05/06/2014

06/06/2014; 1:06 :

So, we had just reached the Learning Centre aka the Library. The Library has 2 floors and a reading room in the basement.
On entering, there is a desk where one ought to make an 'entry' and leave one's bag, lest one get caught up in studying and leave with half the library!

Ahead , on the left there are about 20 PC's, for people to garner knowledge. These have access to multitudes of online journals and resources. Ahead, there are tables with countless newspapers - The Economic Times, TOI , DNA, The Hindu , Dainik Bhaskar and the like. Straight ahead, there are Magazines that could cater to every person's interest!
Further ahead are 'study booths' , complete with cute green chairs- perfect for hours of studying!

On the right is the Information Desk of the Library; 'Issues' & 'Returns' are processed here, too.
Ahead is a staircase, that leads down to the Reading Room in the basement- for quiet, undisturbed reading or for an academic group discussion, when it is empty.

The staircase also leads up to the first floor, where most of books of the library are housed. The books are classified very well- numbered and sorted by category. The filing systems of large libraries never cease to leave me in awe.

The centre of the library is lit up by sunlight streaming in from the translucent dome overhead. This gives the Library a very warm, welcoming feel.

Next to the L.C, is an under-construction building, which I'm told will be the new Visiting Faculty Block.

Next to this is the Old Auditorium. I believe the Audi has a seating capacity of 400 people. When guest lectures are in session, over eager audience is quick to fill even the green-carpeted stairs, to have a view.
The same building also houses a branch of the SBI , a Post-Office and our Transport & Estate Offices.
Adjacent is empty space which serves as parking space for the Institute Buses- Staff as well as the Student Shuttle buses - the same ones that ply to Indore city, every hour!

Finally, a downward sloping road leads to stairs that descend to the Sports Complex.

Walking straight would bring you to the entrance of the Acad Block. A complete Circle.

There is something about circles that makes them the obvious shape of choice - the Parthenon was circular, so are engagement rings and wedding bands. Also, important things like pizzas and pies are circles too!

04/06/2014

04/06/2014; 20:44:

Yes, even yesterday I started writing at about the same time. Consistency!

In the centre of the round Acad Block is a large central lawn which is where the Convocation, the Flag Hoisting on the 26th of January and on the 15th of August happen. Paths run across the lawn, allowing one to walk across the 'shorter route' between two places in the Block.

Around the Acad Block, working in an Anti-clockwise direction, we encounter ER-2 (Executive Residence-2). There are 4 such ER's on campus. The general belief is that the rooms in ER-1 > ER-2 > ER-3 > ER-4 . ER-2 is currently where the Junior Batch Girls' stay on twin-sharing. ER-3 is where our Batch Boys' used to stay on twin-sharing too.
ER-2 has 4 floors and is covered in glass. It has a white dome on top that can be seen from very far away. When one looks at campus from a distance, this white round-top is distinctly visible.

ER-1 is next to ER-2, but, SRC lies in between. SRC is a structure housing two classrooms- one on each floor. These are small classrooms, seating about 60 students and were built after the main building.

ER-1 or the New MDC (Management Development Centre) is where all important persons who visit campus stay. These are like the 'suite rooms' of the IIM-I campus.

There is a lot of greenery around this area, mainly trees and bushes. After such a larger patch, is the Director's Residence- a grand, white bunglow that exudes confidence and royalty.

Ahead is a flight of stairs that descends down to the Faculty Housing Area. These stairs are officially the 'drunk' stairs of the campus. Don't get me wrong, it is only because they are very uneven. On a proper symmetrical flight of stairs, when you climb, you step right first, then left. On these stairs, you step right first, then right and then right. I personally make it a point to crib every time I use this flight of stairs.

Ahead is the second flight of stairs, this descends to the Student Housing Area. These are perfectly fine, as far as symmetry in climbing goes. Next to them is a Mandir where students offer their respects, en route to & fro classrooms.

