B-schools mean business! What better lesson can one learn on the first day at IIMK! I hadn’t even joined college and here I was submitting assignments and following deadlines. And the very first day – the registration day – was a clear indicator of how things worked here. The day had a proper itinerary from morning to night. Talk about an organized and systematic life!

The day started off with the usual unavoidable hiccups (Xerox “panga” – why does this problem always plague me!). I’d conveniently forgotten to get a couple of important photocopies of my grade sheets. Luckily, I knew exactly where to go – I’d been in the same fix on the day of my interview as well! So ya, I was used to it and better still, I was learning how to “manage” it effectively (:P).

After a long queue, signs and verification (and once again, as usual, I could have done without those last minute photocopies. Sheesh!), I was officially a student of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. Ah! It feels good to say that! I proceeded to get myself photographed (in my business casual best) for the ID card. I also grabbed my official IIMK T-Shirt (which was to be the dress code for the evening “Batch Photo Shoot”) from our very own MADCOM (Thank you MADCOM! :P).

This takes us to noon, meaning lunch (the first one at J mess). I returned to my room. The most amazing thing about my room was the balcony view. I had the most stunning view of the hills. Imagine that you could wake up every day to such picturesque scenery. It was indeed a dream come true! The itinerary led me to Harvard Steps (whatte catchy name!). I’d actually thought of taking a nap before leaving but it wasn’t to be (little did I know then that many sleepless nights were to ensue!). Ok, so the Batch Photo Shoot happened at the Harvard Steps. It was delayed by the incessant rains. The Tripod team (the photography club of IIMK) jumped out as soon as the rain provided a breather and got everyone in formation. It took multiple takes on multiple DSLR’s, but finally it got done.

Let me pause here as I HAVE TO describe the view at Harvard Steps. These steps lead to the main entrance of IIMK (the one that you get to see in the photos). From the steps, you get a view of Arjuna (obviously his statue) who is on one knee, aiming for the skies. In the distance, the hills look absolutely amazing and the low lying clouds (thanks to the rain) add to the splendour. The feeling that you get standing here and letting the fact sink in that THIS would be your home for the next 2 years is absolutely amazing and most fulfilling.

I did not have too long to stand there and admire the landscape. I had to run back to my room to change for the Inauguration Ceremony. Why did I have to change? Well, that’s probably a long story (or so I think) as I do not know it myself. Basically one of the seniors randomly pulled out a couple of guys from our batch for the lamp lighting ceremony at the Inauguration function. And one of them was me. So here I was running to the new auditorium in a blue kurta.

It was indeed an honour to stand alongside our Director Dr. Debashis Chatterjee and light the lamp. My first day couldn’t get any better than this! The inauguration ceremony got done with brief speeches from the Director and Deans, a video about the life at IIMK and a few other speeches by seniors. Then, we proceeded for refreshments (about time!).

We soon learnt our itinerary for the next 4 days. Our induction programme was to have speeches by experts, interactive sessions, case studies and a visit to a nearby resort. All in all, it was a launch-pad for the next 2-year period of our lives. It seemed like an amazing learning opportunity with sessions by Swami Dayanand Saraswati and RBI Governor Dr. Subbarao lined up. Luckily we had the weekend off. So we had time to cool down before classes started the next week.

Oh wait! How can I forget this! We also had “sacrosanct” deadlines for a long assignment that was due in 3 days. The questions themselves took 12 pages! (Little did we know what lay on the other side of it).

So, after an amazing first day, I was on my way back to the hostel along the unending corridors of IIMK. These corridors are amazing – you can get from one part of the campus to another without getting wet in the rains. And as they mainly constitute steps, it is a very “huff-puff” affair by the time you reach your destination. I reached my new room and crashed into my new bed.

There you have it – life at a B-school just begun! 😀