Sunday, December 30, 2007

IBA in deep part – II

Assignments or better as misspelt version “ASSINGments” are piling up. The exams just got over and they thought some rest is around… but not for long. But, man, that is True Management Student Lifestyle!!!!

Another Beautiful aspect of IBA Life is its great Wi-Fi network. IBA’s network must have been inspired from the old BPL mobile network (updated as Vodafone today). It is always weak when you need it the most. The best example for this is the Early morning class (7 AM) of Prof. Ramesh. He asks you suddenly to go to the Datadepot on the network and download the case-study to be undertaken during class. You will never find any network in the academic block. If u end up finding one, then, it is down! (Well, a solution to this is downloading any damn new file in his folder the night before the class). The network has a tendency to go down whenever you have assignment submission on the knife-edge deadline. Still, appreciation should be given to IBA because even if the network is weak at majority of places, it is at least provided in IBA which has helped in reducing the Load of rubber insulated optical fibres in the campus. This facility is still not provided in many campuses.

In economics, there is a concept of Monopoly. It can be easily studied in IBA at the great Indian GOWDA shop. There are only few shops around IBA other than His. But, for the IBAians, it is His Almighty Shop which is the only one approachable once the gates get closed. Even when u plan to have a bite during the ultra-short break during a lecture, it is his shop which is the Ultimate Solution. Due to all these reasons, one finds the prices of the local Eatables being hiked by at least 5-20% (For example, case of 20% occurs when he sells a Veg Puff for 6 Rs hich originally comes for 5 Rs.). It is also a great place to study the marketing gimmicks. [For example, he removed the stock of “Mazza” & “Amul Milk” and place the Real Juice Fridge in front and sold at nearly 2 rs. Higher price and got great sales].

NEXT: The “ART-OF-LIVING” IBA Special!!!!(A hilarious yet spiritual trip)

Sunday, December 2, 2007

My Research on people in Exam Time

So back..at last! Sorry to all those who have read this page before that I have not been able to update this page since long time.

We (well, at least some of us) were facing the firing squad of the Emperor “Exams”. This was the first experience of the Exams in a B-school. It is the phase when u end up finding that the hours u have slept earlier were the ones which u will end up losing during exam phase.

Everybody is having one or another sheet of paper in their hands. The eyes continue to roll over them functioning as a mental tongue. The books which were never touched during the whole trimester are found laying open on beds. Let’s study some personality types which I have come across during these phase–

1) Dominators: Some guys take this opportunity to try out the Australian Strategy of Psychological Domination. They will approach you and hit u with a barrage of questions of which they know the answers. All they want is the satisfaction that they know more than others. They will teach others, but, leave some important bits and pieces which are important for the answering phase.

2) Helpers: But, all aren’t the same. Some are good enough that they help u in the subjects they are strong. They will sometimes end up over-helping but still are the band of good guys which is very small in size.

3) Co-existers: These guys know that they are not very intelligent and need to survive in this competition. Such guys clump together and study. They are very tightly knit groups. All the members have their set of Strengths and Weaknesses, but, they tend to nullify each others’ weaknesses.

4) Leeches: These are the dangerous sub-species of Dominators. They tend to work in tandem with Dominators. They are the dangerous guys who take over-advantage of helpers. They should be watched out for with dominators.

Hopefully, this data will help out those who find themselves in difficulty while exams.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

An Insight on Faculties at IBA

Hello, fellow IBAians, alumni and future IBAians and also the other people who are visiting this blog /forum. Well, it’s time to analyze the faculties whom I have come cross in my first few months at IBA. (Statuatory Note: These details aren’t about their academic and professional excellence, for that, visit the IBA website!)

