Happy 2013

It’s a *brand new* New Year, and how I love that feeling of being able to write a new number one fine day .

For several reasons, 2012 has been a tough year for me, and at the end of it, the most profound realization I carry with me is that nothing in this world can bring me as much happiness as being with and Being ME.

It’s what Kareena says in Jab We Met.

“Main apni Favorite Hoon”

It’s a lovely line, right? .

Everyone should be their own favorites. And if they aren’t, they should figure out how to get there. And do whatever it takes. After all, YOU’re the only person you spend every moment of your life with!

I’ve spent years on this journey, and it’s not easy. Every day is a new experience. There are new thoughts to distil, new discoveries about myself (not always pleasant ), and choices to make – not necessarily with enough time to allow you to reflect and choose. And then there are consequences.

As 2012 comes to a close, I realize that there are a few realizations that have helped me make peace with this process and move forward:
~ Negative emotions – fear, anger, sorrow, guilt, regret, helplessness – can make you experience a lesser person than you really are, but can never make you that.
~ Patience is not a virtue, it is a muscle. Exercise it intentionally, and keep it supple. When all fails, patience and the knowledge that time erodes even the biggest mountains – that’s what is going to keep you ticking.
~ Change – yours, and of others – is always voluntary. There is merit in trying to attempt change and being a trigger for change, but… BUT… You need to know when to try, and you need to know when to stop.
~ In the midst of all the evolution and choices and complications of life – it helps to maintain a stock of a few key aspects about yourself that you consider as the Essence of You. Could be anything… something you consider a core value that you live by, or maybe something about yourself that gives you a high… as long as it is what identifies you to you. Every once in a while, take out one of those aspects, have a good long ponder over it, mentally polishing and lovingly going over the feeling of that as you. If it is possible, find new ways to explore the aspect and to engage the energies that it generates inside of you.

I did something such, a few days ago as I was trying out (yet. another. social. networking. platform.) Pinterest. It occurred to me that creating a Board was a fun way to explore and unravel something that I consider an aspect of myself… and what better than a visual reminder?

An aspect of me (that I love) is my ability to evoke a sensual pleasure in everything in the world – touch, feel, sound, taste, see, breathe, and experience. (ahem, I also scored a 93% on the Sensuality test, so there. *cheeky grin*).

As I thought about topics for my board, there was a resonance when I thought “sensuality” and it took me a few hours to put together a board that was my kind – Here it is:

The process of searching for the right images and compiling this was great because it wasn’t just about being the Me that I know about, but about Remembering the me that I am.

The outcome was even better because I realize now that dormant energies that are awakened and directed towards your SELF – it reinforces you from within. And that, my friends, is Power.

So, on that powerful note, let me wish all of you a Wonderful Year of Self-Belief, Contentment, Discoveries and most of all, Happiness from being your own favorite . Happy New Year!!!

What’s going on in my life

This is one of those “I feel extremely guilty for not updating my blog, AND I have tons of stuff I would like to talk about, but strangely, I want to pass it off with an extremely frivolous post” posts. However, don’t you dare exercise your choice to move on to someone else’s more interesting blog. I’m trying very hard to make this worth your while .

Ok, so let me get around to answering the question that the title poses: what’s up with me? (how much ever vain that sounds).

• For starters, I have just 6 more months of MBA to go. (*Does a hop, a skip and a triple somersault*). Yay! I’m almost close to the finishing line, and that means that 6 months down the lane, I shall
  • have Saturdays and Sundays when I can *actually* sleep in and not be dragged to the insti at 7.30 a.m.
  • stop feeling guilty of watching movies even though I still watch them by the bucketloads
  • have months and months of not having to worry about project submissions, upcoming deadlines, primary & secondary research, quiz scores, and reading up 30 page cases before class.

