Couple of year back when i was about to appear for my CAT i had a major decision to make about choosing an institute and but of course being a typical Gujarati home grown boy i had put my family in center of my decision and with options being really scarce, i ended up choosing AMSoM. I was not sure where i would end up but i knew myself and i thought i can definitely do something worthwhile with who i am.
And that's how it began...
That first day into an enormous grey building, a structure so huge in itself that you feel lost by just entering into its premises. The huge parking followed by the oval academics wing which is followed by beautiful landscape (Which was not supposed to be "abused" in any way by students). The first day was usual with the the tingling sensation of nervousness, excitement and uncertainty. I was lucky though to have couple of known faces around me and that helped me relax a bit.
Whenever you are into unknown spaces between unknown creatures, you naturally go into safety mode, carefully evaluating everyone and trying to make a right choice. I made a group pretty quickly and thus was the beginning of groupism in our class. Everyone was either recruited so to say or signed themselves into one or the other group because if you aren't a part of group "To Log Kya Kahenge?"
Everything was smooth and had a good mix of everything. Happy winter days when everyone was socializing, competing, hanging out, making plans, whatsapping, making a best friend, flirting with a crush, etc. Professors were also a mixed bunch, there were gossip girls, there were Harvey Specter for every Mike Ross and some were really beyond description. But altogether it was nice and had a taste.
But every great story has a villain and the most dreaded villain is time. I haven't still been able to figure out what went wrong. The air suddenly was filled up with negative vibes, group was falling apart, personal life was wrecking, mind was really becoming a devil's workshop and things changed...
I would have regretted it but i am now very much happy with whatever the situation is because i made efforts to make up and build everything again. But building is not a one man job. That reminds me of the totally useless thing in the curriculum-Projects. There was hardly a take away from these projects and what even made it worse was the group. The "idea" behind the group project was to make you work as team, develop your leadership skills and let you adjust with different type of people. No offence but nothing made sense to me at least because for having a way, there has to be a will.
Moving on...
Then came the time i love, because it made me realize who am i and what i can do! SPANDAN 2014. Kick starting it was a big challenge in the first place and then the ever-standing challenge of working as a group. Though in this case it was not so tough as most of our ideas were in sync. Those were the days of glory when there was so much hustle-bustle, tension in the air, creativity in the mind, ideas on board, planning, co-coordinating, executing and so on as if we were learning MBA in these few days only. The challenges we faced, the faces we saw, the problems we solved and the event we made it, it was one heck of a job and kudos to the whole team for that. Against all odds we stood tall. There were many defining moments in this walk and there were some not so good facts to be faced and accepted. By the way i fractured my hand during the phase. Forever will be cherished those days and nights that we combined to make spandan happened, we ate there, we slept there, it was our home for many days and that was it..
I dont know why i became cynical, what was wrong, but it was not only me. The downside of the journey so far was that everybody was being judgmental and everyone was not able to make a good judgment. Things were more secretive as if it was some kind of espionage. I had thought many times about leaving the college, about not attending college any more but the one person that was and is instrumental in shaping my journey through Amsom- Prof. Kunal Mankodi, a friend more than a teacher, a confidante, a guide, a mentor and the only person i looked up to in these two years. I will always be indebted to him and i owe him more than i can say.
Thus we entered the vacation period and we were suppose to take up summer internships at some firm and what better than your dad's firm? Not because you are treated like a boss but because you can intrude and learn, what you can never do at a job or any other firm for that matter. The scope of growth and learning is really limited. I did basket full of shopping of knowledge and learning and finally started made sense out of MBA.
Then came the second year where i was specializing in core marketing. Frankly when the third semester started i went in blank. I was in defiance and an unknown anger and i wanted to be in seclusion... the semester flew like it never happened and i still have a very faint memory of those months.
Fourth and the last semester was also not much different in the beginning but your just one choice away from changing your life and i changed. I wanted seclusion for myself but i would not say i was alone and thanks to those very few friends i will never like to lose. And also there are always some jerks around on seeing whom you wonder about God's existence or the need of birth control in India. Whatever happened that shouldn't have happened was not entirely my fault, it was a collective effort of everybody to screw it up and i am proud i tried to mend everything. But nevertheless, if it weren't for them i wouldn't have identified myself. Fourth semester was more of a repair and preserve phase and i did exceptionally well as per me.
Fourth semester was also very animated with the much awaited campus placements. The tension was visible, the expectations were soaring, the hopes were high and the morale was shaky. I was sure i didn't want to do job for there is no growth, hardly any money, i cant tolerate jackass boss, i need open air to breathe and job was too small for my dreams and due to this i also tried to influence many of friends to give up on job, you know just trying my marketing skills. No harm intended but it was fun.
When you can do a task alone, why waste resources working as a group and if you can't do it, hire someone who can!
At Spandan 2015 when we revisited our journey through Amsom, there were many thoughts running in my mind. I recollected every decision i made, i questioned them, i cursed the situations, i valued the people and just one thought rang again and again, could it have been any better? and without thinking i decided that even if couldn't have been, it will be now. It is never too late to start. Things may not have been as good as i wanted but it will surely end the merry way.
I would like to thank all those who contributed to make me an effective manager and a better person. We may leave the premises but we will never stop revisiting, for goodbyes are just the mark of a new beginning. From here we embark on our respective journeys, we take different paths, we choose different goals, but one thing that will be common between us all will be Amsom. Let's never miss a chance to get together again and visit every corridor full of memories, every picture that says a different story and every person that share a different relation.
I would like to conclude with a hope of a better future, a never ending bond and those cherishable moments like the hearty ocean of laughter, tears of joy, sadness of separation, secret crush, open love, fights over projects, charcha over chai, fearing the exams and cursing of results... nothing and nobody cannot take this from us.
A journey well spent, finally has marked the beginning of its end.....
Life is never going to be same again. The life of exams is ending and the exam of life is about to begin...
All the best peers.
Signing off
