Friday and Saturday I had my Leadership development class - Fullday from Morning 9:00 to Evening 5:00. I was damn tired yesterday after the classes that I decided to watch some movies. "Shawshank redemption" was one, which I simply loved for its beautiful narration. Then I watched "Scary Movie" ...

The Leadership development classes did a good role in pointing out my handicaps in soft skills and in improving my presentation skills.

I have to do a book review for final grading in the leadership development class. I am planning to review "Fish". I have to finish it by Tuesday. Next week, final exams start and I have miles to go ...

World of Dunking

Ok Joe... I will talk about dunking ...

Yesterday night, When I was in the midst of my stats assignment at 12:30, I heard a huge roaring sound... I learned that Birthday dunking is going on and decided to have a look at it ...In ISB, it is a culture to dunk the birthday boy/girl (Or should I say man/woman ... No .. No offence meant for the birthday girl) in the swimming pool at midnight.

I went to the pool with one of my friends... I was under the impression that only the birthyday baby will be dunked but I was wrong ... The moment students saw me, they started chasing me , with the intention of dunking me ... I was not a good runner and was caught ... Then... as expected I was thrown into the pool...

It was a good fun ... I am planning to attend the further dunking ceremonies ...

BTW, My midterms marks have come and I am not scoring as bad as expected ...Accounting paper was corrected lineantly so that guys like me who met accounting for the first time will not lose confidence ...

Nearing the end of first Term

The end-term exams are approaching fast. As I am finding it hard to finish the daily homeworks, I don't get any time to start preparing for the exams. The exams are on 7th and 8th June. When the seniors mentioned that the course will be hectic, I didn't expect it to be this much hectic.

Today in the leadership devlopment class, they screened a video about the myths. It was interesting ... Everyone has a real hero inside him/her. When the hero sets out for his journey, he meets the dragons (fear, lust etc) ... Now its his choice ... He can return to his home and lead a happy life or fight the dragons and find the purpose of his life ...

Yesterday I slept at 3:30 AM. Sundays are always more hectic than weekdays. Today I bunked two classes. Now I am relaxing in my room ... In ISB, at the most we can bunk two classes per subject. I am opening my account from Today.

Tomorrow I have another assignment to complete and wednesday,a quiz. I may get my mid-term marks today...

Blogging after a long time ...

Hectic...Hectic...Hectic...How else could I describe this ISB life ? Yesterday evening was a real refresher. I went to the city for the first time after coming to the ISB. I loved roaming the city in auto. I and two of my friends went for shopping. Traffic is worse here. There were not many subways to cross the road as in Chennai. The city seems to be congested. But somehow I liked the city.

Yesterday a pub called Bottles & Chimney arranged a party at Ramoji film city. For ISBians entry was free and a bus was sent to the ISB to pick up the intersted students. A good number of students went for it yesterday night. As I am not a party-freak, I avoided it and chose to go to the city.

A relaxed day ...

Today was a bit relaxed day. Tomorrow we have Stats mid-term and have to prepare for a case study for marketing. This work load is very little when compared to the normal workload and I feel relaxed.

My first half of the stat class is over by today. Stats prof was one of the best prof I have seen. He taught very little but covered it in a good depth. He started from the basics of probablility and explained us the importance of each and every distribution. For grading, he uses multiple choice quiz and no other exams. He will be flying back tomorrow and we will have new prof for the next class.

Many ask me whether I still feel alone ...Now I am not... But I am hearing students complaining that they feel alone ...

Save me ...
Now I understand why bschools are compared to hell. This weekend would have been the worst weekend from my birth. We were preparing for mid-term on friday and after mid-term, we were supposed to do a group assignment. Our group worked on it till Saturday night, without break, spare a six hours of sleep. We were damn tired and then started on next group assignment on Sunday Morning. Agin without a break it went till 3:00 AM. Then we had an individual assigment !! Wooph !! My group saw my fatigue and spared me to sleep from 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM. Lot of students didn't sleep last night ! I am damn tired and desperately need sleep. But we have to prepare for tomorrow's class and on wednesday we have next mid-term. Actually, one assignmnet was cancelled this weekend and still we had this much load. To worsen the situation, some groups had presentation skills workshop during the weekend (From Morning to Evening)

And thus went my first exam ...

Today I had my first mid-term exam - Accounting. Most of the guys here say that accounting is easy but somehow I find it tough. I can understand the concepts when the prof teaches, but if I am asked to create the statements, I am struck. So you can imagine how my exam would have gone.