[If you aren't yet saying tch tch, and shaking your head, and sympathizing with me right now, I'm sending some really cold vibes your way.. *glares*]

• I’m off of Facebook for a while. Yeah, I do log in, but I’m not so keen on updating status messages and having lots of people *like* it, then having to explain myself, send messages to long lost friends, find long lost friends (heck, if I haven’t found them already after 4 yrs of orkut + FB, then they are not probably worth finding out), or find how many lost cows someone’s got on their farm, or how many cakes they’ve baked, or the result to “what kind of shoe are you” that they’ve posted on their profile. Yes, people are sending me mails saying “what happened to you? I no longer see your status messages. Are you ok?”, which I’m not responding to either. I don’t know; this is probably a phase of some kind, and I may get over it soon, and come back and post the rest of my life on FB for all and sundry out there to read. For now, I’ve freezed off though and I’m enjoying the sabbatical. Even if my school and college(s) and work and kindergarten and … whatever kind of friends, aunties, cousins, colleagues,  and other strange relationships think that I’m in a bad phase in my relationship and that’s why I’m not on FB .

• I’m on twitter much more regularly though. Infact, ooomz officially declared that I was afflicted with Tweet-diarrhoea! Which, if you don’t know about ooomz (who’s my mentor into twitter and one of the first from my circle to adopt twitter, fondle it and kiss it each day), is saying something. Also, given the fact that I’ve been on twitter since December 2006, and yet have just 1883 tweets as of today, to show for it. Which in twitterville means I’m still a baby (enfant terrible?). However, to show you just *what* the change in my twitter user persona has really meant, I’ll put in here a picture. My tweet stats (from tweetstats.com):

My Tweet Stats

As you can see, August, September have been months of frenzied updates and don’t you dare compare my one month’s graph to the past 4 *years*. Of course, you may ask why I’m suddenly so inspired to be on twitter? Well, for one, on my iPhone (*cough, cough*), I uploaded the Twitter app, and its just amazing. I love it. Better than Twitterific, and better than Tweetdeck. Infact, miles better.

The other reason why I’ve gone from verbal diarrhoea to blog diarrhoea to tweet diarrhoea – well, I think I’m in that slope towards maturity, in the lifecycle of growth of a twitter user. I’ve finally figured out what I must tweet about, how frequently I can tweet and who I should follow, and all those really technical, psychological stuff that entails being on twitter (don’t ask me to explain it – reams have been written on twitter behavioural analysis already). This particular enlightenment on my twitter persona deserves another bullet point, so here goes:

• If there was a quiz on FB that asked “what kind of twitter user are you”, and I would have taken it, then the answers would have been “The kind that
  • Talks about TV shows on Star World (Castle, Criminal Minds, Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives, Masterchef Australia… and you’re wondering why I do?)
  • Speculates about potential-blog-post-topics (but never ends up writing them)
  • Drools at men (sample this, this and this )
  • Drools ALSO at women and writes really complicated confusing hashtags in the process
  • Exposes her MBA-shortcomings, and yet posts supposedly-management-wisdom
  • Shows she’s a true-blue-mallu at heart with #MalayalamFilmDialogues, festival-updates, regularly drooling at God’s own country and doing what propelled her blog into stardom – Onam pookkalams.
  • Shows off her wierdities at night – staying up till 2 a.m. and drinking betel leaf wine for e.g.
  • Brings to the world her deeply philosophical inner wisdom
  • Uses her philosophical weaponry on her unsuspecting parents
  • Displays an incredible capability for self-deprecating humour
  • and finally, creates quotable quotes” . [dontcha love me by now ]

• Ok, so now that you know I’m this really great big phenomenon on Twitter, I switch tracks onto yet other happenings in my ultra-cool life. Do you know I write for S*P*A*M? Yeah, I do. I’m one of those really secretive characters masquerading behind an avatar and all, just so that no one can throw rotten tomatoes at me because they can’t FIND me in there (*evil laughter*). Ok, I’m kidding. Sorry. Actually, I am writing under an avatar but only because I found that a pretty cool concept (don’t ask me who I am though ). There are also other VERY smart and funny men and women behind SPAM, and I’m proud to be a part of such a fun group . Pls. grace us with your presence. We have two issues (August and September) under our belt, and the next one will be out in October. Read the articles, and comment away.

Alright. I think that I’ve now posted enough and more mundane details about my life and therefore, I can rest in peace. Sleep satisfied in the knowledge that my blog no longer looks deserted, and that I am STILL, despite the tweeting, and the non-fb-ing, and the mba-ing, and the spamming, a blogger.

Amen.