1. Vijay Raja (Financial Accounts): This person is one of the people about whom u might have dreamt or heard. He is a topper in nearly all the qualifications he has (believe me he has too many to be told). It’s bad that he is a visiting faculty. He is one of the best VF (Visiting Faculty)IBA possesses for the 1st years. He is a gem of a teacher and also person. He knows the nerve centers of all students. He is only teacher who has an Orkut Fan Club. His jokes sometimes can seem to be stale or patchy, but the presentation makes them also laughable and laudable… Love you sir!
2. S Ramesh (Cost Accounting) : Ramesh sir is a teacher who has a spine-chilling methodology of teaching. He is pretty strict about the way students should behave and work. His class is the only one which is at 7-8:30 am. All the sleep we have in our eyes scampers off when he approaches. But, I ended up liking his teaching after some time. In each class, once at least, he has to say “ WE R BENCHMARKING IIMs and CAs”!! In each of classes, some warriors of Section-D fall for QCTs(Quiz –cum –Test). It is renowned fact that if u get Zero in Ramesh Scorecard then, u r pretty good as most of the times, scores tend to be in Negative!!
3. Prof. Shankaranaryana (Economics): I had always carried a dream of being taught by a teacher who never asks me to follow a regular path and syllabus. On doing his class, I got my Teacher. I never knew that Economics can be such an awesome subject. His methodology is all about questions. He will dig into your minds and give you simplest answers for most complex questions. Even the students, in my class who had learned Economics for last 3 years, find his class as a place of something new. His concepts are crystal clear. He loves teaching that can be seen in his expressions. He also simultaneously gives us tips about the corporate world outside. His best dialogue to date is “I do not need PowerPoint Presentations, as my words are to the Point and they have enough Power”!!
4. Prof. Anant Murthy (Statistics): He is the most jovial teacher in IBA. The kind of rapport he shares with students is cool. His classes are never boring even if the subject is very much!! He has a knack of cracking really weird jokes at times.
5. Prof. Chitra Parathasarathy(Communication): She is the only female teacher we have for our class. She teaches communication. She is pretty over-disciplined at times, but, I can understand that she is preparing us for the outside world. But, she has an impeccable taste for fashion. At her age, she is awesome at carrying herself. Always, her dress and jewellery are perfectly matching. She is never late as per class timings.
6. Prof Staju Jacob (Marketing): Staju Sir is the near-perfect teacher for marketing. Coming from a great work-ex with a graduation degree in my subject, he is good at teaching. I like his PPTs. But, he gives us the highest workload of assignments .Each week we have two assignments. Add the Additional Reading Articles he gives us to read, and u get pretty strong headache and eye-ache ( Laptop problem). Also, surprise tests keep cropping up. He cuts marks if u r found to be talking in class, answering out of turn or mobile rings… even if u r late in class. For all such instances, he just says “CR write his/her name please”. But still love him!
7. Prof Thandavmurthy (Understanding Behaviour): He is the most soft-spoken among all faculties. He teaches in a cool and composed manner and always appreciates a good response from a student appropriately. He gives a free rein to us about giving examples of behavioural features. His feedback about the presentations were very helpful and frank.

Next Post: Literal Tourism of IBA, Bangalore

Friday, September 21, 2007

FUN Details

Well, well, well…. Last week it was all about assignments filled with clerical stuff (one of the few things I am really bad at). This week has some really good assignments…. (i) the Ad for Ad-MAD in Communication class and (ii) Market research report presentation. Luckily, I submitted all the assignments of last week on time .. pHEW!!this week it was about academically emotional upheavals.

Now let’s look at the fun angle of IBA as I had mentioned earlier. The main highlight was the Freshers’ Nite, now rechristened as “ASTRAL”. Then, we will analyze the proceedings of ONAM and Teachers’s Day.

1) ASTRAL: The buildup to ASTRAL by the seniors was pretty good. They had already stamped, trampled and blasted the “ATTITUDE” issue in most of us…(some exceptions do exist). The pressure on rule-following and attire was put to perfection. They had made everybody really hungry for the freshers’ nite to come. And then, the DAY HAD COME…

If ,for boys, it was like the end of hell…. For girls, it was like gate of heaven. But, they also made the day ,for boys, like one in Heaven. Girls were following the Insect Life Cycle, they were in the cocoon for 1-2 months, now the beautiful butterflies were out. The process of going to party starting the earlier Friday itself. Boys and girls went out to get what they call PARTYWEAR.

The resort was awesome….. and the party really rocked. We danced for 5-6 hours non-stop. The DJ was cool. I loved it… all thanx to our really gr8 seniors!

2) Teacher’s Day and ONAM: After the hectic night of ASTRAL, we were given a recovery day. But for some of us, it was the day when we practiced hard. The TEACHERS’ DAY celebrations were next day. Also due to the nerve-tingling exams of earlier week, the ONAM got postponed and got clubbed with teachers’ day celebs. But all the efforts paid off.

The celebrations of Teachers’ day went great even when all the students were cramped in the Auditorium due to rain. Teachers were very encouraging and also sporty as the skit performed was all out indirect parody on them which they loved and laughed with us. The dance performances were very good and even CEO sir and Dean shook a leg with the Bhangra group. I had a great time too with my dance and music management.

Yet, the event of the day ended up being TUG-OF-WAR. The competition was fierce. The crowd was chanting and shouting for their sections. Even the rain could not dampen the enthusiasm of the colleagues. The best match was the SENIOR V/s JUNIORS. Juniors won the match and the celebrations were jubilant.

More posts will come later… sorry for the delay PGs. Next will be a detailed survey about the Faculties at IBA and PLACES TO VISIT IN IBA.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The IBA in deep part - 1

Well it has been a long time since the last post. Only one buzz was on for the people with laptops… ASSIGNMENTS >>>> ASSIGNMENTS. But, on the eve & night of 3rd Sep (also dark morning of 4th Sep), we , the newbies at IBA were upgraded to trainees at IBA. That’s the Freshers’ Nite….. rechristened as “ASTRAL”…. A party with varieties of ooze and –oozes and oooohhh and ooooooaa!!

But first, let’s go deep in the week gone by. As expected it was a hectic week. The CR-ship was testing the patience of mine and also of those who chose me. It is sometimes amusing and most of the times irritating to find that someone whom u thought will be under our control, suddenly takes your control. At least, a large chunk of my class feels like that. The week was full of ego clashes and family soap drama.

