Ashutosh Dikshit, class of 2010, recounts his IIM Shillong journey
THE JOURNEY to and through IIM Shillong has been one hell of a roller coaster for me. Having attempted the CAT five times with the hope of getting into an IIM, Shillong was truly THE destination that I was destined to be in.
Well, I knew that the going would be tough mainly because we were orphans and had no senior batch to guide us. The infrastructure, the location, and having no precedence are great turn offs for anyone selecting an institute.
But I was looking at two years at IIM-S more as an investment from a point of view of leveraging the brand name, which I was sure would gain its equity 10 years thence. We all know that in the world of business, you are either from an IIM or from a non-IIM… Period.
“What’s in a name?” asked Shakespeare. The catch however was that all we had was a name. We were the assets who had to garner value over our time of stay. I still remember the discussions on pagalguy meant users like acdindian (myself), diablorulz (Tripurari), sarvshwet (Sarvesh) and mirchikris (Kannan) trying to make sure brand IIM-S got maximum publicity in the online space. The Google docs had inputs pouring in – what we wanted to have @ IIM-S, how should we differentiate ourselves and more.
Some of those who had confirmed admits did choose other B schools over IIM-S, and I would not be judgmental here – what we’ve achieved is there for everyone to see.
According to me, IIM-S has made a solid start as far its reputation goes, over the two years, and the highlight has to be Hari and Neeraj winning at Confluence, IIM Ahmedabad. Nothing gets bigger than beating the mother of all B schools at their own home turf!
From a personal standpoint, Cult Icon at IIM Indore was a nice “boni” to the winning ways of IIM-S but more than that I am glad I could contribute by winning Ashwamedha – the best leader among the top 30 B schools of India at IIM Indore, and I look at it more as proving a point to the entire IIM system that kept me waiting at the gates for five long years. I never felt this close ever before, in taking pride of being part of the “top brand” – Brand IIM Shillong. Looking at the larger picture, it was more a fitting reply to the critics who were trying to label us as a mockery in the name of an IIM!
Quite ironical, that the “supposed to be mocked at IIM” produced the likes of Gore and Mayank who went to Sydney and New York for presenting papers in conferences of international repute; and in parallel the rest of the institute created differentiators by organizing the country’s first ever inter b school and corporate golf tournament under the aegis of Ram and team, not to forget the PINE initiative by Ankit and team too. Kantha pulled off a cameo in the midst of all this as well.
Even as Niveshak and Markathon (I just loved the healthy competition between Parida and Asit as to whose magazine would come up with a better edition the subsequent month) made it to the list of the most talked about B school magazines, IIM Shillong made its presence felt at various summits (NASSCOM, AIMA and more) and got talked about for its unique attributes – sustainability, sports management and more, from Kiran Karnik to Salman Khursheed and from Rahul Bajaj to Manishankar Aiyar.
One thing that I would mention is that, the wins and collective efforts of the batch of 2010 (and 2011) have made it loud and clear to the rest of the fraternity – “We have arrived, and so, in style!”
I would be lying if I were to say that there were no lows in the journey over the two years. We followed all the stages of group dynamics as perfectly as the OB text would have it – form, storm, norm and perform.
Right from the time of the IIM B alum giving us gyan on the IIM way of life to the first difference of opinion we had in week#2 – bitter memories I agree, but we’ve come a long way since then and looking back, I’ve always believed that small skirmishes are essential in reinforcing the bonds of friendship.
Also, realizing that we were not being supported by administration in many initiatives is something that could have been worked upon.
However, there will always be projects that could have been done better and decisions that could have been better made – the point is that, given the constraints, I think we have pulled off nothing less than a miracle – none of the other IIMs had probably achieved as much in their first 2 years of existence.
My takeaway from IIM Shillong has been in terms of some of the most wonderful people with whom I’ve forged bonds for life. The 3 am case studies, the chronicles of “Gurubhai and Guddu”, the adrenalin rush during the Kopda Cup, the sustainability trek, the idyllic campus, the snow white night, dedicating my victory to both batches of IIM-S on the podium of IIM-I, the earthquake escapades, the celebration with beer in the Ashwamedha crystal trophy, the Diwali nights, the GPL ceremonies, the Death by PPTs, the Agnimedha experience (trial by fire J), the beautiful nights and the starry skies in whose company I dreamt on till dawn broke, the wonderful people of Meghalaya and their love for life and music… the memories are endless… and the biggest takeaway is that “these have undoubtedly been the best days of my life”; I may or may not have become a better manager, but I’ve definitely become a better “myself” @ IIM Shillong.
A famous quote read thus: “History is always and only written by the winners!” We have created history in our existence as the Pioneer batch of 2010 that “built” IIM-S in the truest sense of the word. We prayed, we fought, we cried together, but never let the world get the better of us We have won many a battle, silenced many a critic, showed to the world that we cannot just match, but go on and better the standards of brand IIM – and all this was possible because adversity got us together and we were destiny’s children; today as we pass on the legacy to our future generations there’s just one line I’d like to say to them. “Whenever someone undermines your ability, it’s time to show them what you’ve got without stooping to the level of your opponent”. It is then that success will truly be the sweetest of tastes you’d have ever experienced…
Go kiss the world. The batch of 2010 shall always be there for you… It’s been great to have lived the IIM ONE (IIM Of Northeast) experience and we shall soon be IIM ONE in every way that it is meant to be! “ONE love is all we need”.
Jai Mata Di! Khublei!
(dayinthelifeoflife.blogspot.in)