40 Questions!

I love doing tags, and so I voluntarily pick this one up from Preeti (and very “pretty” too ) Shenoy’s blog. Voluntarily picking up a tag that has 40 questions in it, (esp. when I’ve done a 30 questions tag sometime ago) should tell you how much I like doing tags! Without further ado…here I go…

1. What is your current obsession?

Getting my blog back into what it was a couple of years ago. I’ve been quite pathetic over the last couple of years and am nursing immense guilt over not paying enough attention to my own need to write. So I’m back with a vengeance!

2. What are you wearing today?

A pink kurta from FabIndia, and a white chudi bottom. Hair tied up into a ponytail. (Hmmm, if I was wearing spectacles, I could have also said that I had the (pseudo) superior-intellectual look)

3. What’s for dinner?

We had a sizeable lunch at Dhaba today – so skipping dinner!

4. What’s the last thing you bought?

A Hidesign handbag for my mum … after enormous amount of coaxing and listening to her sigh, and say that her current handbag was serving its purpose well, and that she didn’t need one more, and that it may look too “hep” and therefore inappropriate on her … till I almost completely got mad. I finally gave her the option of dumping it on me in case she ever felt it was not good for her. And what happened? She left Bangalore with the handbag on her arm, and with a big grin on her face, even as I reminded her how much she’d driven me crazy. *Affectionate smile*…mums will be mums.

5. What are you listening to right now?

The mum again – she’s carping about some really *annoying* relatives, over the phone. Trust me, it’s HUGELY entertaining .

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?

As I said earlier, wasn’t tagged personally – I picked it up from PS. As for what I think of her – she’s one of those creative, exhuberant personalities who we need more of in this world. She’s an adorable pixie .

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?

Now, you’re talking! Ummm.. would that be Mauritius, or the Bahamas, or Califormia… or …

Oh! I know, Paris! I adore Paris. And I even know that I want a house with a view of the Seine. *Sigh*. It’s just the most romantic city I’ve ever seen.

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?

Shades. Some drink close to my reach. Loads and loads of tissue paper. Really airy flats for my feet – I have an amazingly comfy Timberland actually. Non-sticky sunscreen.

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

Must you ask me to mention Paris so many times? Okay, I’ll change that. I will want to spend it on an island in Maldives. Spent my honeymoon there, and that would be one of my other picks for a phenomenal place to visit.

10. Which language do you want to learn?

Ahem. I just spent the last TWO quarters in my MBA program learning languages. The first one, I learnt Japanese. The second, Spanish. Someone was asking me to pick Chinese for the next, but if I do that, IIMB will probably end up giving me a certification for “Diploma in International Languages” instead of the MBA itself. So for now, No, I’ll pass.

11. What’s your favourite quote?

All my favorite quotes are in Malayalam. Simply because most of them are sarcastic and extremely appropriate for many moments *wink*. One such would be “Patti-de vaalu panthiraandu kollam kozhalil ittalum valanje irikku”. Don’t ask me the meaning! Or who I’m using it on! (For the mallu ppl reading this blog….Shush!)

12. Who do you want to meet right now?

Even if it is farfetched, and probably not gonna happen ever? Deepak Chopra.

13. What is your favourite colour?

Peacock Blue. And Silver.

Okay, I know I am not supposed to pick two colors, but seriously, I love a lot of colors. So don’t ask me to pick just one. I can rattle off many shades like the ones Asian Paints have – Baked Biscuit, Mocha, Truffle Pink etc… I love really deep *feeling* kind of colors… something that you would use to express joy, and vivaciousness,… and passion.

(Oh, if only I had a carton of paints with me that I could throw onto a canvas. *Wishful thinking*)

14. Give us 3 styling tips that work for you.

=> Smokey eyes, for that touch of mystery.

=> Lip gloss for that well-turned out look.

=> Nicely brushed hair that bobs around , and strands of which caress your face in the wind. (Okay, that may not really be a styling tip – but yes, nice hair is important).

15. What is your dream job?

Getting paid to explore various channels of creativity (write, read, dance, sing, organize events, interact with people, paint…) –  while being able to work my mind and heart. Infact, that’s almost close to what I do now!!!

