Life At SIBM Bengaluru - By Tanay Singh

"If I win, I'm a prodigy. If I lose, then I'm crazy. That's the way history is written." – Artemis Fowl

Through the steely test of time, man realized that there is nothing as resilient as the human spirit. With the precious thought in my mind, I drudgingly opened my eyes. My roommate already pacing about the hostel room, trying to find his belongings and probably his wits. It was a big day for him. Being a start-up enthusiast himself and a prodigy of the future as he solemly puts it, Ankur Warikoo was visiting. The posters on the walls gave testaments on how meaningful today’s day would be for him. U.R. Rao, Mr.Sai Ivaturi, were just a few names and known faces which could be seen around, walking through the grassy path leading into the sun filled atrium, or flipping through the pages of Journals stacked over others in the library. Humans couldn’t keep all of its knowledge in their mind and thus wrote them down on pages. Man grew tired of building shelves to keep these embers of knowledge, thus built a library.

It was just another day for me, right from 9 AM till snack time at 5 in the evening and for those 200 strong students who I would sit next to, listening to professors from various walks of life, listening to them, impart knowledge that we certainly would use one day. But I was already running late. A quick pit stop at the mess, where countless students more, lapped up a sumptuous breakfast before heading off to temples of knowledge. We all need our energies. The day was not just filled with classes, but peppered with guest lectures from the brightest minds from all corners of the country. Today was Ankur Warikoo, and tomorrow would be a surprise.

Upon reaching the class and making my way over to my favourite seat, right in the corner, I sat, stomach full, brain cells primed, a pen full of ink, I was ready. Ready for those 75 completely unbridled minutes where I soon would be washed over in the vastness of indispensable information which would take even more time to decipher. The power horse walked in and there we went. The classes ended and students dispersed out. Leaving a handful few working on assignments. One thing was clear from the very first day, it wouldn’t be the quantity of education received, but the quality of it. This was substantiated when we had to dive head first in Harvard Business Review cases presented and the countless hours we would spend staring at the Bloomberg terminal, finding the real motives as to how the market functions the way it does.

Life at SIBM Bengaluru can be hectic at times but nothing is more soothing to the eyes than seeing our very own pair of Labradors running around, nudging everyone in their path with their heads, asking for a pat. After all they did wait patiently for all of us to get free. Feeling a bit peckish, I again made my way to the mess. Students thronged about, regaling in memories of what bland lives they led before coming here. Soon the cemented court would be used for cricket and other sports people fancied. Balls on the green grass would be aimed at pockets and laughter would coat the walls again with its hue.

Some whole heartedly believed in having bigger brawns along with bigger brains and myriad of us pumped iron and popped eggs like pills. The day was nearing to an end but was still far from it. Almost everyone is a member of various committees and have even bigger roles when it comes to societies. One thing which has dawned to all the new fish, is that being in a B school is demanding to say the least. Time will be a commodity no one will have to spare as the countless projects, assignments and papers to write will ebb and flow from every crevice. Being relentless in their ‘pursuit of happyness’, the students cope with the ever growing pressure from one semester to another.

Life here is not about building a career. I testify to the fact that it is how it starts off as, having a good career and minting money, but along the way, it becomes much more than that. The different reasons each and every one had to join a B school are soon replaced with grander plans. Having a personality and confidence to be worthy of a paycheque is what is we learn every day. Work can be plentiful and days long, but learning something new every day makes it all worthwhile. This is an average day in the life at SIBM Bengaluru.

About the Author:

Tanay Singh is a first year MBA student at SIBM Bengaluru. He hails from New Delhi and has completed his Hotel Management in IHM Pune. He has worked as a Store Manager at Domino’s India for a duration of 11 months. Mr. Singh loves writing and when he isn’t writing, he will be found listening to music (preferably classic), reading, playing basketball or biting into his favourite food. He aspires to become an entrepreneur in the Electronics industry and also looks forward to becoming an author. He is a creative spirit with a penchant for writing and draws inspiration from the slightest and unlikeliest of sources, as it is with all those who are passionate about their craft. Akin to a sculptors chisel, he is very careful and at most times apprehensive about weaving his words together, for free thought knows no bounds. He is also a true-blue Delhi-ite, which might spell trouble for some but never stops him from making an impression when he first meets people. Similar to his writing style, he too has layers of interesting reasons behind the connect between his Hospitality background and the MBA course he is currently pursuing. He harbors aspirations to be better with each passing day, swears that he is an avid dog lover and never passes up an opportunity to lend a helping hand to one and all.