Then, on crossing the lawn in front of the LC (Learning Centre) , you reach the LC. This lawn is fairly large and has 2 Volleyball and 1 Throwball net as well as empty space where people run/play football or even star-gaze (or so I've heard). Open-Air movie screenings are held here, during Fest-time!

There is something about 3-D movies that makes them a lot more alluring than 'normal' movies. I'm sure of there being something, I'm just not able to figure out what the something is. I guess it's just the excitement, probably.

03/06/2014

03/06/2014; 20:33:

P.S: Ctrl+(+) the Photo after clicking on it, for a better view!

Well, here's the 'plan' of the campus, as promised. I did not really get around to requesting the estate office, but, well, I drew best as I could, off the top of my head.
The campus is set on a hill, called Prabandh Shikhar. The campus is essentially in 3 layers- I reckon I go into the details of most of what I consider important.
The top-most layer has the Academic Block in the centre, with ER-2 (Executive Residence-2), SRC (Classrooms) , ER-1 , the Director's Residence, the Learning Centre ,the Old Auditorium and Under-Construction visiting faculty housing placed around it.

The Academic Block, well I'll just stick with 'Acad Block' coz that's what everyone here seems to call it, is a majestic round structure. It is in the process of being re-painted and re-tiled. A new section with 12 NLT's- New Lecture Theatres (Classrooms) has been added less than a year ago.
The Entrance has an arc overhead that very proudly reads 'INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT INDORE'. The Reception has a picture of the newly graduated PGP Batch as well as a 'Merit Board. The newly installed Fish Tank adds a little human touch to the aura of this place.

Moving from the Reception, to the right, we first encounter the IPM Office & the PGP Office. The IPM Office used to be at another location, but, about a year ago, it moved to this new, larger location. The erstwhile IPM Office is now the Visiting Faculty Office.
The IPM Office houses staff, computers, printers, exam schedules and the like.
On the floor above, there is the Director's Office and all the other super important offices.

Further ahead, there is the Computer Lab , the I.T Department and the I.G.N.O.U Study Centre to the right and the Placement Office to the left. I like the CC Lab ( Computer Centre). Everyone calls it the 'CC Lab' , that would just be 'Computer Centre Lab'; this makes no sense to me. Every place has its quirks. Quirks are what make us fall in love, with places, things , people and ourselves.
On the floor above, there is the Accounts Office; I've been there once, regarding a fee refund.


Ahead, is yet another thing I fail to understand - there is a water cooler (this one has very cold water, make note!) and
two Gents' washrooms, facing each other. Not One Ladies' and One Gents', but, Two Gents' washrooms.


Then, there is visible to the right, the Learning Centre in the distance. CR-113 & CR-114 (CR=ClassRoom) lie ahead, one opposite the other. This is followed by CR-103 & 104 and then CR-101 & 102. The CR's have a seating capacity of 80 students and a single projector.
On the Floor above, there are CR-213, CR-214 , CR-203, CR-204 , CR-202 and CR-201 which are identical to their ground-floor counterparts.

NC-1 & NC-2 (New Classroom) each with a seating capacity of 120 and two projectors are the largest classrooms in the Acad Block.
Right above them are the identical NC-3 & NC-4.

Ahead lies the new NLT section. There are 12 NLT's, 4 on each floor - this new section has 3 floors, while the rest of the Acad Block is only 2 floors. These NLT's are really high-tech, being constructed only last year- they are horse-shoe shaped, have a microphone at each seat, a brand-new projector, a green-board instead of the white-boards in the other classrooms, green carpeting, white blinds and a seating capacity of 85.
On the ground floor, there is a 'Snack-Point' amidst the NLT's , right under the stair-case. We've seen the 'Snack-Point' grow before our very eyes, from having only biscuits and chips, to now having a fridge, making Bhel and serving the famous Indori Baked Samosa!

All these Classrooms have been dutifully renamed, very recently, but, the new names are yet to engrave themselves in anyone's head.

