find a mention in my next post.
So much has happened in these seven days that it is not possible for me to cover every significant experience. That is one reason why a sensible soul suggested that I maintain a repository of daily experiences, but me being me, I did not even attempt to do so.
Cut to the point. The first day on campus- I somehow felt that I would be highly excited in the moments before I get the first glimpse of the scenic IIM Lucknow campus. But, things in real life seldom turn out exactly the way we have been imagining them to be. And so, as things turned out, I and the friends I was travelling with, were bored with the travel and drained out by carrying our luggage across the length and breadth of the Lucknow station because of a short cut that we stupidly followed without gathering any authentic information on it. Thus in the journey from the station to the campus, I was hardly excited about the awaiting moments. But thankfully, the excitement did notch up by couple of places once we entered the campus; and then it stayed at that level for the rest of the day.
The next thing I will vividly remember for a long time is my first reaction on seeing the hostel rooms and more specifically the loos. Never having had to stay in a hostel before, I was not aware of the ground realities, and the hostel conditions came as a rude shock. The sight of lizards and frogs moving with absolute abandon in the rooms, and a loo that seemed to have been placed right in the middle of the amazon was enough dose for me to get disappointed. But then the room was properly cleaned by the cleaning staff here, and it did seem largely inhabitable which lifted my spirits quite a bit. About the loos, well the filth and the myriad of insects are still there and I have learnt to make peace with that situation, though they are now in much better a condition than before.
While this was one experience slightly on the disappointing side, one bright spin-off on the first day was meeting a whole lot of batch mates, first in the hostel and then almost everywhere on the campus.
That was pretty much all that we did on that day. We were expecting a call from the seniors that night, but that did not happen. Evidently, as it later turned out to be, the seniors had decided to start the fun from the next evening. Anyways, the next morning saw the beginning of our induction ceremony. I knew that an induction ceremony cannot be interesting, considering its very purpose and nature, but I was hoping against hope that somehow things would be different at an IIM. I was comprehensively proven wrong, as the induction turned out to be as boring as it was during my engineering days.
I have so much to say about all the “fun” that we had, or rather the seniors had at our expense. But clearly this is not something to boast about (!) and I would shelve the topic right here. The first week at an IIM is a very hectic one, and it was not any different here. On an average, our batch must have slept for about a couple of hours a day for the first few days. I, however, could not restrict sleep to less than four hours. Coming down from a healthy twelve hours a day, you must say even that is an achievement.
During the induction ceremony, I distinctly recollect going on a rather long after-dinner stroll with some of the new friends that I had made on the campus. The stroll turned out to be pretty long, because we got got lost en route. Jokes apart, the campus is such a beautiful place for such leisurely walks that I hope I indulge in such walks at reasonably frequent intervals during my stay here.
Oh, I am into the fifth or sixth paragraph and I have not even mentioned food so far; that is so unlike me! Well, we all know that mess food is not exactly comparable to your mother’s cooking, but it should still be edible. Here at IIM Lucknow, things are a bit weird. The morning and evening breakfast meals are pretty good, both in terms of variety and quality. Whereas, the lunch and dinner meals are not all that good. But all in all, the food is good- almost always edible and quite frequently enjoyable too, what more could I ask?
Our classes began on the following Thursday. Insofar I have faced only a handful of lectures. So my opinions voiced in this post might not gel with my long-term opinions. Talking purely out of personal experience, of the two professors I have been introduced to, one is amazing in both knowledge as well as teaching, whereas the other one is not as good as I expected from an institute of this stature. This is only an initial impression, and is subject to change. Though I do not see that happening in my case.
If I felt that the extra-curricula scene in my engineering college was good, the same in this institute can be described as huge, at the very least. Tomorrow we will be officially introduced to the barrage of committees and clubs on the campus. That should be fun, and I am looking forward to that.
As of now, in about an hour’s time, we will be having our first institute party (supposedly a bi-monthly affair). Lots of music (which I love), all the nicely dressed females (who does’nt like that?) and a lot of booze (which does not concern me)-all in all, it should be fun. It will most likely find a mention in my next post.
