I Love to Live Life My Way

I Love to Live Life My Way
Life is all about changes, improvement and development. To make this feel right and to make life the way I want to be, I started the new phase of my life at IFMR at 10 am on 2nd July 2007 at the Bhagirathi Hall in IFMR in the presence of one of the most eminent personality of India who brought the development in the Banking industry, none other than MR. N.Vaghul (Chairman, ICICI Bank). Day 1 at IFMR gave a feeling of what life is going to be like in the 2 years ahead here at Ifmr, as it started with an excellent talk by Mr. Vaghul, who shared his experiences with us and added great value to the 1st day of my new life. Day 1 was a very lively day as it also involved other sessions; one was the Ice Breaker session by the seniors which was aimed at making life simpler for us, by making us know each other well so that life becomes easier as days pass. And indeed I still cherish day 1 at Ifmr till date.

With so many expectations from this place and with a lot of enthusiasm after meeting the batch mates on day 1, right from day 2 Ifmr seemed to be home away from home, as I met people from almost all parts of the country with different backgrounds, different mindsets, I was very much looking forward to this kind of a journey in life. Day 2 started with a very good lecture by our Dean, which made him a star right from day 2 for me, coz of his simplicity, his ability to express things the way they should be etc.,. The day ended with a Math’s test aimed to shortlist students for Tutorials. But before the tutorials there was a very important happening for which I was waiting right from the time I planned my MBA, yes it was none other than receiving my personal LAPTOP. It gave a feeling that yes now I am doing an MBA.

After having 2 lighter days at Ifmr now it was time for some business, for which basically I was here, so day 3 had a few lectures on different subjects and was followed by a visit to Dun & Bradstreet (credit rating co.) located at Taramani, it was a great experience, did not understand or learn much but it just gave a taste of how actual businesses run (corporates), as the session was hosted by a young female who was the HR Head of D&B, it showed the potential for growth youngsters like me can expect. Day 4 also was just as hectic as day 3 with a few lectures and then visit to UTI Bank (now AXIS), it gave a rough idea about the functioning and the evolution of the banking industry and its potential.

So Far so Good. The next 3 days were a mix of fun and learning as we were at The Banyan (NGO). The trip to Banyan was a great initiative by both the Banyan and IFMR as it was an excellent learning opportunity about how NGO’s work etc. as I have always dreamed to be a part of the developmental sector this trip gave few insights about how difficult and challenging things can be in the sector and it also gave me a lot of inspiration to contribute and work for this sector in some way or the other. Thanks to Ifmr once again for creating such an opportunity, which other wise might have never happened on my own, as it worked as a starter for me to think and start working towards all my dreams and goals in life.

End of week one at Ifmr, it was as hectic as it was expected to be, I started to feel like a corporate already, reaching home almost on all the days after 8.30 as if I was coming back from Office after a day full of hard work. Yes I really did feel so as even my family looked at me with proud and they also felt this guy is doing great things, and that made me feel even motivated to make this Ifmr journey something to cherish about throughout my life. Week one was rocking, made me feel really high, On Top of the World!!!!!!!

After having a few inspiring sessions by both academicians and industry now it was time to show my own potential through a presentation on learning’s from Dun & Bradstreet in front of a faculty and a few batch mates on day 1 of week 2. This presentation gave me a lot of confidence as after my presentation quiet a few number of people appreciated it, which gave me a moral boost that yes even I can make good presentations. And yes even I myself felt that I was ready to become an effective manager and I was at the right place to get the skills required.

Week 2 laid the platform for an excellent future ahead as the actual course started from day 2 of week 2 and most importantly this week brought us in interaction with the most aspiring names in the Indian industry. A few of those eminent speakers are Mr. Nachiket Mor (Deputy MD, ICICI Bank), Mr. Sundarajan (CMD Indian Bank), Mr. Siva Raman (Head HR, Delloite Consulting), Mr. Murali (Head HR, CRISIL), Mr. Jaydev (CEO , Tinfo Mobile) and a few other inspiring individuals working in different organizations of importance to the country. The inspiring words from biggies like Mr. Nachiket Mor have left a great impression about the potential we as youth have to make changes in today’s competitive world. It was a great opportunity to be present in front of these individuals.

Along all these happenings there was a great amount of interaction and academics going on which was making me feel reassured that I was at the right place to mould my life perfectly.
Days passed on with each day teaching some or the other valuable learning, with the amount of pressure and learning life was getting acquainted with a lot of important things which I was unaware of. These things included a whole range of things from demand and supply to organizational behavior and many more. Even after having thought to be as professional and as attentive in the sessions, it was not that easy as there were various occasions where me and a lot of other individuals in the class would feel restless and sleepy during the lecture hours, so a lot of lecture hours were spent either in half sleep mode or in browsing on the laptop and chitchatting with the neighbor.

