Interpreter of Maladies
Monday, July 18, 2005
IIMC-my first reportI pledged I would be regular with my blog but life pulls out urgencies from its bags and by the time I switch off my lights, the blog becomes only a part of the "to do list". So, I better pull up my socks and at least finish up the promised write up on IIMC. Yeah, I am at IIMC-One of the 6 (or is it 5) IIMs in India-I am a part of the 250 or so crowd who would be my batchmates for the next two years or so. Its been a safe fortnight and my first impressions have already withered away. As I wrote about Cal, IIMC is not a complete inside-out of the city (as probably IITK was to Kanpur) and most of the campus is a strong reflection of what the city offers in terms of infra, people, facilities...The campus is naturally endowed with lakes, grass and birds. I think apart from the fact that the birds' appetities could actually shower you with droppings from the top (when perched on trees i.e.), the nature is in quite an easy synchronicity with the humans around. Commercialization is so sparse that one could actually take a miss at it altogether. Apart from the faculty houses on the far side, 6-7 small buildings make up the campus. This seems sparse to me, probably because the last campus I saw was a concrete jungle with sparse natural beauty around. The lakes are quite a treat to the eye especially in the mornings and late evenings. At sunrise, when the rising sun is mirrored in the lake and the expanding vistas of the sunrays are refracted from the water body, it somehow gives me the inspiration to get up and start another day of classes and the rest of the rigor. Coming to classes, all said and done, the faculty more than compensates for the missing infra and facilities within the campus. The heavy Bengali accent does pose a big culture divide though. My professor keeps on repeating "shapes in a duck" around 10 times before it strikes me that he is actually talking about "ships in a dock". Huh...all that is given I guess. And I am pretty animated to see how culture still remains preseved in foils and wraps at Cal and probably IIMC. Culture, nostalgia, pride is what binds people together. I saw that back at college too. When the culture started crumbling at college and when traditions were being given up for the sake of a more "acad focussed system", we could see the fallouts in a badly shaped student body. I would give credit to IIMC for being able to preserve that...a culture, a tradition, a thread that runs parallely across a campus that becomes a mini society in itself. Society brings me to talk about people. I would reserve my judgement for now I guess, coz I havent seen many new people. The only acquaintances I have made have been with individuals whom I have known in one way or the other. Would soon write a blog about "IIMC: people" after I am able to catch a few friends. Things that make me sad about the campus is the absence of a pool. I was counting on relishing the charms of a full fledged pool after two years, after coming to IIMC but I guess I would have to postpone the thought to another couple of years. The hostel rooms are pretty ok except the fact that I have been badly spoilt by the luxuries of a beautiful girls hostel at IITK and it would take some adjusting before I finally begin to accept that whatever I lived in two years back was just a matter of me "BEING LUCKY". Food-ah...thats where my cribbing would start. I dont have much issues with the flavour and the taste coz its actually pretty decent but hygienic food is a rarity at this place. Most of the dishes are laced with oil and the plates are never washed well...so many germs inside my tummy everyday !!! Not much otherwise to report...except that my lappy and music system run really well and its a joy to play it late at night and listen to a coldplay or satriani. I might be again stalled for the next two weeks from any creative meanderings for the simple fact that exams are round the corner and God knows how bad I want to pass here. It would at least save my blog readers from some serious grade cribbings.