16. What’s your favorite magazine?

Nothing really. I don’t have too much of patience to read the kind of crap that most magazines churn out. If you have come across something worthwhile, please suggest.

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?

Buying lots of fiction books. Not for me though. I and hubby are doing our bit in spreading education by volunteering to teach (economically-backward) kids on the weekend – as part of an initiative run by an NGO called Prerana.

There’s a lot to talk about the experience itself, but I’ll reserve that for a future post. Meanwhile, my latest resolve is to supplement our spoken-english-language support for the kids – by giving them something extra – books to read and enjoy! (Hopefully I’m able to recreate atleast partially for them, the magical experience that I had a youngster waltzing through the pages of many of treasured troves… and at the same time, break their language barrier, because I believe that unless you read enough, you’ll not get around to appreciating and understanding the language constructs). I’ve already started buying books for the kids to read and circulate, but there’s no such thing as more than enough, so any extra money of mine will go into adding to this . $100 will come in handy .

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?

A short western top and a stoal. Somehow it doesn’t go down well with me.

19. Who according to you is the most over-rated style icon?

I think almost every 2nd bollywood star is over-rated but I’ll not pick them because they get picked often enough. Therefore – Shobhaa De.

20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?

On me? Layered, and short – somewhere around my shoulders. I’ve been wanting to do something dramatically different too, but still haven’t found what it would be. Waiting for the perfect haircut therefore.

21. What are you going to do after this?

Work. Sleep. Dream .

22. What are your favorite movies?

Many malayalam classics. Many hindi movies. Many english movies. I mean, asking a movie buff like me to name movies is not exactly easy. I think I’ve written a post about it already, so pass.

23. What inspires you?

A lot of things – humans, and their resilience, inner strength. Compassion when it was least expected. God’s Love.

24. What do your friends call you most commonly?

These days, my MBA classmates have christened me with a few new names – Shiks, Muppet. One of my close friends used to call me by my initials GP. Nothing more interesting though. Sadly, my persona probably lends itself well to Shikha. And besides, a 2 syllable name is easy to say, right?

25. Would you prefer coffee or tea?

Tea. Tea. Tea. Tea. Tea… x infinity. I could have as many glasses of tea as there existed on the planet and I still wouldn’t get tired of it. Try it. Ask me if I want a cup of tea sometime. Chances are you’ll get a beaming, resounding “YES” in response.

26. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?

Talk to God.

27. What makes you go wild?

If wild as in “really irritated” – Incompetent people trying to lord over others. It makes me want to clobber the hell out of them.

If wild as in “letting hair loose down” types – being at the beach.

28. Which other blogs do you love visiting?

Many. Pls. see my recommended readings section, and the friends section on the right.

29. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?

Cheesecake. (after a divine experience recently ).

Raspberry and Yoghurt Gelato. Yum.

30. How many tabs are turned on in ur browser right now?

Seven.

31. Favorite Season?

Spring.

32. If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me?

Pancakes. Nice, warm, sweet, pancakes and slurpy jam to go with it.

33. What is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?

Truthfully – I am not one to carry grudges around and judge a person just because something they did hurt me, and I do believe that people have reasons for whatever they do. So I wouldn’t purposefully avoid them if they cross my path. The only kind of people I actually avoid are those who try too much to be nice and yet your intuition tells you, that they are not as much. Better to stay away .

34. What are you afraid of the most?

I have a lot of paranoias. Spiders. Worms. Fungus. Drowning. Things that move and go boo in the dark…. hehe, okay, the last one was just added for an effect.

35. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?

“Gosh. Open your eyes completely, woman. You’re going to knock something down, walking around, half-awake, looking like a female version of frankenstein!”

36. What brings a smile on your face instantly?

Friends. Cute kids. My hubby when he’s in one of his cute moments . My mother when she’s sleeping, curled up like a ball on the couch, because she’s too lazy to get up and go and sleep on the bed. My dad, when he wears a pair of absolutely non-matching pants with one of his good shirts and appears completely unaware of the ridiculousness of it

37. A word that you say a lot?

“Terrible”. I don’t know, I use that to describe even extra doses of nice things…although why I do that, I have no clue. Have been trying to rid myself of it for sometime now.

