So Long Farewell I hate to go and leave this pretty sight
(Every Story must have a beginning here's where we started this chapter:
Bear up dear reader, being the last of this particular series, this post will be a wee bit long on the tail
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The clock tells a tale of times gone by.
At this hour, for the first six months of 2017, CR 1 at Manthan would be abuzz |
"There's a sad sort of clanking, From the clock in the hall, And the bells in the steeple too.
And up in the nursery an absurd little bird Is popping up to say cukoo! Cukoo! Cukoo!
Regretfully they tell us But firmly they compel us - To say goodbye to you"
- Sound of Music
Farewells and goodbyes immediately evoke the musical notes of “Sound of Music” and “Auld Lang Syne”. At once childlike and somber. Maybe, it's “that” stage of life and the deeply embedded Navy DNA. As we stepped out of the portals of IIM-L the reality began to dawn on us. THIS WAS THE FINAL STEP. A childlike curiosity, trepidation, and wonder of opening of new doors. Reaching out to new horizons - a new way of life. Yet in a somber sense, passing of an era, marching on with time and age.
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"For auld lang syne, my dear For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet For auld lang syne!
And surely you will pay for your pint, And surely I will pay for mine!
And we will take a cup of kindness yet For times gone by"
`
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| Artwork - Tanmaya |
Yet that part was still to fully sink in. A journey that began from Lucknow at the the age of 18, was on its final leg, and the conclusion, was being scripted at Lucknow. It has been for me, a quarter of a century and more in whites. It was time to start dusting out the Mufti (Civvies for the uninitiated - yes, the clothes that you call normal - a 'pant-shirt'). New adventures!
But I must admit, leaving IIM (H)ell after a rigorous Six months was definitely a welcome milestone. Back to family, and, familiarity. Back to home cooked food and bigger living spaces. To all the modern visages of civilisation like TV, cable, X Box, paying Electricity/ Phone/ Rent/ Kids bills. Pleasant everyday rituals like grocery/clothes/shoe/etc shopping with the spouse. Routine chores and household errands like chasing plumbers, gardeners..... et all. . Spreading cheer, exchanging verbal volleys, duels and such like love and affection to near and dear ones, including, family, friends, joneses and foes. The daily fight for the TV remote, grumbling and gnashing of teeth all the way. Oh Yes, the mountain of paperwork and medical formalities before I could let go all lines! Bring it on! Oh Yes! Oh Yes! We were so eager to get back to it all. Can't say we were jumping with joy, yet there was that sense of relief and elation. O M G "Oye yaa, Pappu pass ho Gaya" - "Iss umr mein" ( Literally - Phew! Finally cleared the exams and all that nasty stuff, despite our age - PS: References to any persons living or dead are purely unintentional - Pappu is not a copyrighted/proprietary name.)
But there was part of us that we left behind. A part of us in each of the men and women of of DGMP 15 , a part of us in the classrooms at Manthan, a part of us in the sundry exam halls, computer labs, library, Messes, dining halls, gym, swimming pool, and every place we haunted. A Part of us in each of the cluster of shops around the social hub/hotspot around Gupta-ji's Shop(s). A part of us in that effervescent bubbly bunch of, to be, MBA grads of IIM Hell. And most definitely yes, definitely a part of us in the Professors (who tried their - damndest and hardest to - teach, so as to say, old dogs new tricks ). Point to note, the faculty were always there to answer the millionth+n query but they were elusively-camera shy. Here's a few snapshots of those we could corner. (If the link doesn't work, make your life easy and just scroll down)
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| Annapoorna Mess |
The social hub became all the more important when IIM emptied itself out , in end March, for the annual term break of the PGP. And the Students Mess, Annapoorna, in a brutal and cruel, body blow, downed its shutters. The shock of missing the daily highlight(s) - (Afternoon Tea snacks and night Mess, the couple of lil' student run eating shops, the web based "In your reach" (food pickup-delivery-from-remote-corners-of-lucknow) student initiative) - and the onset of the searing Lucknow summer, was more than the bravest could bear. That we survived, is testimony to our military training, but tribute must be paid to - .....