As our round around the Block is nearly complete and we near the reception, there are two lanes of corridors leading off to the right that house all the Faculty Offices. The floor above has identical offices.

Finally, there is the Faculty Mess on the left side (on both floors) and the M.D.P (Management Development Programme) Classroom.

And, then, we're back to the reception; it has an ICICI Bank ATM on this side.

Let me try and draw a top view of the Acad Block too. Home-work, for tomorrow. So much for being out of school and rid of that!

02/06/2014

02/06/2014 ; 23:34:

Okay, I will admit here that I am hoping to get this post finished before the 00:00 mark.

On the subject of Indore & Poha. Poha is supposedly THE thing in Indore. It sells on the sides of the road, as breakfast, it is prepared in households and even our mess is not immune to it- Poha regularly features as both a breakfast and a snack item. While, one cannot deny the fact that 'pohe', cooked with onions, an assortment of spices and style is good, my predicament lies with the fact that I simply do not like Poha. I do not dislike it, however, do not get me wrong there; I just would not go out of my way to find a good plate of Poha. (But, Mummy-ke-haath ka Poha is often welcome)
Poha is served with Tomato Ketchup , assorted Sev , onions, coriander and even chhole.
(Poha with Chhole and onions and sev is something Archit introduced me to and I even ate it a second time!) (I also liked Raghav ki Mummy's Poha )

Sev & Tomato Ketchup -- A lot of items, in Indore are served with a very typical topping of tomato ketchup & sev. There is an item called a 'Baked Samosa' which is neither a samosa nor baked , which I've seen for the first time only in Indore. It is a kind of patties which has a filling of potatoes (usually). Then, this is 'made' and served ('yeh bane ke dena!') i.e. it is opened, slathered in ketchup, filled with a generous helping of sev , perhaps onions and then relished.

This idea of crunchy, flavourful sev completing food is one that really appeals to me! I have begun to enjoy aloo sandwiches with sev, on the mornings that the mess prepares Poha!

I once remember quizzing a batch-mate who is from Indore aka 'local' about some aspects of Poha that really puzzled me. 'What happens if some Indori kid does not like Poha?' I was promptly informed that such a scenario was not possible!

Well, as long as I have sev !

01/06/2014

01/06/2014; 13:06 :

The first day of a new month! It's a good time to reach home. My train reached at 8:40 this morning. I was met by a smiling family and the Station Master who decided that of all people present on the station, I was the best candidate to have my ticket checked. Of course, I did have a ticket. Also, my slippers managed to get themselves exchanged, in the train, perhaps somewhere during the course of the night. Which social-image conscious soul would want my SpongeBob Slippers is something that eludes me. Well, as long as I had some slippers to wear!

My mother decided to offer to prepare Poha for breakfast, knowing fully well that a) Indore is the land of Poha and b) I do not like Poha one bit. She was promptly informed of both and I got Litchis for breakfast.

Now that I have 3 weeks at my disposal, I'm going to draw that campus map I'd promised. But, before that, I'm definitely going to write about the Indori-Poha connection.

I've had ONE mango, this entire summer season; looking to change that, starting now, with this one mango that has been watching me write, awaiting its turn!

On the question of whether the fruit was named after the colour or whether the colour was named after the fruit (the colour here being orange, the fruit here being orange too!) I strongly believe that the colour was named first and, on being sighted, the orange was cited!

31/05/2014

31/05/2014 ; 19:02 :

I'm sitting in the lawn outside my hostel. Cool (well, almost) breeze is blowing which is the perfect complement to the warm summer evening. 29th of May was the last working day of Term VI- the last working day of our second year, in fact! The girls' Hostel is nearly empty, as is the campus. It's so quiet; this place is never quiet. I hear crickets chirping, just far away enough to make it sound pleasant. There are a few birds in the sky and many insects in the grass. Nature likes summer. I see three other people - the guard of the Boys' hostel , the guard of the Girls' hostel and an FPM student who was just telling me a little about publishing research papers. He just published one and his topic sounds really grand to me - something under an area that merges Operations & Electronics.