In all this, I learnt an important lesson at IBA. “Group Assignments are the assignments that tend to approach completion but under 99% circumstances never reach it.” If the group is of 8 people then, one can find that there will always be only 3-4 people sitting and working. The levels of sincerity and attendance of the group for discussion are always on decline. Yet it is fun.

After getting the laptop and due to stay in RPG(outside hostel), for some Computer Freak like me, the IT lab becomes the home next to real home rather than the library. Let’s study some features of library with some additional details.

1) Always maintain silence (that is really frustrating to think!! Silence creates greater sense of nuisance as it always gives a sense of feeling that somebody is whispering around)
2) There is always ample amount of space to sit. (Since very few people visit this place in a day…. this place has very low footfall)
3) The luggage rack is of highest importance (In a day, even if u r not in the library, u can put ur bag or baggage there and roam around in the campus… but this should be done with caution)
4) Mobiles should be put off ( but there is always one mobile a day which rings loud enough to stir the stagnant air of the place)

Now let’s study about the IT Lab. This place is the most happening place in IBA as all the things happen here only. The place is used as workshop for all the things from Craft to Technical to Assignments. The salient features of this place are –

1) Silence never gets a chance here (By rule you should be silent in IT lab too. But, it is never followed. The noise here rejuvenates me a lot. It inspires me to work).
2) During certain hours of day, even a small ant won’t be able to find place to sit.(After 6 pm, the place turns into a market… there is always overflow demand for chairs. While walking, you should be always cautious of the hanging cords of chargers, people sitting on the floor and their beloved books and lappies)
3) Most of the electrical points are discharged… everybody with chargers move around the lab in search for a live point.
4) Orkut Zindabad…… 60% of laptops disregard of the real owners have the Orkut logged on. Some people r so much Orkutized and GTalk-ized that they scrap and chat even if they r sitting just two tables away.

Next post: The Freshers’ Nite , Onam and Teachers’ Day Celebrations… an incredible post about the fun angle of IBA. So wait and watch!!!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The Initial Days...

Preface and explanation:
Well I had found this thread on Pagalguy.com when I first started scouring for information about IBA on the Net. It was started by one of my super-seniors, “Razabpn”, socially also known as Biswa Prakash sir. I had read a lot of experiences from the top B-school. But Sir’s was the first account about an average-rated college like IBA, which he loved very strongly. I really admire his great creativity, vocabulary and knack of writing humour with serious issues. I had decided the moment I read it that I will try my level best to continue this process of accounting observations and here I am now Makrand Patwardhan , a student of PGPRM 07-09 batch presenting the next chapter in Life @ IBA . Hope someday Biswa Prakash sir sees it and comments on it.

It has now been complete 2 weeks and 3 days since the days since I first stepped on the campus red and brownish soil. As it is known fact that when you don’t expect anything u feel happy with the things u find around yourself. But the best part of being here is what they told in the brochure about the location and type of campus happens to be true. From the gate itself, you feel like entering a modern-era Gurukul ( well, I am not talking only about the studies….). The place is eligible to get this title due to the following characteristics-
1) The green campus with fellow friends of nature also known as Cats and Dogs prowling all over the campus. I know it gives a feel of “home away from home” due to them. There is large portions of well maintained and ill-maintained grass which creates a desire in ur heart about rolling-polling-phisloing on it(It is the brilliant desire of one of my good friends at IBA). But, man, it will cost a lot even if the epidermal surface of body enters and touches it.
2) Next, comes its location in Bangalore. I hope they mention the meaning of Bangalore as a city which is the closest to us. (I mean for somebody like me who hails from a town which has a diametric travel time of 2-3 hrs). The closest point of city contact is 20-25 minutes away from the campus, viz., Banashankari.
3) Last but not the least, the place is filled with an air of knowledge. Being from a background where notes for mugging are more important than books of study (WHICH I REALLY DESPISE), this place is close to perfection for me. Faculties I have met till now have been really encouraging your knowledge and practical skills rather than your clerical skills( MUGGING SKILLS).

It must be question on reading this first entry that why has it taken 2 weeks and 3 days. Well I got my Laptop recently and the network was not there to put it online.

Continuing the account, this place has turned out to be a true Ekta Kapoor kind of mega-epic. Hence, it has been fun to be observing the other people. It will be really useless to tell that the place is a mini-India as that is one thing which is going to occur in any B-school. My line of thought that the best way to do an MBA program is a residential course proved to be correct. The faculties here do not teach you. They make u think.

Here, there are two sets of hostels existent….. I am not talking about girls and boys but, each sect has two each. The second boys hostel is outside the campus, yet it is a place worthy of experiencing. It can end up as a odd looking one room BHK flat, but, the place is useful for personality development. I feel we , the great outstanding ( outsleeping!!!) students are going through the rigorous obstacle training course , analogous to Spartan Military Training! One may hear some students grumbling about the facilities but, in my opinion, it helps a lot. One might not get it today, but, some years down the line, they will understand the importance of being an outside hostel student.

Next is our great Indian yellow bus…. it is one reason why many who were accustomed to the long hours of sleep lost the habit. The road is a true natural roller-coaster ride. You need to be really strong in your grip on the handles here.