Week 2 ended with an extremely well planned and organized Fresher’s Party by the Seniors which was the most valuable gift they gave to us in those 2 weeks at Ifmr. The fresher's party was indeed a far better show than we ever thought it to be. It had a really good theme, good games which sought everyone’s participation from our batch. It was indeed a great way to celebrate the togetherness of both the batches and it actually brought both the batches a step closer than before. I even now remember my friends in different traditional villager’s costumes. The most important change this journey at Ifmr brought in my life came at the end of week 2, that is after the fresher's party, that was the first day in my life a stayed away from home in the night, there was no other incidence in my life when I ever stayed away from home for a night. But yes life was on the verge of a lot of changes and yes this was one of them, it can neither be qualified to be good or bad, but even that was one thing I had to experience in my life and it happened on this day.

Life went on with all those regular sessions, and with the start of me attending meetings of different clubs I was member of, organizing events, participating in events etc.,
Then came the day when we interacted with the Head HR of ICICI Bank Mr. Ramkumar, this lecture is till now the most thought provoking one, it is and for always will be the one in my mind which is just class apart from all other lectures. This person just made solid statements, justified them with good logical answers and brought a great new perspective in my life that life is not always just about being positive or being soft, life has a lot many other things, a lot many other perspectives. I truly felt that I was always looking forward to this kind of talks as it brought in a completely different line of thought. The man was very harsh but I completely agree that he had to be that way to get his point across and which I feel definitely got across every head in the hall.

One month got over of my journey at IFMR, the pace with which things happened never made me realize that one month was over it even at this point felt that we had just started a couple of days ago. Life went on smoothly. The routine was almost same everyday with classes till the evening and then some time pass and some work or study for the next day. Used to go home at around 8 everyday. We had our first outing of the whole batch as a treat from the individuals whose birthdays passed in the last one month at Pizza Hut, which was again a nice way for all of us to come together to enjoy our togetherness.

The month of august saw many more happenings such as the guest lecture by Mr. S. Gopal of the Sanmar Group, presentation to the Banyan people on our learning's and experience of our 3 day visit to Banyan, Visit to the NGO New life charity services etc.,.
The visit to this Ngo was a great experience as we spent half of the day there with the children and the old people there. We had organized a few games and events for the children there, and had interacted with them which gave both those children and us a very good feeling as we enjoyed each moment being there and even the children had become very friendly to us. Then we went to the Kancheepuram Temple from there, which again was a memorable experience. And august ended with a lot of mid term exams and other regular sessions to keep the academic part of the journey very active.

The month of September started of with regular sessions and end term exam of Micro Economics which was my major fear through out the 2 months before the exam, but it turned out to be the easiest exam I faced which made me very happy after so much tension and worry. And here came the opportunity to meet and interact with all my super seniors on their convocation ceremony at the GRT Convention Centre in the august presence of Mr. R. Seshasayee of Ashok Leyland along with Mr. Nachiket Mor. This was the opportunity to listen to the words of wisdom from Mr. Seshasayee, everyone was just bowled over by his excellent words and he was being regarded as one of the best speakers we all had ever heard. Second week of September also saw the start of Paryushan Parva, and yes this was a completely different experience for me, as all through my life I have had holidays in Paryushan Parva, and this was the first time I had to run home soon after the classes got over. Fortunately this week also had my birthday in store which went on really well but as always my birthday was a low key affair that is no celebrations, no cake cutting etc., yes you are getting it right, all cost cutting techniques.

The month went on with the end term presentations taking time away from the study time and yes I can never forget those nights, completely working on the FSA presentations, looking for the best technique to complete the assignment as soon as possible. But yes it gave a great learning opportunity which most of us till date think all that was worth it.

And then came the most important part of things happening at IFMR yes it was none other than the nerve wrecking End Term exams, those last minute tensions, we never realized that the term had come to an end and were not sure of what was actually accomplished in the whole term, but as the exams were going on there was just one feeling in all of us, when will these exams get over and when will we finally get a break, as these thoughts went on the end term exams ended and now was the time to enjoy .

All through the days of exams there was some planning going on regarding how to spend the short holidays after the exam. All these discussions involved a lot of confusion and chaos as ideas were coming from different perspectives, of where to go, how to go, who all are going blah blah blah blah….. And then after so many discussions and debates came the day when five of us went to Pondicherry in a luxury Ambassador car which was as comfortable as a Mercedes Benz (I have never traveled in one but the comfort level was good so I treat comfortable to Merc ). The planned two day trip lasted for three days as the holidays were extended by one more day due to the state called bandh on the highly controversial issue of the Ramsethu project. The trip involved a decent amount of expenditure, even after not being able to visit all the places thought of due to time and other restrictions, but the trip was really a great one as all five of us were having a blast, and it was actually a good trip as each one of us was very comfortable with each others company, lots of jokes cracked, hundreds of songs sang, a new music album(parady) was made on one of us, and that person never commented and enjoyed the album and never reacted, which was the best part of it and which was the way we killed time to the way back home, as the trip was about to get over.

