Half way through the Journey@IIMS

The memory, of the day I walked in at IIM Shillong campus, is still afresh in my mind. Even though it was a welcome change from a corporate life of unfulfilled desires, I had my apprehensions. ‘What and whys’ of those apprehensions were ambiguous. The only thing that was clear in my mind was the expectations on the fun quotient of my life. And it was really simple, nothing extraordinary. I wanted to meet some amazing people, find some critical few to hang on to, get drunk, shout, dance, party hard, use a few cuss words, go out on lots and lots of treks, do random things, study a bit and enjoy each and every little moment of student life. Because this will, in all likelihood, be my last shot at it and I did not want to miss out on any single moment.

If I look back, nearly half of my time at IIM Shillong has passed. And the questions that I ask myself today are: “Did I make the most of it?” “Were there any moments that took my breath away?” “Did I find a critical few?” When I close my eyes to reflect, I can feel a wave building inside me which is about to defy my composure. I open my eyes only to realize that they are a touch weary and probably a touch moist. There is a realization that whatever ‘Chris McCandless’ found out after travelling the whole of Alaska had made a lot of sense back then and is perfectly true even in today’s world. He wrote:

“Happiness only real when shared!!”

Of course, sharing is one of the best ways of expressing one’s joy. I remember asking for a critical few with whom I can share ups and downs of my life at IIMS. Half way through life@IIMS, I have got many more than that. I expected a few special moments but got tons and tons of them. And it is not a matter of saying. A lot of memories were created at a frenetic pace. I did not even realize the time as it went by. Come to think of it, I am happy that I have a folder named “IIM Shillong pics” that has all kind of subfolders that have names such as ‘Shillong Peak and Elephanta falls’, ‘Mawphlang Sacred Grooves’, ‘Cherrapunji Trip’, ‘Double Root Trek’, ‘Bonfire’, ‘Diwali’, ‘Independence Day’, ‘Kopda Cup’, ‘Cloud9 after effect’, ‘Sustainability’, ‘Morning Errand’, ‘Outing Bistro and PB’, ‘Winter Campus’, ‘Cult com party’, ‘Ice breaker and PDP pics’, ‘IIMS Bdays’, ‘Golf cup’, ‘Freshers’, ‘Footsteps’, ‘Talent show’, ‘River Island’, ‘Liatlum’, ‘CulCom Super 93’, ‘Guwahati’, ‘Convocation’, ‘Farewell’ and ‘Random’. Of all these memories, the last one is probably the most unplanned, the most unexpected and the most cherished one. These are the ones that constitute time spent at ramp; on the roof top; while campus walks; with best buddies; in stupid fights; in discussing the goods and the bads of relationships; in discussions of deeply sophisticated and yet simple issues; over a cup of tea; in preparation of frustrating exams; in unplanned night-outs; in preparing a PPT for a competition; while playing TT or during a trip to PB for nothing. These seemingly commonplace and mundane activities never get the credit they deserve and yet, they are the ones that make any student life special. I am happy that my time at IIMS was no exception and I got a fair bit of them. Credit goes to ‘Super 93’ and ‘Incredible 106’.

After a two month stint at corporate life, my journey of IIMS life will resume. This time there will be a realization that journey will finish soon. Interestingly, this is something that means different to different people. For some it would be a signal to go out raring to conquer the mighty corporate world. For some, it would be just another step in an always moving life, a step that would improve their lives economically, in all likelihood. Some would like to hold on to this time without realizing that they cannot stop the sand from slipping through the fingers. For me, it will mean some more memories to cherish, some more time to spend with people who are really special, some more time to crib about how life is not fair and some more time to appreciate life at the same time and some more time in the heart of nature in a wonderful place. For there will come a day when I will have to say good bye to my friends at IIMS and close the chapter named ‘IIMS journey’. There would be a void. But hopefully, I will have an interesting and challenging chapter to fill the void. Whatever that might be, the new chapter will never be an isolated one. As always, it will have the best of footprints from a reminiscent past. It will have a few more characters, a few changes in the outlook of the protagonist and a fresh story. In the bigger scheme of things, the chapter of IIMS will definitely rank among the best ones and that is what makes me look forward to the rest of the journey @IIMS!! Hopefully, some things will sort themselves out and speed breakers or the potholes will not be big enough.

Signing off for now,

Tarun