Well, Term Break's begun and I'll leave for the Railway station in about an hour. There are parents to be hugged, a brother to be troubled, good food to be eaten, friends to be met , ice-cream to be licked , places to be seen, shopping to be done and writing to be enjoyed -- all waiting for me!

These last ten days just went by in a blur. Our end term exams started, and ran one after the other, in quick succession. We had a PT (Physical Training) test on the morning of the 24th wherein I managed to sprain my back while doing crunches. What followed was 36 hours of uninterrupted ( albeit painful) sleep! The Money, Banking & Finance End Term on the 26th had me wake up , just short of a world record.
A lot of the End Term exams were really interesting , even enjoyable!

I've managed to drink a whole litre of water, in the half hour that I've spent sitting here, writing. There was this one day that I decided to research ( aka Google) on whether drinking too much water could be a health hazard. There is condition called Hyponatremia that is possible, but only when a large amount of water is drunk in a very short time span. Hyponatremia, as the name suggests means insufficient salt in the blood. Anyway, as long as I'm drinking 6 litres through the day, I think I'll be just fine.

19/05/2014

19/05/2014 ; 12:2:

There was a 'Positive Psychology' end term this morning; it just ended, an hour ago. The paper was fairly interesting albeit lengthy.

There's a report to be prepared for our 'Learning by Experience' course. We paid a visit to Jamli village , Indore district, all in the hope that we will learn something about research techniques.

22:26 :

The mess prepared 'Karara Bhindi' for dinner, today. I heard somebody remark that they were disappointed that the holidays are due to start so soon. And, no, it wasn't because of the friends or the 'happening' factor. This person was disappointed because they really enjoyed said 'Karara Bhindi' and wanted to relish it a few ( or a lot ) more times and the time away from campus would not facilitate that.

I've never seen so much appreciation for the mess food before. The mess food, in stark contrast to what we've heard about other college messes is pretty tasty. People actually consciously avoid going out to eat on the days the mess prepares 'Chhole-Bhature & Gulab Jamun'.

The hourly shuttle bus service from the Institute to various points in Indore city ( culminating at Mangal City Mall, Vijay Nagar ) is very convenient. Students enjoy getting on the bus to set out on both planned & unplanned adventures. One thing to note is that all trips include a visit to a good food place !

There's so much behind the scenes work that goes into any successful event be it big or small and , most often the spectators don't notice. Perfect !

17/05/2014

17/05/2014 ; 18:04 :

It's raining! Rain is great. Rain is even better when it's in the middle of May! Apart from being a respite from the May-heat, it makes everything look beautiful & smell beautiful too .

18/05/2014 ; 03:11:

We decided to take advantage of the good weather & go out for a good meal. Also, we had Crossword Vouchers to redeem courtesy the Crossword competition organised by our Literary Committee aka Literar-I. While my friends chose to buy books like the normal human beings that they are, I just had to buy a combo-set of Tarot cards + Book ! I don't really know why, but, I've been meaning to learn to read Tarot cards for a long time now. I remember, at the Crossword back home, I'd stare longingly at the same combo-Tarot pack but eventually drop the idea of purchasing it for fear of my mother judging me. Anyhow, since our initial plan of buying board games was foiled , for the sole Crossword in Indore is this tiny space inside Shoppers' Stop which obviously doesn't carry board games, I very happily agreed on finally treating myself to the combo-Tarot pack. I intend learning how to read them, in the 3-week break that commences sometime soon.


We won the Inter-Batch Girls' Throwball Tournament! It was to be a best of 3 matches, but, since we won the first two matches, the need for a third did not arise.

It's surprising how much Indori people like Poha, but that's a separate idea. Remind me to write about it sometime, though!