October came with much more spirit and motivation as one important phase of life at IFMR was already over and it was time to again pull up my socks and to do things for which I was actually here. So this started by attending the quiz competition at IIT- Madras, yes we were chucked out in the first round itself but never mind, I never went there for winning, so no regrets. The holiday mood was still on so roamed around the city after the quiz competition.
The start of the new term was accompanied by health issues for me, as it was long since I took care of my health so finally reached the peak of things and finally had to visit the doctor, undergo testing’s and realized that while doing a lot of other things my health was also an important thing and which needs proper care and attention at times.

This month seemed to be much more hectic to me as apart from the regular sessions I had taken interest in a lot of other things and obviously which were important to me as an individual. These other things ranged from the Banyan project, the meetings for placement etc, and the most important and most time consuming thing was planning for Mission “Abhyudaya”. Most of the after class time was spent on meetings regarding Abhyudaya, talking to people discussing things, taking stand on an issue, being one in the team who can ask people to push things further, giving suggestions, spending sleepless nights to make things happen by brainstorming etc., all these with a lot of controversies surrounding most of the issues, I knew by the time things are planned and executed for Abhyudaya, all this is going to happen and there was much more in store for me and all of us to see and face. As Abhyudaya was not just a B-School fest for me, it was also an important exercise for me to learn, and to adapt to work in a team with different people with different mindsets etc. How can I forget to mention the talks by few other successful personalities during all this period. These personalities ranged from Mr. Sujai Tolani (Head Operations India), the HR head of HCL BPO, an important person from the Singapore exchange(she is no more working there), Mr. S.Swaminathan (Soft Skills Trainer), important adviser of Cognizant (forgot his name), and so on.

Things went on, life was on a roller coaster with ups and downs and here came the Diwali break, when all my friends at IFMR were very excited to go back to their homes after four complete months at this place with lots of drama happening just in filmy style. Every one was eager for this break, as everyone was missing their home, their family and everyone wanted to spend some time with their family, as these four months never gave us too much time to even talk properly to our families. Even I expected to spend most of the time with my family, at home, but the kind of person I am, never let me do that. Even in these holidays I spent most of the time at the college, and yes I was not whiling away time but was working very seriously on my beloved project “Abhyudaya”. I could have resisted myself from working on it at least in these holidays, but I was and I am very much worried because we are already behind the schedule and we are very late, so this fear and concern made me to take the plunge and work seriously for this dream event keeping besides all other plans and ideas, just so that I can utilize these holidays to compensate for the already wasted time.

And here I am trying to end this long summary of my life during these four important months of my new life, its already 3 in the night and yes today is Diwali, so just want to end it on a positive note and take a quick nap so that I am fresh on the new year day and praying to god that he keeps things cool in the coming months and years of life and keeps me on track now and forever and makes this journey of mine at IFMR an ever lasting one which I can cherish all through my life. And to end this for the time being I would just say “IFMR RBT”. And I know now you would be having just three letters in your mouth in case you read through this summary fully and those three letters are none other than ‘CTC’. Thank you for all your patience to go through all these thoughts and experiences of mine. Have a Blast!!!!!!!!

Lessons Learnt
> Things will never be serious unless and until you want them to be.
> If u like to be in a professional environment, its you who has to take the lead.
> Classrooms will always remain classrooms what if you are doing a very serious course, as they will always seem boring, what if you are learning the best lessons of your life there, so think of how to make them interesting, that’s the only way out.
> You want to be successful, you want to be effective, be yourself, forget the world, and do just what you need to do.
> You can earn a lot of name and fame by doing good, but all this not at the cost of your primary goals.
> Never forget at the end of all of it, one day you will have to sit back and take account and be accountable so act accordingly.
> If you want to make the money spent worth it, do what is required, than doing what you like to, as your likes may change as quickly as time passes, so stay focused.
> Don’t forget that there are many others having hundreds of expectations from you, so again stay focused as you are living for yourself as well as to make those expecting ones happy.
> You cannot be happy for more than certain amount of time, so just try to keep improving, that’s the only way to satisfy yourself.
> If you want to succeed in everything you do, first define your everything and prioritize, if not you will lose track even of the most important things.
> To end it all, never forget you are here to make a life and not to kill time!!!!!!!!!!