Disconnecting

Leaving an educational institute is one of the toughest things to do. Even more so at a place like ISB. Just physically leaving the campus is a challenge in itself. For 360 days we have been pampered by Sarovar and nature. I can't imagine what it would be like to make my own bed!! As if to make things worse, summer has arrived with warmth, colors and today, cooling rain. Sigh...

Disconnecting from the more abstract attributes will require greater effort than anything else. In some sense withdrawal symptoms started to creep in after placements. The classrooms seem uninviting, the conversations repetitive and the parties monotonous. I guess I'm yearning for a newer challenge and the accompanying anticipation of the unknown!

For various reasons, term 8 is meant to facilitate this process. The courses are instructive rather than participative, giving us that much free time to create memories. Some choose to move the bull, others find memories a bottle and a few lucky ones like me get to go on an all-expenses-paid vacation to Bangkok! Team Trip-Plan learnt a lot in that visit, made a few good friends and overall had a reality check on what it means to be an entrepreneur. And of course, it wasn't just all work :)

We can do without the campus, without even the daily dose of gyaan since we will find substitutes once we leave this place. What I will miss are the students. Contrary to perception, an institute does not make the students, but vice versa. This is what I found at BHU and what I have observed at ISB. Whatever the ills and criticisms of ISB, what cannot be doubted is the talent inherent in the student body. Who knows if I'll ever find another collection of such specimens (!) in a single place at the same time.

Filling up the year book did bring back tons of memories. It was surprising to note what people actually thought of you. For some, it was payback time :) . The last section party was great and given the large turnout, it absolutely rocked. People are now busy collecting pictures, videos, books, presentations, anything at all that defined their time here. I'm not sure if that's the right way. We tend to accumulate just too much baggage.

SLC has promised an absolute blast for the next three weeks including parties, lunches, paintball fights and what not. With the Hon. Kapil Sibal expected for Graduation Day, the coming days offer a plethora of entertainment.

I'm left wondering sometimes, though, what it would be like to call ISB an alma mater. How would people perceive me ? Would I be branded as snobbish and elitist or smart and wise ? Time will tell...

Validation

These last few days of free time have really brought on introspection. I'm yet to form an opinion of my time here at ISB. Unlike at BHU, where I was nostalgic even before I left, ISB seems to defy classification. So I decided to go hunting for other similar experiences.

Of course, talking to ISBians is too small a sample. But the overall feeling I got was that most of my MBA friends (ISB, IIMs, US etc) were underwhelmed by the MBA experience. This effect was even more pronounced with those who had harrowing placement experience (and hence could be discounted to an extent) but the nagging feeling that an MBA is not all that it was cracked up to be could not be shaken off. Why is it then that the stereotype of the MBA Gods has spread like wildfire ? Does society's perspective of MBAs differ significantly from the students' ? If so, why ? Perhaps it is because our benchmarks change once we're inside.

A couple of interesting reads helped put things in perspective. Keep off the grass by Karan Bajaj takes a "pot" shot at management education at the IIMs. It's a must-read to appreciate some of the absurdity that goes on behind the scenes in Indian management education. A second, and probably more cultured, version of the B-school experience is Ahead of the Curve by Phil Broughton. Based on his two years at HBS, he puts a more realistic spin on the pressures faced by the students at an international B-school and comes very close to what my experience at ISB was like.

Both authors speak of the pressure to perform, of somehow finishing top of the curve. They also talk of the serendipity of success, of learning to take failings in your stride and not being overwhelmed by peer pressure. Easier said than done when every incoming student will be fighting tooth and nail for that pot of gold called IB/VC/PE/MC. Is this correct ? Students will have to compromise simply because of demand supply mismatch. Is this fair ? Why ask people to write lofty essays about goals when you know almost 80% of them won't be able to achieve them ? I think the GSB prof was on the right track when he asked - How much will you bend over for ?

My own personality has undergone some change since I came here. I was always introverted and critical to begin with, but now I sense that I have become more cynical. A sameness begins to creep in after some time and diversity and participation become mere buzzwords. As managers, when we are taught to question everything and deal with the uncertainty of everyday business, it can easily become the twisted prism through which we view life. I would not like this cynicism to be my greatest takeaway from an MBA. Entrepreneurs, especially, will have to figure out how to retain their dreams when surrounded by this ocean of randomness and pessimism.

Don't get me wrong - there's no experience like B-school. Everything about them is larger than life. For a few months, you're likely to be more alive than ever before and you'll be challenging everything you thought you knew about yourself. It's a grand adventure. But, like all adventures, it's not without risks. I only wish that starry-eyed folks who come in expecting the moon can be better prepared to imagine the worst-case scenario and have the right contingencies planned.