16/05/2014

16/05/2014 ; 13:14 :

And, the dreaded end-term exams began today, with Geology being the first. I plan on taking a glorious nap, now. My hostel room is really cute. Student Residence 13, Room No. 201. It's the absolute best place on campus. A perfectly-sized window that lets me look out at the stair-case (perpetually bubbling with activity!) & the faculty block! 5 stone shelves for storing all the books that I'll never have. A tall built-into-the-wall cupboard for all my food. (It's supposed to house clothes, but, that's another story). A single bed with a pink mattress , currently covered with an 'Angry Birds' bed-sheet. A stone-slab by the door, to stash my soap, shampoo, tooth-paste et all. Two fold-down wooden boards that are good for my laptop/ books to sleep on. Maroon curtains and a giant Vodafone umbrella (they kind they use to cover stalls) complete my happy place.

The whole idea of method-acting is so fascinating. You actually pick & imbibe, not just copy every aspect of the character you wish to portray. It's like you don't just play the part, you Be the part.

15/05/2014

15/05/2014 ; 16:45 :

On 5th May, 2014 I both returned & issued a book from the library for the first time since I've been here. I remember, in the weeks preceding my departure from home, I'd very ambitiously informed my parents that I'd 'make a house' in the library & read all the books they had, over the five years I was to spend here. So much for that.

Someone lent me a book to read, on the evening of 4th May while informing me that said book had to be returned to the library on or before 05/05/2014. Challenge accepted. Now, reading the book in one night was the lesser challenge. Figuring out the process of returning a book to the library was the harder. I interrogated multiple people on the 'how's' , 'what's' & 'where's' before daring to venture close to the library. I had decided that I was under no circumstances going to look like the clueless kid lost in the grocery store. I confidently opened the heavy wooden double doors that guard the precious intellectual resource of the years that we have access to so easily, today. I stepped up to the first entry point and declared that I had a book to return. Getting through customs was easier! The details of the book were very meticulously noted down in a long register. I tried to look all calm & composed, like this behaviour was routine to me. Then, I remembered the instructions and walked up to the 'Help Desk'. A couple of young ladies stood there, issuing fat, scary-looking books on Econometrics. I smiled. I waited patiently. The important-looking man behind the desk finished up with the ladies before asking me what I needed. I just pushed the book toward him and said ' Sir, return' . 'Return'. And, he just slid the book under that vast abyss of a table. It was done! I'd successfully returned a book!
Now, I was feeling really brave. I ascended one flight of stairs, turned right and walked straight up to the 'English Fiction' section. Now, while the library has a lot of books, the English Fiction collection is understandably limited; management students should be reading more Economics & less Danielle Steele. I looked around, awed, unable to understand how people 'selected A book'. I finally agreed on 2 books. I tried picking one, but, I agreed that two was an acceptable number. I strolled back down to the 'Help Desk'. I pushed the books forward, more confidently, this time . 'Sir, Issue'. I told him my roll number and let him look through the pile of library cards he had. He spent a good few minutes before he checked the 'master list' . I then politely told him that I did not have a library card. He checked my name in the master list, realised that I was at the end of my second year here and proceeded to invite company to share humour with, at my expense. 'Oh, you spent 2 years without seeing the face of the library, you might as well have spent 2 more' (sic) . I shrugged & smiled as best as I could muster. I was instructed to wait for 10 minutes. And, then, at the end of those 10 minutes, I was handed a small squarish-piece of blue paper. My library card. My very own library card. To issue books against. To love, to cherish, to keep mine, for the next 3 years! I smiled. I was instructed to get my books 'registered' in the register at the entrance. 'Hmm, do I look like a newbie? ' But,well, I was too thrilled to care. I walked out, books in hand , smile on my face & my card safe in the abyss that is the library table!