I was asked to create Income statement, Balance sheet and Cash flow in just one hour. I was thinking it is an impossible task but was proven wrong by people finishing it well ahead of time. Okay what happenned to me ? When I was in the middle of my T-accounts, I accidentally saw my watch and alas! forty minutes had passed away. Obviously, I didn't get some good number for the income and so I went back to correct the T-accounts. After some time, I realized that I changed some correct T-accounts and then started undoing my changes. The invigilator reminded that only ten minutes are remaining. I started building my balance sheet with wrong T-accounts due to lack of time. As expected, it didn't balance and time was up.

And thus went my first exam ...

"What am I doing here ?"
I often ask myself this question - Why am I here? There may be many answers but the ultimate motto is to make more money. But I was getting more than enough salary in my previous job. I liked my job. I had a good name and reputation. Why did I leave everything to come here? I have taken risks - I may not like my new job, I may not shine in my new job, etc etc. I don't want to term 15 lakhs as risk. It is worthy.

Am I greedy? When I was getting enough salary, why do I want to make more money? Will I be satisfied with the salary I get after ISB or would I wish to get more?

With these type of questions boggling me, I am going through the course. I don't get any free time. I have unplugged the TV wire to resist my temptation. I avoid chatting. I avoid wasting time. But still I am occupied till 10:00 PM and in some days even 12:00 AM. I don't agree with students sleeping at 1:00 or 2:00 AM. They might be wasting time in the evenings. I get 7 to 8 hours of sleep daily.( In the first few weeks I was sleeping for 10 hours :) )

Ok. I am studying daily. But does it reflect in the grades ? Not exactly. Studying just gives a mental satisfaction that I am doing whatever I can and am not wasting 15 lakhs.

So I am pushing myself hard just to have a mental satisfaction. I don't know whether this learning would make me a better person ...Just I hope ... And what about grades ? Lets wait for two more weeks ...

I am struggling to be an economist cum statistician cum accountant Today I had economics and Statistics class. Prof. shared a joke about economist. An economist and an accountant were walking while they found a hundred rupee note on the floor. Accountant said " There is an hundred rupee note on the floor !". Economist answered "It is not possible. If it had been there, someone would have picked it". This joke made me realize it is difficult to understand economics but still I struggle to do it. It is certainly not the professor's fault but it is my brain that is acting against me. May be its too tired ...

Statistics is slowly turning into a nightmare but I think only I am worrying about it. Others don't sleep and so they need not care about the nightmares ...

It is increasingly becoming difficult to find time for writing blogs... Tomorrow I am supposed to study 10 chapters ... (yes 10)... a lot of thoughts are going in my mind about what I am doing here ... I will discuss it leisurely tomorrow...

Now I gotta run ...

Yesterday I was at my study table from Morning 9:00 AM to 12:00 AM in the night except for the meal time. There were two assignments and a hell lot to study. This is the maximum effort I have put in my life to do some home work.

Today the classes were relaxing (or may be I am used to the classes). Unlike my UG classes, here I do listen to the professors. There are more active particpants in the class gunning for CP (Class participation marks) and it makes class active. But atleast in my section, there is no one interrupting the class just to show his knowledge. But all these doesn't mean that everyone is active. There is an active sleeping club and I too join the club occasionally.

Slowly the college atmosphere is catching up ... Students have started relaxing little bit (I emphasise the word "little")...

We may have a group meeting today to discuss the next assignment ... My group is very active and supportive and we do have a lot of fun in the group ... I will post the group experiences after getting permission from them ...

" Who will dare to relax after paying 15 lakhs ?"
I was wrong... I said that people seemed to relax yesterday but today I found that most have been slogging yesterday ... I felt it first when I went to the attrium in the evening where I found a lot of students studying in groups ... I found that some are already done with the Monday's work ...I did ask why they are not taking rest for a day... The first line of today's blog was the response I got for that.

I watched the "Satya" movie yesterday. It was a good movie and typical ramgopal type. It did some analysis and have sent to my group for compiling ...

I am already late ... Let me go and prepare for Monday's work ...

It was a sunny day ... Yesterday evening I enjoyed my time walking around the campus, swimming in the night,watching tv, chatting with the friends ... It feels so good to relax after a hectic week ... Today again, I am free watching TV and hearing songs ... There are assignments to be completed but no one seems to be bothered about it. Today, the movie "Satya" will be screened at the auditorium for doing analysis of the movie characters. I haven't yet watched this movie and will watch it today. I can watch in my laptop but I don't like watching movies in a small screen.

Good climate ... Cool lectures ... Afternoon sleep... Today was a cool day ... Mainly because I am free till Monday except for a half-an-hour class tomorrow.

We had a small quiz today and three assignments are due on Monday.

