First Seven Days at an Indian B-School

A Newbie’s view of IMT Ghaziabad

Day 0:

"Chhod do unhe. Ab woh bacche nahi rahe", barked the Admin person at the parents who were still desperately clinging on to their children and tagging along to aid them with the registration. 10th of June 2013 we stepped into IMT for a 12 day foundation programme which is more like a transit camp really, to acquaint us with our new way of life before we bid adieu to our old ways forever.

Parents had seen their children prepare day in and day out for this very day and now that the day had finally arrived, they wanted to be a part of it and cherish every moment. After all, among the lakhs of candidates who attempt B-school entrance exams, only a select few make it to the hallowed portals of IMT Ghaziabad!

The first half of day 0 was largely spent in completing the registration formalities before we could finally move into the hostel rooms allotted to us.

The Hostel:

"..And when they put you in that cell, when those bars slam home, that's when you know it's for real." - Red, Shawshank Redemption

For many, hostel was a new, not necessarily pleasant way of life. After parking our baggage in our respective rooms, began the mad rush for sourcing coolers, mattresses and other such 'luxuries'. People who haven't stayed in hostels, please stop whining! IMT's mess food is 7 star compared to most other institutes' messes! I and a few others can vouch for this. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, they say. Well, IMT has surely won our hearts!

The latter half of day 0 was spent in getting to know our fellow inmates..err.. Roommates better. People had come from far and wide across the country. The locals (read: NCR, Chandigarh, other parts of UP) with their ever so chaste Hindi formed a major chunk of the population. Then came the South Indian cartel- Andhraites, Keralites, Tamilians. And of course the hoity toity city slickers from the metros. A pot pourri of different cultures and people from different...