14/05/2014

14/05/2014 ; 16:26 :


As part of the Performing Arts Silo of the course, we had an option to pick one of Dance or Drama&Theatre, this term. Since we've already had 2 Dance courses earlier, a significant majority of the batch decided to try their hand at drama. Now, as the course and the term comes to an end, it's time to reflect.
I was really surprised to realise that a lot of people in the batch can act, and act really well at that too! Despite the fact that most of us haven't had any formal exposure to drama, people do seem to have an inherent understanding of theatre. Plus, versatility ( at least where acting is concerned) was a delight to see - the same person would be a young girl in one play and an angry lawyer in the next! A knack for both presenting & appreciating comedy also exists.
Personally, I felt like there was a lot to learn. Elementary theatre rules like stage presence, the division of the stage into 9 parts, voice production/modulation , the mood of the play, the use of props were learnt. This is one course that I'm sure much of the batch would be glad to have a 'Part-II ' of!

There's a holiday today, for Buddh Poornima and a holiday tomorrow for it's Thursday. A lot of the juniors have packed their bags and left for various destinations, last night, with plans to return only on Friday. The junior batch as a whole is really enthusiastic. All events, talks, happenings on campus generally see a lot of participation from the juniors. I'm ambitiously assuming that we too were like that in the first year.

There's about a fortnight to go before the end of our second year. Currently, we're all excited about the new year ( & new courses) awaiting us when we get back. We're all ( especially the junior batch) currently more excited about the new juniors that we'll encounter, in August, soon!

So, the stage is divided into 9 parts -- 3 parts from front to back - Front, Middle & Back ; 3 parts from left to right - Left, Centre & Right -- which makes the 9 parts as Front-Left, Front-Centre, Front-Right, Middle-Left, Middle-Centre, Middle-Right, Back-Left, Back-Centre& Back-Right.
Well, I should've just made a matrix!

12/05/2014

12/05/2014 ; 15:15 :

Last night, at around 11 p.m , the lights went out. Now, power cuts here aren't very often & power is typically restored within a couple of minutes. Power was out for well over an hour, last night. It was Daksha's birthday. We got cake & firecrackers! The impromptu darkness made the whole escapade even more enjoyable, especially the firecrackers. While we do have a hostel-in time( 11 p.m.) , the darkness was good reason to subvert this. All of us gathered in the central lawn that lies in between the girls' and boys' hostels . Playing football, gossiping , lighting mosquito-repellant coils , laughing and cutting cakes. (Well, it was just the one, but, still. )

13/05/2014 , 12:54 :

I got up yesterday morning, left my room, toothbrush in hand. I was greeted by Harika who promptly informed me that she'd been up late, reading my blog. I was slightly confused. I wasn't sure if she meant this blog or my other one. I didn't really remember sharing either with too many people. So , I asked. Apparently , Ojasvi went ahead and posted a link to my blog ( with attached appreciatory comments) on a FaceBook group , namely 'IIM-I IPM Helpline' that well, is a good source of interaction between IPM aspirants and the IPM Community. The course being new, everyone is pretty unclear about a lot of things about this place. Kudos, Varun! ( He's the admin of said group). Was I surprised ?! I was elated! Appreciation is good. Unexpected appreciation is even better!

We were reading about Psychometric Testing in the Positive Psychology Course, yesterday. Then, I remembered. Sometime in September of last year, the authorities here had deemed it wise to conduct Psychometric Testing for all the students. It was a pretty different experience-- writing stories on random pictures - We now know ( courtesy aforementioned course on Positive Psychology) that since negative emotions/thoughts are hard for people to express directly, projections are used instead. Like in the famous Rorschach Ink Blot Test where one is shown an ink blot and asked to plot a story, it is really one's own feelings that are expressed when writing about an abstract 'theme'. As part of the Psychometric Testing, we also had a Group Discussion on the best way to solve a given problem, followed by personal interviews. What still eludes me is why the results were never shared with us. But, well.

It's now proven by scientific research that people who have higher levels of Happiness/Satisfaction/Well-Being are likely to live longer , be more healthy , have higher incomes and be in long-term relationships.