After all these years of back-to-back meetings and conference calls, reaching a place on the nick of time is something that I’ve made into a fine art. Continuing with the same tradition, I reached my classroom at 10.15 in the morning only to find that all the prime seats have been taken up and that the only ones left are in the back of the class. That started my journey as a back bencher.
Soon, the places started getting concretized and I started getting to class even later. Developing a thick skin is important and I slowly started getting immune to the looks of the professors when I started coming in late. All these cemented my place in our list of back benchers. It is indeed a vantage position and now that I think of it, I wonder why I didn’t sit there earlier. Anyways, it’s never too late and I plan to make the most of my time here.
How time flies!!! Even before we realize, we were two months into the course. Term 2 started with a vengeance while we were still recovering from the onslaught of the earlier term. Resolutions of being regular in studies were broken – doubly quick. More subjects than before, more assignments, more innovative ways of grading – well, there’s never a dull day. People emerged from the satisfaction of completing Term 1 only to be hit hard with reality – tons of stuff already covered; how do we reclaim lost ground?
Keen students of management that we are, we are trained to avoid “stereotyping”. However, there’s something about the back of the class that throws all these theories out of the window. Some professors are extra cautious about the people at the back – you never know what trouble is brewing. Folks at the front are also wary – after all, you can’t predict what these guys are up to. Strangely, people at the back are also in deep thought – what new should I do today to avoid reaching nirvana yet again. Same class, multiple objectives!!!
Each professor brings along their own unique method. Multiple spot quizzes to put you on the spot, assurances of easy quizzes only to realize that what’s easy for the master is not easy for the disciple, assignments where you are left scratching your head for a meaningful topic since the selection of the topic is also graded, class discussions on “unique” market segments, classes that you can’t leave (however urgent the calling) once in. Add to it the uncertainties of an open book exam. If variety were truly the spice of life, then our cuisine ranks in the Kolhapuri zone.
The depth of the discussion that happens at the back of the classes need to be experienced to be understood. Sayings in Punjabi that articulate the pulse of the class abound from our expert from the “Land of the five rivers”, solutions to the most complex problems from our lead dramatist (in Atal Bihari Vajpayee isthyle) that always seem to end with “it depends”, insights into the workings of service companies (Sorry bro – I had to put this in), nuggets of wisdom from our resident guruji and general “bakar” from the others including me. All of these make the learning process infinitely more enjoyable.
For all the advantages that we enjoy, there are also some professional hazards of being a backbencher. A few innovative professors have taken to pacing down the aisle of the classroom. Yet others have started teaching from the back – the back becomes the new front. Thankfully, most professors do not (as yet) subscribe to these innovations – may their tribe increase. The gravest hazard faced till date has been when one of our lads got marching orders – we are yet to discover what hurt him more: the marching orders itself or the fact that it came just 10 minutes before the end of a mammoth 3 hour double header. Yours truly had a close brush with danger when a professor realized that the laptop was not being used “judiciously”.
The campus which had a deserted look when we came is now all lively now with the arrival of the PGP1 and PGP2 folks. The gym and the badminton court are more crowded these days – which means lesser games but more fun than before. Extended court hours give added flexibility to playing time. Imagine playing till 1.30 am, writing a blog till 2.30 am, feeling hungry and having a Maggi at 3.00 am. 24 hours to a day – so many things to do, so little time.
Fun at the freshers’ party with JBS BaroC – the band of IIMC followed by live DJ music and then dancing the night out (not to mention the after effects on the next day), get-togethers of our own (again with its after effects), ad-hoc visits to Park Street have a way of making one feel younger than one actually is. But this blissful feeling was not to last long. The other day a PGP1 asked me when I passed out of engineering college. I honestly gave him a year (which is quite some time back J). He innocently said – “tabhi to mein fifth standard mein tha”. That exchange brought to him a sense of “aadar” and to me – a sheepish look J . But, that does not deter us from ploughing on. As one of our champs put it – “It’s all in the mind”.
Term 2 almost draws to a close. With a 4 day break in between, all are eager for a short stint at home. From my vantage point at the back of the classroom - signing off on this instalment of our times at Joka.
