It's a ten

There is a nip in the air this morning, almost imperceptible, laughable even to anyone who is accustomed to the traditional season of winter (wear). But, for me, it is a trigger to memories from a weather long ago at a place far away. Bangalore of the mid-late 2000s was pleasure, full of greenery, and cool winds, particularly cold inside the hallowed portals of IIMB. Those days, the temperature used to drop a degree or two once you set foot inside campus.

I first walked into the campus in early 2006 to attend my group discussions and personal interviews. Filled with nothing short of awe, I passed my hands over those grey stone walls, walked tentatively across podiums and courtyards, and attended the interviews with trepidation. It’s been over twelve years since then, ten since I graduated from campus.

Ten years out of campus is a lot of learning, as clichéd as it sounds. Student life is a sheltered one, idyllic even, despite the pressures of coursework and tests and grades and placements. Ten years ago, it was even more idyllic because we were one of the last batches to pay dirt cheap fees for a 2-year course in that eminent institution. All we had to do was turn up at class, participate with some inputs and solutions to business problems we half understood and didn’t relate to, cram for tests, complete group projects, and design our resumes. The goals weren’t many, in fact the goal was only one, to get placed on Day 0. Identification of personal strengths and interest areas, evaluating role fitment, considering company culture – none of these were priorities. At pre-placement talks, all of us would wait for that slide titled “Compensation & Benefits” because, nothing else mattered. No wonder then that most B-school graduates quit their jobs within the first year or two of joining.

Ten years out of campus also means a lot of forgetting. We do tend to forget that those 2-years were hardly idyllic. It was a lot of pressure, from within and outside. The first few months were heartbreaking, because relative grading hardly made friends, mostly only people looking for benefits. Summer placements killed whatever friendships remained, because come on, Not Day 0, then not my friend. And that’s why it is important to cherish the friendships that survived that time, in fact thrived through the past ten years. What miracle is that? Who are these people who have wanted to be friends with me all these years? No benefits here. No support in group studies or placement prep, but they are still around, and will be around for the 25^th year reunion.

Ten years do pass by in a flash. So much happens. People move countries, change careers, get married, have kids, get divorced, get married again. But, people at the core never change. Those I remember as the fun ones who can hold happy conversations about the world at large still remain the same. And the others… they too remain. The same. Those of us who would get around and make fun of everything and everyone also remain, the same.

Ten years out of campus, most importantly, just raises more questions than answers. We planted a tree in memory of a dead batchmate. Yes, one of us died. Within just ten years. No one called for silence as the tree was planted, we just went silent. Perhaps, we were all thinking the same thing. What is life? Is it just a tree at the end?

P.S. Thanks M, for making me write on the blog. It was for fear of losing your readership mostly, that I wrote this. Also, because I wanted to write. What’s a ten-year reunion if not a blog post?