The First Class at NITIE - College Life Rebegins

Monday 17.06.2013.

College Life Rebegins.

Yes. This was the first day of my MBA programme at NITIE. 3 years of job, that too in a PSU, has me quite opposite to what one would associate with a workaholic. Although the first two years of my job were spent quite like a workaholic, the last one year at Nagarnar site had made me the opposite. Anyways the day began at 7.20 am reminding me of my undergraduate college days when I had nearly the same sort of schedule. Me and my roommate, Nishant, got ready in time, had our breakfast and then rushed to our respective classrooms. Since the time I had resigned from my company, thoughts of a new college, a new campus, new batchmates, new environment had kept me fancied. All those thoughts were now being realized today. All of us had occupied our seats in the classroom. In came a professor whom I remembered seeing on MTV Campus Diaries. On the show his name was described as Prof Mandi and I had presumed that his actual name is also the same. However, as he introduced himself, I got to know that his actual name is Prof T Prasad and he is called Prof Mandi because of the event Mandi that he has initiated.

The class began and it started in a way unlike any other class that I had ever attended. Prof Mandi distributed some toys amongst us which included 2 balls that had the globe imprinted on them, some butterfly shaped toys and a hen resting on an inclined channel. They seemed to be simple toys at the beginning but it was only when I saw the butterfly balanced on a single point (on the tip of a pen) and the hen having a linear as well as vibrating motion that I realized that some very impressive concepts related to centre of gravity, balancing and vibration had been applied on these small toys.

Prof Mandi sharing his insights with the students

Now why I say that it was unlike any other class is because Prof Mandi instantly told us to play with those toys. Now this was quite unusual. It was the first class of such a reputed professor in such a reputed institution and we students were tossing the ball to one another. The class looked more like a playground with kids enjoying their time and the Prof taking care of each and every one of them like a guardian. That actually shows how humble and down to earth Prof Mandi is and these are those little things which make you develop so much respect for the professors. Prof Mandi really makes everyone in the class so comfortable that he looks more like a friend than a teacher. There were two sessions from Prof Mandi both of which really made us think. He made us realize that the per day cost of doing MBA for us was a whopping Rs 2500 and instead of acting like beggars we should aim towards being self reliant students. He challenged us to earn at least Rs 25 per day and said that even if could do that much, we would be nurturing ourselves towards becoming good managers in the future. He also gave some very fine examples of NITIE alumni who started their own enterprises while being a student at NITIE, like Mr. Runmoy Chakraborty who founded the semi conductor manufacturing firm Cyprus. The concept of ‘aaj ki roti aaj hi kamaenge’ is something which should really be given a thought. However, how to actually do it will probably require a bit of learning and serious thinking. Prof Mandi also described the importance of thinking from an I point of view rather than a WE point of view. The jingle ‘socho becho, becho seekho, sekho socho’, which is known to almost every NITIE student courtesy Prof Mandi, was echoed by everyone in the class. It truly represents that unless we start doing it we would not be learning it.

We luckily had two sessions with Prof Mandi on the first day since our other Prof for Communication Skills had some prior commitments this week. The 2^nd class went a step further in terms of enjoyment. All of us together sang a Pink Floyd song ‘Brick In The Wall’. Although I had never heard this song before, but the enthusiasm of the class made it an enjoyable occasion. The song was very relevant in the sense that Prof Mandi asked us not to become any mediocre manager or ‘another brick in the wall’, instead he insisted on becoming the wall.  Having got a chance to learn from a prestigious institution like NITIE, we should try our best to be a part of the innovation process so that we can achieve something great.

Prof Mandi then asked us who all people amongst us write blogs. One guy amongst us was a regular blogger and he responded in the positive. Prof Mandi brought him infront of the class and he narrated a beautiful poem. It was a good feeling to see the entire class applauding him. One of the very first lessons that had been given to us by Prof Mandi was to appreciate others who have skills that we are not good at. This is a lesson that will definitely hold me in good stead throughout my life. Prof Mandi then emphasized on the importance of writing blogs on academic topics and that is the reason the blogger in me is venting out his experiences right now.  The very purpose of this blog is quite commendable. Prof Mandi believes that if 100 students can write 100 blogs on academic subjects, the wealth of knowledge that will be available over the internet will make learning affordable for thousands of students who dream of studying in good MBA colleges but are not able to make it for various reasons. This is my first attempt at blogging and I will try to incorporate as much knowledge sharing experiences as possible through blogs on Principles of Management.  

Moments to Cherish- Prof Mandi with Ankit the Poet

So the first day at NITIE was indeed a tiring day for me with classes from 9 am to 6 pm. Tiring because of the fact that 3 years of job has actually hampered my habit of sitting in a class for such long durations. However these are early days and hopefully everything will be fine in the days to come. Everything will start looking normal again. The lush green campus, the buoyant atmosphere, the talented and fun loving batch mates and above all the guidance and fatherly support of the teachers are sure to make these two years at NITIE an experience for a lifetime.