Today let me tell more about me. I finished my BE in computer Engg. and joined iNautix technologies in Chennai. I didn't had any big aims and just wanted to lead the rest of my life as an IT professional. iNautix was a great place to work and I loved IT. When my friends were trying hard to crack CAT, I was trying to prove myself in the work. I believed that an MBA is not required to climb the corporate ladder, but the learning from work experience would suffice. I was getting good ratings and hefty bonus. I didn't want to waste my two years in MBA.

As I had said earlier, we never know when our mind would change ... Mine changed when I read an article about MBA and its importance for people with work experience ... It was on the beginning of November, when I decided MBA is not a bad choice. Still I was not prepared to spend two full years for it. At that time, I accidentally visited the ISB web-page and thought the course would suit me. I was in US then and my colleagues there convinced me a post-graduate degree would matter in the long-run though not in the short run. I decided to go for it and started my GMAT prep. Time went so fast and now I am in the ISB still wondering how to use this one-year most efficiently.

With just one week of classes, I have started feeling that an MBA is worth pursuing. The lessons taught in MBA are the ones which every person in a responsible position should know. I will discuss about how I got into the ISB, later.

And regarding unwanted comments in my comments section … If it continues, I may be forced to remove the comment section …

Yesterday evening was too hectic... four chapters and two cases to be read and one assignment to be completed ... I was one of the lucky few who managed to sleep by 12:00 PM. There were guys who slept only for one or two hours... Today is comparitively free and I went for a swim. I am not yet swimming properly but could manage to swim and escape if situation arises.

I am gradually getting comfortable with this school. Yet the buildings and this life have not become dear to me but the name "ISB" has. Still I cannot believe that I am doing my MBA. Before four months, I was strongly opposing going for MBA. Life changes rapidly and mind changes more rapidly ... I am just watching the changes happening to me as a spectator.

I submitted my first assignment today exactly at 8:00 AM, which was the deadline. I have not done it correctly but more or less have got the concepts correct. Today I got an interesting assignment to evaluate the characters of the movie "Satya".

I have started getting used to my room and this school. I know one day I may feel bad to leave this room and place but that's life ...

AND THUS WENT THE FIRST CLASS ...

I was in before 5 minutes. Sharply at 8:30, the class began. The name tag before me - "Sujayath" - gave me a proud feeling that I was part of the ISB. I am not going to comment on the class or the professor. But I had a feeling that I am learning from the best faculty. There was a grim silence throughout the class and there were some fifty hands rising up for each question asked. Class participation carries marks. We were supposed to be prepared with the concepts the professor would be teaching on that day. ( I can anticipate the question - "Strange ! Then what does they teach ?". The class is just a brush-up of concepts and more of an application of concepts in case studies). I was looking for oppurtunities when I could raise my hand but didn't get any ... The class was over and he handed over an assignment due on wednesday.

The next class was relaxing. There was a rumour yesterday that we were supposed to do some home-work for this class. Prof. had sent a mail to everyone that we need not worry about home-works. He also easied us by saying that there are no marks for class participation. It was a bit relaxed class.

Afternoon, I went late to the class and noticed that asst. dean was there on the class. I don't know whether I was marked present or absent for the class. It was about leadership development. If I am absent for two classes, my grade would be decreased by one letter grade.

And I am back to the room. I am waiting for the barber to come. Let me have a hair-cut.

All the pre-term courses are over. The real ride starts from Monday. There are a lot to prepare for the first class and I am in lack of time. My groupmates are calling me for carting. It will take away 5 hours from my schedule but I may go for it. Once the term starts, I may not be able to do that.

Yesterday there was a sudden party in the student village. I was tired and didn't go to party. Here party includes booze and dancing. I don't drink but like watching people drinking and dancing. There is a lot of energy flowing in these parties and would help to revive ourselves in the middle of the hectic schedule we are going through.

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Everyone who comes to the ISB for the first time will become spellbound. The campus is awesome. The hostels are known as student villages. The rooms have TV, bed, sofa, AC, etc etc and there will be servants to clean your room and make your bed. The hostel authorities treat you like a star hotel customer. You will feel like you are living in a luxury resort and not in a hostel.

Yet, I feel alone here. I feel like I am house arrested. Whenever I return from dinner, the solitude strikes me. I will walk very slowly from the dining hall to my room. Once I enter the room, I am alone. So, I will try to walk as slow as I can. I do not find many people sitting outside their rooms in the hostel premises. Either they study in their room or go to the library or academic center to study. Most of the rooms have four students sharing the apartment. There will be a common hall and seperate bedrooms. Unluckily I was allotted an apartment that has seperate rooms (no common hall) and shared only by two. This worsens my solitude.

I asked one of my group mates who usually studies in his room about the reason he is not going to the academic center for studying. He replied " I usually get distracted by beautiful girls. In ISB there are many, mostly studying at LRC (library) or at the academic center. I don't want to get distracted."

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