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| Farewell to PGP 31 and the last bash at the Mess |
(Continuing with the vernacular protocol of respectfully suffixing every noun with a Ji). Guptaji’s Shop(s) within and without Hell. (Nope - outside is not the only antonym - Remember the Beatles song "Within You And Without You".) Gupta-ji and his myriad family and boys ever willing to run.. err errands..... (Still haven't figured out the family tree or the employe-r/e relationship, except that Gupta-ji was Boss man. 3 names come to mind - Gopal, Mithilesh, and Uday - ji) Lifeline. From street noodles to Juice, service just like the hindi Song - Eh Ganpat Zara Soda La...
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| Goodbye Annapoorna |
Vikas ji, of Sreeji, the mini-something-hyper-mart, loaded with myriad varieties of biscuits and snacks MAGGI and heat-and-serve MRE. Sonu Sardar ji the Houdini shop and his neighbour, the meek stationery walla ji who let Sonuji steal his thunder. The manna from culinary heaven, Dosa Aunty ji, who's fan following, especially post March, would rival any Michelin Star Chef. The Barber ji clan (Nandkishore ji, Ghanshyam ji and more), eveready with the local hot n juicy gossip, a hack and chop with the scissors and (for the brave ones) a oriental martial arts type massage.
Hmmm...... in that flow, a few other ji's including Chemist ji, State Bank ji and Post Office Ji. (Though the Post Office guys were unceremoniously shunted off to a solitary life near the main gate, they were still a part of the life support HUB, as they and the Post Van guys, regularly took their morning, mid-morning, afternoon and mid noon siesta(s) at their old haunt. Sometimes I used to wonder if the Post Van was a decoy. But to give them credit, it did trundle off and disappear for a few score minutes in a day)
On a serious note I like this 'Ji' business. Respect has no shades of class. So a brit can stiffen his upper lip n address his superior as - "Dear Sir" or his errant subordinate with a haughty - "And you Sir....". I'll say "Ji". Hey! "Ji" is super cool.
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| Revanta welcome Party for DGMP15 |
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| One of the corny props at Revanta |
Yes. Lest I forget. Special Mention in dispatches to Revanta - the Hotel on the Sitapur Highway, which served late night meals. Sleepy staff, woken out of their slumber ever willing to wait/wake up for us well past midnight and then, make us wait way way way past cinderella time. Garish and loud, for all reasons, it should have spelt shady with a capital S. But to us, forever hungry souls, it was an Oasis. Also, maybe, the Court enforced, ban on Liquor Vends near Highways, made them opt for a not-shady-family tag. That's just my guess. The food, in that context, was good.
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| The beer is chilled and the moustaches twirled. |
Hostel life is all about innovation. Now that we're talking about my favourite, ok second favorite, topic, food. We innovated and did we. If a washing machine can be used to churn out Lassi (Butter milk) then what did we may sound pretty pedestrian. Like the water dispenser / cooler was used to chill beer and the Iron to reheat Pizzas and toast bread. A note here, for the record, the gang that did have a kitchen, (fridge, hot plate, utensils etc combo spread across three rooms) lets be polite and just say, had limited freezer space. We'll not refer euphemistically, or otherwise, to the Indian obsession with the size of the heart - Dil. After all what happened in Hell, stays in Hell. But again before I get brickbats from Hyderabad and beyond, I did enjoy their hospitality once in awhile. The most valued invention, after electricity and Air Conditioners is that awesome appliance - the electric kettle. Just add water and presto you have - HOT WATER. Now don't scoff. Put yourself in our shoes. Picture a bunch of 40 plus blokes used to having all amenities on call. Pack them in a microscopic hostel room on the 3rd floor with no elevators and by some architectural wizardry ensure you add another two flight of stairs to reach the landing. Hot water is the elixir of life. You can't even imagine the stuff that can be conjured up with hot water, not just the run of the mill Tea/coffee and Maggi.
