Liberation

I felt unusual. All of a sudden, there seemed to be nothing to look forward to. I walked towards my dorm, my head exceptionally light. I looked at people milling about, at people slouching in their chairs in the CT, laughing as they sipped their drinks while their books lay piled unceremoniously in a corner.

A bunch of kids ran about here and there, chasing each other and giggling merrily. Ever since the first batch of PGP-X arrived on campus, there's been a major distortion in the demographic profile of IIM-A - I noted silently and smiled as a little kid bumped into me and tilted his little head all the way up to look at me with his innocent little eyes.

I had just taken the last exam of my first year at IIM-A. Perhaps fittingly, on this same day last year, the final list selected to IIM-A was announced and I had stared at the results almost in disbelief. Now, I cant believe that one eventful year had shrieked past me.

'Eventful' ! What an understatement !

I flipped open my laptop's lid and logged onto Dbabble. I scrolled down the list of electronic notice boards, trying to find the 'PGP1' NB. Funnily, it seemed to have disappeared. 'Oh!' I thought and scrolled down to look for the word 'Tuchcha' and there it was - the Tuchcha NB ! I clicked it open.

"I SURVIVED THE FIRST YEAR AT IIM-A !!!!" screamed a message.

And more.

"Tuchchaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !"

"Eaayaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh !"

"The last few days, I felt like a prisoner of war, inching towards the border inch by inch. Today is the moment when I've just crossed that line, the line which represents liberation. Freedom !"

I sat back into my chair, put my palms behind my head, closed my eyes and smiled. It felt good to think about nothing.


A little while later, it had sunk well and truly in. Prostee, Moti and I were sitting on the ledge in front of D-16, which overlooked the cricket grounds. We were watching the ongoing cricket match and talking nonsense. Its the kind of a thing which you would normally see in an engineering college, and rarely in a B-school. Definitely not in the first year of IIM-A.

"So when are you starting?" I asked Moti.

"9th."

"What are you gonna do till then?"

One corner of his mouth went up to represent what we have come to know as Moti's utterly stupid and perverted smile.

"Ok, I get it. Shake the world huh?"

Its a well known joke, which I am not gonna tell you guys. Although, its gonna be there in my book. Moti wont be spared for too long.

"So, who are the girls in Deutche Bank?"

Again that smile.

"Oh, ok. Paro, right ? Who else?"

"No. Only her. Across the three IIMs, there's just Paro."

"My God. I can imagine whats gonna happen."

"Hey, look who's coming." Prostee nudged.

Our SFI-I (Strategy Formulation and Implementation, Part I) professor was a short, balding, good-natured man, extremely dedicated to instilling in us the ability to think strategically. His classes, although requiring a lot of work on our part, were quite comprehensive. He was walking down the path along with another person.

"Oh shit. I didnt notice HIM coming." Prostee said.

I craned my neck and uttered an involuntary "Shit!", for, walking with our good-natured SFI prof was the man who was revered and feared the most in the first term. He was a legend and a terror among the students of Section D for his unnerving ability to tear apart arbitrary class contributions to smithereens and make the students feel like shit. Despite this, he was enormously respected because we still havent forgotten the insights he gave us in Human Resources, and we are unanimous in the opinion that his classes were the best we've had till now.

We instantly and completely involuntarily got down from the ledge.

"Oh, hello. How are you all?" he greeted us, smile-laughing in his typical fashion.

"Fine, Sir. We just finished our final exams."

"Yeah, yeah, I can see that. You wouldnt be sitting like this otherwise." and that laugh again.

"Yes, Sir. We've been watching the cricket match for quite some time."

"Hmm.. So you guys are into the second year. You wont study now, huh?"

We just smiled. He laughed and walked on. "Good good. Enjoy your time, guys."

As he walked along with the SFI professor, we noticed him saying something to him.

We looked at each other.

"You know what he must have said to him?" Moti said.

"What?"

"I think he said 'Let them come back for SFI-2 and I'll remind them of old times.'"

"Oh shit !" Prostee and I said in unison, as we were brutally reminded of this one important fact.

Sunil Maheshwari was gonna take Strategy Formulation and Implementation II in the fourth term.