Campus tales....

Place: Boys hostel, SIMC, Pune

Time: 4 AM

As I sipped the now-cold leftovers of the Maggi cup noodles and listened to my room-mate mutter in his sleep, Ting!, my computer beeped, a noise which was an omniscient part of my day but finally stood out distinctly in a moment that every Indian school teacher dreams of; Pin Drop Silence.

I paused and Alt-Tabbed Entourage to check which other nocturnal kindred spirit was awake now: a time when sleep is highly treasured in an assignments, projects, classes, bully cricket (you can’t play unless you know how to take 10 highly offensive jokes every ball) and an all time bakch*** driven life.

It was yet another email about Fest-O-Comm, SIMC’s annual fest, the flagship event of the institute which every SIMC aspirant, student and alumnus eagerly looks forward to — The dates were finalized and so were the heads of the respective departments for the event, who were getting progressively more hysterical in their emails. This particular mail was a stern reminder of yet another set of deadlines drawing ominously close.

Ever since this season of deadlines had descended upon us, our otherwise idle banter had transformed into debates, brainstorming and ideation. It is strange how a definite objective triggers, even in the most random, bipolar of brains, a coherent thought process.

The atmosphere, therefore, now was electrifying. Classes, meetings, chai, meetings, dinner, meetings, assignments, meetings and repeat; this never-ending loop, however, elicited no complains whatsoever. Everybody was a part of at least one cell (Logistics, Creatives, Online, to name a few) and a few over-enthusiastic ones were enlisting themselves in two or many more.

The real problem, however, is faced by the heads of the cells, managing 10 different characters with 10 different ideas and approaches. Decision-making becomes a tough task and just when it seems accomplished; a brilliant idea comes out from one of those dormant brains sitting quietly in the corner up till now. FML can get a new update everyday from the land of Lavale.

With these musings in my head, I read the rest of the mail and the next thing I realized was waking up in the morning with the laptop on my chest (Thank God, I didn't turn!), with absolutely no clue when I passed out. In a moment of clarity, one that only strikes when one is fresh out of bed, I found myself completely in love with this atmosphere of order out of chaos, despite the efficiency of my brain being directly proportional to the time left for the deadline. The one thing you do take away from this experience is that for making a thing kickass, you got to learn to take a few on your (back)side as well.

Harsh Maheshwari

SIMC

MBA (2010-12)