As I said this will be long on the tail and I can't jump from 6th week to the 26th without filling in the details. But to tell you the truth it's all a blur now. That the aforesaid Pappu(s) graduated was no mean miracle. But.....They do every year and will continue to do so till eternity. Amen. So lets just blur it and put random thoughts, well, randomly.
Summers at Lucknow are searingly hot and the winters bitterly cold. We had the distinction of seeing off the worst of the bone chilling cold and molten lava heat. It was also a rude reminder to me of the coming of age (and softening of resolve and the midriff). For god's sake some 30 years back I used to cycle to school and all over Lucknow in such like weather. Blame it on Global warming. Yep. But February is truly awesome in Lucknow.The campus blossomed . Seeing is believing - a few glimpses:
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| Near the convocation lawns |
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| BodhiGraha - PGP Block |
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| Manthan - MDP Management Development Prog Block |
One of the highlights was the disbanding-banding-branding-rebranding of the placement committee and the brochure committee. We suddenly realised, holy Smokes; we need to get cracking with the job hunt.!!! This is when we realised that Snowden was dealing with Kid stuff - Bah ...CIA FBI? The most secretive database in the world is the PCom (Placement committee) database. Purportedly unknown to even the Director, or even batchmates, it's a fiercely guarded info set, passed on by word of mouth, for centuries, from the memory of the sacred monks of the order of ell. LOL! Kidding, in short, nope we don't share. But we made good friends. (Some of us more than the others! Zip! Even I can practice Omerta. What happens in Hell stays in Hell! Right?).
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| Disha 31-32 |
Another student initiative called DISHA or direction, came to our rescue. These guys mentor their peers and juniors (and never-even-made-a-cv-oldies like us) on the various aspects of the Job Hunt. From resume writing to interview management to company research. Yes old dogs can learn new tricks. I will always cherish that interaction ( again some will do so more than others). Disha was the first real outreach that bridged us - literally the lost generation - with the Gen X of IIM L. What these guys lacked in age, they more than made up in wisdom and gumption. Was I this smart in my early-mid twenties? We were was too busy stamping our feet about learning to march and do utterly illogical feats like dancing with the wolves, swimming with the sharks and hunting with the hawks. {Pretty heavy duty romantic stuff Huh? Thats a solider, sailor or air warrior for you. Gimme 5}. Disha thanks a ton guys. You guys rock. That Whatsapp / Google group is still pending. A special thanks to Nehaarikaa, Harsh and Mridul.
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| Let sleeping Mellus lie |
I can go on and on and fill in many embarrassing and funny anecdotes (don't they go hand in hand - especially from the latter's perspective). But all folks have reached back home and have spouses, children and, in my case, a menagerie of dogs and cats, to answer to. So I'll let that pass. We of the DGMP-15 are at the crossroads. A transition from a life well lived, literally into the wild blue yonder. A life steeped in tradition, honour and pride, a roller coaster of emotions. New adventures, the next innings beckon.
On a lighter note I would like to thank each person who made our stay at IIM-(H)ell as warm and hellish as could be, but that would be another Blog in itself. Where would I start? My school type Prof Payal Mehra? Prof Madhumita? Prof Nishant Uppal? Prof Pankaj? Prof Vaidya? The list is endless and I will still miss many names...... (Scroll down : A Fauji never forgets to say thank you . The List is at the end of the post)
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| The MDP rep - suitably releived |
But it would only be apt to remember those who made our life comfortable at Hostel 17 and the MDP. Ever smiling, quick to respond - Dibakar ji the head-smiley, Pradeep ji the reception guy (who bore the brunt of us having to climb so many stairs). The house keeping smiley Prem ji. The staff at MDP harassed to exhaustion by us, especially in the exam halls. Shruti ji, Heena Ji. Always on the ball, with a smile- Lakhan Bhaiya ji. Baptised by fire Maruti nandan Ji. Much hassled Murli ji. Again, apologies if I missed a few names.
