As this road ends

As another of my closest friends left the green corridors of IIM Shillong today, it reminded me of those difficult yet memorable times of engineering when every train that left Nagpur Railway Station left a drop in the eye, holding to the rim of the eye like I would like to hold to the infinite moments small and big which made my college days extraordinary! I want to dedicate this post to the last two years at IIM Shillong, the stupendous times that I shared in this serene place with such Incredible people and all those nothings that added up to make something today!

To the few very special people who touched my life:

Ankita: I love you for being my constant support and the maturity you have shown in handling situations and people with your “maa to maasi tak ka gyaan”

Aritra: I love you for the absolute dedication you show in your work and the picture perfect ppts which gave me the incredible War Room experience J

Janaki: I love you for the simple yet bright, caring yet strong, charming yet homely human being and the perfect role model that you have been

Mallika: I love you for the way you lit every moment with your bubbly cheer, be it “Jab G met” or our trio girls meet or every time you peeked into my room

Nidhi: I love you for sharing your laughter with me and the immaculate creativity you put in every small-big task you do

Nimesh: I love you for your urge for learning and getting new experiences which motivated me to follow that path and experience a new way of self-driven learning

Noopur: I love you for the simplicity through which you smile through everything and also spread your smiles to people around you

Shalini: I love you for the boundless energy and enthusiasm with which you move around and are able to indulge others also into doing so

Shantanu: I love you for the enthusiasm you showcased in all the fun filled trips you organized and the amazing night long chats we had in your room

Shipra: I love you for the way you come calling for me… “SOoooTI…” and make the day special by sharing few moments as genuine as the person that you are

Shukla: I love you for all teasing and leg pulling which made these two years a joyous ride and for motivating me to give a serious thought to marketing

Sunayna: I love you for being my alter ego and sharing my deep most concerns and thoughts in a way none can comprehend and reciprocate

Tarun: I love you for being the inspiration for giving 100% to whatever one does and excelling in everything with perfection

To the few special times which will be terribly missed:

Jab G met: All those full filled group G meetings when we started from scratch and made classic ppts with weird ideas, arguments and counter arguments being thrown from all sides only to be made more interesting by the background musical score by Debasish and the sound of Mallika’s laughter. Those times when I fought with Kamal, worked overnight with Shipra, presented those ppts with a touch of emotions, compared them with Group B and Group F ppts and reworked ours to match their standards.. Ohh.. I would so miss all those times!

@ IT Room: Be it the heated arguments for system upgrades, sending mails, meeting Basav or the IT Comm style parties which we initiated, this room and the people who participated in the proceedings there will always be special. As a rare occurrence, they helped me look into my shortcomings and work on them, to them I am highly indebted. With people so highly motivated, selfless, down to earth, emotional and simple, it was a unique experience of working in a team.

Club meet @ Gym: Now those were times when you wonder whether it is worth arguing for the time that you are killing, with someone as Piyush next to you, arguments were never a cake walk. Right from the time when Jitesh posed the option of flat hierarchy to the time when we met for deciding the name of the club, taking a decision never looked more difficult. But with passion we worked and with similar passion we argued, for each believed in his thoughts and had the conviction to turn it into action. There might be not be a very emotional connect but there is massive professional admiration which makes it an important part of the journey.

Green plate & more: The secret find of a delicious hangout place played a major role in making the tiresome primary research adventures with Shipra and Aritra bearable. With our hangouts going beyond Green plate, our friendship also moved beyond group work and competitions. The times we shared in Aritra’s room, watching God-Knows-What and discussing the whole world around will be terribly missed. Shipra calling out SOTIiii from a distance and then finding me half asleep on my bed, sending me songs to forward to Papa, cracking witty one liners on everything I say, will be missed. Aritra sharing ppt excerpts with me, me pulling his leg on his love life and at the end even being a victim to his overdose of cribbing, will all be missed.

E-2 & beyond: From the times we fought to decide who would open the door or fill water in the jug to the threats of non-cooperation movement at times of differences, the times spent in E-2 with Ankita were really close to heart. To list those times will be difficult for it is difficult to put to words how you cared for me at times of distress, brought up my spirits when I was low, wiped my tears when I was sad, and gave me life back when I was lost. Your constant companionship and support only made my 2^nd year sweeter and made it more difficult to part with this place. How much would I miss ordering someone to cook for me at any odd hour of the day and even night and expect someone to bring me a muffin every time I miss a meal and over sleep, which I do quite often!

Sleepless nights & late mornings: Ohh.. How I would miss walking into the next door to Sunayna, to check if she has slept at night and try to indulge her into a random conversation about life or to check if she has woken up in the morning to feel good that there is someone on a similar undisciplined schedule as you. Ohh.. How I would miss talking about something deep and random and getting that honest expression from someone that she feels exactly the same about the matter. Ohh.. How I would miss having a partner in crime for all the crazy desires and plans we made. Ohh.. How I would miss my alter ego, is beyond something even I or you can understand to be able to put it in words.

Evergreen Random Bakar: Well I had heard people say that many nothings can add up to great somethings which become important in life. For all the times shared with Colors Pariwar in Shantanu’s, Tarun’s, Shukla’s or even Nidhi’s room, reinforced the significance of this thought. The times when Shukla or Nimesh would endlessly pull my leg, when Sunayna would remain silent to avoid going against me in a discussion, Nidhi’s +1s and Shukla’s cribbing on them, Shantanu’s constant attempts to get us out of our rooms and Tarun’s passion for photography, Kopda and also beyond always kept us occupied with something to do and build memories about. Ohh.. What would be this life without these somethings is difficult to explain!

Competitions & beyond: Right from the time Shalini and I hit the jackpot with TVEs to the awe inspiring War room moment in Mumbai, competitions were always challenging as well as bakar fun. The time spent Ideating with Nimesh on Britannia case, ufff.. What crazy time with those one liners and out of the box concepts! Then wacky ideas! He made fun of us but at the same time showed us path. Competitions remind me of the most random trip I made with Jasdeep and Tarun to Laitlum. What scenic beauty with the clean blue sky and fresh cool breeze, it was my first tryst with the natural beauty of Shillong! As I walk into the corporate world, I would so miss working with such a unique mix of people on random business challenges and believe that together we will be able to handle the situation.

Footsteps & the Reminiscences: I remember the first assignment of 10 pager we got during footsteps. That was only a start to the roller coaster ride we had during that one sweet horrible week. Ohh.. How much we struggled to complete those 10 pages! That Harish’s speech with 4 F’s, Jitesh’s knowledge sharing sessions, friend requests from seniors and the following rumours, Hustle-bustle of Club Committee induction, the return trip to Hyderabad with seniors, those Ranbhoomi days and the overnight badminton rounds, Kopda and the cheering, masti on the Golf Course, random outings to PB, infinite trips to enjoy nature, those birthday celebrations and GPL and Salsa, the bon fire and the DJ parties, that classroom drama with Natalie’s nursery sessions and Joshi’s Boardroom role plays, those night classes before exams by experts which helped us pass, those claps in class and those tch tch tch tchs…

Too much to gather, too much to fathom.. I rest my emotions for I can go no longer.

10 pager sounds easier! Now if I recollect, I can go on and on without count, on my life @ IIM Shillong itself. That is what makes it so special. Ohh.. I would so miss this place.