38. When was the last time you did something nice?

Today afternoon. Went to see a friend who I hadn’t visited in over a year. Being with her and her one and half yr old kid, was amazing . *Soup for the heart*

39. What would you do if you were made President of India for one day?

Being the President of India for a day is no big shakes. You can’t do anything constructive, that someone else cannot undo. However, I think there is a Right To Education issue that’s currently in the pipeline. I’ll see if I can add some presidential weight to that, and recommend the bill.

40. Do you Know who Master SHIFU is?

Yeah.  *Hiiiiiyyyyeeeeeeaaaaah*.

————————————————–

Yes, I’ve finally done it.

*Solemn breath*. And I now tag…YOU (if you’re not mentioned after this) and @nikhilnarayanan, @shruti_007, Vinoshini, Lazy Pineapple, Emmanuel, Sonali – hopefully none of you’ve done the tag yet, and because I would love to know what your answers are, yes!!

Update:

Follow up posts from the victims above

Shruti’s version @ Lost In Translation

Lazy Pineapple

Emmanuel writes @ Reticent Expressions

Sonali’s take

The Last Mango

The Last Mango

The car zoomed up the gate and stopped abruptly. It was almost synchronously followed by the front door opening, and a group of exuberant faces emerged – sporting big grins – they were there at the gate in no time.

I gingerly stepped out of the passenger seat of the white ambassador car, my face having that typical embarrassed look – it was always an odd feeling for me, meeting them all after 2 years… I never knew what to say at first.

My grandmother, in her trademark white sari and blouse ran to hug me. My face was for a few moments showered with kisses, and the embarrassed look gave way to a wide-toothed grin – if there was one thing that was constant in this world, that was my grandmother.

Her penchant for disfiguring faces with her kisses would never change .

Extricating myself from the bear hug, I proceeded to acknowledge my aunt, and my cousin – they were tugging at our bags while giving us those lovely smiles that always warmed my heart. My grandma wouldn’t leave it at that though. Excitedly, her wrinkled hands clasped my tiny one and led me inside the gate, with a purpose. I looked sideways at my mother, but she was too caught up in the exchange of pleasantries to notice.

Soon, we both were at the foot of the mango tree (at my age, I wouldn’t recognize it so however). She pointed to a lone green mango, hanging at a reasonable height and said

“See that? I’ve left it for you to pluck. I haven’t let anyone else pluck it saying that it was meant only for my darling”.

The profoundness of her statement made me look at her in wonder. I had never plucked anything from any tree before and this was like a God-given opportunity (one never got to be near too many trees when growing up in Saudi Arabia, you see).

The woman of 65 obviously knew the mind of a child of 10, well.

I reached out, and my grandma bent the branch towards me. My fingers grasped the green mango, and before I knew it, it came off the branch. I proffered it with pride at my grandma – she said “Shall I make a pickle out of it then?”, her affection laden voice matched by a face with a smile that I can only call heavenly. I nodded in happiness.

My cousin came to hold my hand and whispered in my ear “She wouldn’t let me pluck it for so many days! All of the rest was gone a week ago, but she asked to leave just this one till you came!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[Many, many years later…]

“Let her pluck a few!” That was my mother, today morning.

I raised my eyebrows at my dad in mock superiority and smirked. He smirked back, “Let them be for some more time. We can eat them ripe, that would be better”.

“She’s here only for 2 more days. You’ve had enough ripe mangoes in your life. My poor daughter… she’s so far away, who’s giving her any?”, motherly concern dripped from her voice like honey.

I grinned and looked at my dad, and winked. Here I was, a 29 year old, bordering on 30, woman, and my mother still spoke of me like I was a 5 year old . Gosh, mothers are just so wonderful.

(We were ambling around the garden in front of my house, the three of us. As I skipped around the grass, my dad stooped often to pick up stray leaves and my mum was critically examining the flowers on her treasured creations. It was just one of our together-times, I guess.)

Seven green mangoes were hanging from the small-sized mango tree … pretty amazing bunch, I reflected, especially on such a small tree. I reached out for one.