Soon, the places started getting concretized and I started getting to class even later. Developing a thick skin is important and I slowly started getting immune to the looks of the professors when I started coming in late. All these cemented my place in our list of back benchers. It is indeed a vantage position and now that I think of it, I wonder why I didn’t sit there earlier. Anyways, it’s never too late and I plan to make the most of my time here.
How time flies!!! Even before we realize, we were two months into the course. Term 2 started with a vengeance while we were still recovering from the onslaught of the earlier term. Resolutions of being regular in studies were broken – doubly quick. More subjects than before, more assignments, more innovative ways of grading – well, there’s never a dull day. People emerged from the satisfaction of completing Term 1 only to be hit hard with reality – tons of stuff already covered; how do we reclaim lost ground?
Keen students of management that we are, we are trained to avoid “stereotyping”. However, there’s something about the back of the class that throws all these theories out of the window. Some professors are extra cautious about the people at the back – you never know what trouble is brewing. Folks at the front are also wary – after all, you can’t predict what these guys are up to. Strangely, people at the back are also in deep thought – what new should I do today to avoid reaching nirvana yet again. Same class, multiple objectives!!!
Each professor brings along their own unique method. Multiple spot quizzes to put you on the spot, assurances of easy quizzes only to realize that what’s easy for the master is not easy for the disciple, assignments where you are left scratching your head for a meaningful topic since the selection of the topic is also graded, class discussions on “unique” market segments, classes that you can’t leave (however urgent the calling) once in. Add to it the uncertainties of an open book exam. If variety were truly the spice of life, then our cuisine ranks in the Kolhapuri zone.
The depth of the discussion that happens at the back of the classes need to be experienced to be understood. Sayings in Punjabi that articulate the pulse of the class abound from our expert from the “Land of the five rivers”, solutions to the most complex problems from our lead dramatist (in Atal Bihari Vajpayee isthyle) that always seem to end with “it depends”, insights into the workings of service companies (Sorry bro – I had to put this in), nuggets of wisdom from our resident guruji and general “bakar” from the others including me. All of these make the learning process infinitely more enjoyable.
For all the advantages that we enjoy, there are also some professional hazards of being a backbencher. A few innovative professors have taken to pacing down the aisle of the classroom. Yet others have started teaching from the back – the back becomes the new front. Thankfully, most professors do not (as yet) subscribe to these innovations – may their tribe increase. The gravest hazard faced till date has been when one of our lads got marching orders – we are yet to discover what hurt him more: the marching orders itself or the fact that it came just 10 minutes before the end of a mammoth 3 hour double header. Yours truly had a close brush with danger when a professor realized that the laptop was not being used “judiciously”.
The campus which had a deserted look when we came is now all lively now with the arrival of the PGP1 and PGP2 folks. The gym and the badminton court are more crowded these days – which means lesser games but more fun than before. Extended court hours give added flexibility to playing time. Imagine playing till 1.30 am, writing a blog till 2.30 am, feeling hungry and having a Maggi at 3.00 am. 24 hours to a day – so many things to do, so little time.
Fun at the freshers’ party with JBS BaroC – the band of IIMC followed by live DJ music and then dancing the night out (not to mention the after effects on the next day), get-togethers of our own (again with its after effects), ad-hoc visits to Park Street have a way of making one feel younger than one actually is. But this blissful feeling was not to last long. The other day a PGP1 asked me when I passed out of engineering college. I honestly gave him a year (which is quite some time back J). He innocently said – “tabhi to mein fifth standard mein tha”. That exchange brought to him a sense of “aadar” and to me – a sheepish look J . But, that does not deter us from ploughing on. As one of our champs put it – “It’s all in the mind”.
Term 2 almost draws to a close. With a 4 day break in between, all are eager for a short stint at home. From my vantage point at the back of the classroom - signing off on this instalment of our times at Joka.
you are never on time in the class...always 5 min late!!
ReplyDeletesuch a good read.. while reading it I was just thinking how it would feel like to revisit your blogs after 10..20 or more number of years (ofcourse if I am still there in a form which allows me to read) :-)
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