This time, I mentally made a statement – directed at the tree – it was just a request – “I’m taking one, pls. don’t mind”. (I had read somewhere that one must ask a tree for permission before plucking its fruit – apparently, trees feel pained when their fruit is yanked off rudely – but give off willingly even with just a dash of politeness ).

As it had many many years ago, it came off as soon as I gave a gentle pull.

A memory flashed past my mind – the rustle of the white cotton sari, and the wrinkled hands, gleeful eyes with the crow’s feet marks outlining them. Kindness, love of a unique kind.

My eyes then focussed on the two people next to me, as I watched them  – chattering incessantly about seemingly inconsequential things; enveloped in their own world – a world where I was just so important.

Such treasures were hard to come by. For a few seconds, gratitude poured within me.

19 years had passed. But the past and the present were merging. There was only one moment. And only one emotion. Love.

Back to school

Scene 1: Friday 06.09 a.m.

There is light…and it’s obtrusive.

An object hovers in sight and it takes some moments for the senses to realize that there is a perceptible sound. Strangely the sound seems coordinated with blinking lights. The music brings with it a vague sense of discomfort.

“6.10″.
“Huh??”

*Blinking, trying to focus*..”oh. Time. That’s it! Time.”
“Time?”…”Oh, ok. The blue annoying thing is my mobile”…. *Slipping back into oblivion*

“Its late”.
…”Wha…t”?

“Yeah, its late. You were supposed to get up.”
“Why?”

“You have to go somewhere..do something”
“What?”

“….classes. Yes, that’s it. You are supposed to go to class”
*Grimace*. “5 minutes. 5 minutes please”. *Hand fumbling for a flat surface to place the offending object in the hand*…

Scene 2: 07.50 a.m.

The silence is interrupted by the early-morning chirp of many birds. And the sound of my steps on the gravel. My lungs expand to experience more of the dewy fresh air flowing in. As I walk towards my destination, the grey stone walls and the accompanying peace seem like another world altogether. It is like time has frozen.

Scene 3: 9.30 a.m.

I walk outside the room amidst the crowd, going past others to a table where coffee, tea and biscuits are being served. Animated conversations surround me, … the otherwise peaceful environment becoming host to a cacophony. While I contendedly munch biscuits and laugh at my own predicament, my friends proceed to relate their own experiences. We’re soon aware of the time, and of a certain figure going up the staircase. As if on cue, we hurriedly gulp the last drops of coffee, shove the biscuit into our mouth and follow the path of the person who’s just walked past. The rest of the crowd piles back into the room, and the blue door swings shut. The mikes are switched on, and the russle of pages breaks into hearing.

Scene 4: 12.30 a.m.

The car comes to a halt outside office premises in Electronics City. I wearily walk towards the Siemens gate, my office identification card replacing the other one. I wave towards a couple of peers noting their quizzical expressions as I walk towards the reception. Finally at my desk, I plonk the heavy burden of my bag on the desk, and proceed to sit at my workstation, trying to come to terms with the number of unread mails in my mailbox.

Scene 5: 7.00 p.m.

I lug the bag on my back and run into the bus trying to find a seat next to the window. As the bus roars into movement, I pull out the heavy book from the bag. I struggle to see the words in the diminished light. Music from the ipod is flowing into my ears, and my mind starts to wander to the song every now and then. I try to rudely yank my mind back into submission, forcing it to take in the unfamiliar numbers and graphs printed on the book.

Scene 6: 11.30 p.m.

The pink highlighter hovers in mid air, poised to land on a smooth white surface. There’s a jerk and suddenly it crashes on the book, as my head snaps forward. The momentum wakes me abruptly, and my blurred eyes try to focus, without much success. Resignedly, I close the book shut, and fall back on the bed…within seconds, my mind goes back to the dream that it had just begun seeing a minute ago. Ah, back to oblivion.

—-

Having wetted your appetite enough , I proceed to the explanatory part of my blog post now: What I’ve written above is just an excerpt from a Friday in my life these days… after a significant event that occurred about a couple of months ago.

I am now officially doing MBA, and am part of the executive management program conducted by IIM, Bangalore – Post Graduate Program in Software Enterprise Management or PGSEM, for short. The journey began on May 30th, when we had our orientation program. Classes began on June 20th and in most likelihood will go on for 2 and 1/2 years atleast, if not more .

IIMB Campus (courtesy Guha's blog)

To say that the journey has been incredible is an understatement. How do you explain the awe that one gets being within the IIM Bangalore campus?  The campus is a contradiction unto itself – lying in the midst of noisy, choked and polluted Bannerghatta Road, but being untouched by the mania outside. A beautiful expanse of stone buildings, maze like roads and winding stone pathways amongst green courtyards – it puts to rest all worries you migh have and makes you want to walk around in gay abandon. Walking through the hallways, you almost hear whispers…stories of ageless scholarly wisdom. There are students around, some in the library reading or working on the computers, some emerging from the hostels animatedly in conversation, some seated with arms around each others shoulders around the amphitheater and some more, sipping tea and munching a snack around the many tea/coffee places. Its campus life in its virgin form; individuals of high-intellect who’re there for one goal, whilst partaking the many joys of the postgraduate education experience.

The PGSEM classes are splendid, the courseware enviable. How often does one get to meet professors who’re the best in the country – people who’ve achieved mastery of their subject and are contributing to the country’s future in many ways, not just teaching the next generation? During the orientation course, we had a couple of professors who’d come to talk to us about what they would be teaching. All 140 of us in the batch were awe-struck after each class – their passion and commitment to the subject was incredible. These weren’t serious lecturers; they were witty and brilliant – able to engage a crowd of anxious, accomplished professionals every minute. And the saga continues into the weekly lectures – the twinkle in the eye of my Microeconomics professor when he tries to show us the beauty of supply-demand dynamics is unmistakable . These are people who’re not just committed to a cause. They are living it.

And as for us, the PGSEM students…Well, we’re one hell of a lot . Experience levels range from 3-20 in the class; all of us are juggling work and life priorities already – some of us getting our fingers burnt in the bargain - yet out to add one more ball to our kitty. Oh, did I mention that we’re on a unicycle also? . The intellect levels in the class is high and usually there is no end to the commotion. Classes are never one-directional – almost everyone wants to speak into their mikes, and contribute to the thought process flowing around.

Of course, over time we are all facing stark reality. Having to read and understand atleast 2 chapters (40 pages) per course (3 in a quarter), prepare for a couple of case studies, and imbibe mind boggling concepts over a week is not a piece of cake. Especially when you spend 50% of your time per week battling complicated issues at your workplace. This is not just a course in management, it is a course in effective time management. I happened to realize how much of time I had in my life only after joining this course . It is also a course on sleep and fitness regulation. 8 hours of sleep is a luxury, and as they say, all work and no play makes jill a dull girl – so keeping oneself fit must also be squeezed in, as otherwise, the stress and late nights can play havoc with your physical wellbeing.

Yesterday was our first exam. As we spilled out of the examination hall, we laughed and joked about how we’d gotten massacred. It wasn’t easy… spending all the free time that you’d ever had, to go back to studies and fight it out – a battle of mental capacity as well as strength. It was sheer spirit that drove us to come to class at 8 in the morning, and stay till 3.30 on a Saturday. But we aren’t the first ones. The course is into its 10th year, and 9 batches have successfully passed us, so that thought does bring some relief when at times we question our own ability to understand the complex dynamics of business .

Jamming...

And yes, even after the strenuous burden of a test, and 3 one-and-half-hour classes, 2 of them being Microeconomics back-to-back!!, a smaller group of us didn’t haul our bags into cars and drive off. We stayed back, went to grab a cup of tea, and then collect around our canteen area. Two talented souls brought out guitars and started strumming whilst a few others started humming. The humming soon broke out into a full-fledged song, their voices booming and echoing off the walls. I looked around and giggled at some of their antics; at other times joined the fray. Some others came to see the jamming session and then sauntered out into another area, hoping to give vent to their theatrical artistry. What are we all doing? Practicing for Pehel, the first event we’re conducting as the freshers who’ve entered college .

And so my description of my newest exploit draws to a close. As I stepped into my home yesterday evening, partly exhausted and partly on a high, I had thought – well, whatever happens a couple of years down the lane, this is one experience I am sure I will come back to many times in my life.

This is truly an experience of a lifetime. Wish me luck!!