MDP @IIMA

I decided to get off my backside and learn something at this great institute; I enrolled in the MDP starting first week of Jan.

I was extremely enthusiastic and excited about the prospect of learning at this great Institute. I was looking forward to all the late night bonding over cases and cups of chai. Monday morning, I was excited, with butterflies in my stomach, to be sitting in a classroom after nearly 5 years and that too at IIM A. The day started out fairly well, with lots of interactions and learning’s and before I knew it, it was 530 and the end of the last lecture. There was a dinner planned for all the participants in the evening, after which we were to start our group study. There was preparation to be done for the next day and day 1’s additional readings also had to be finished. So effectively I had 2 hrs to go home take a shower meet S, AND squeeze in time to read the case. After dinner, the group study started in the syndicate rooms allotted to us and we earnestly sat down to discuss the case. The group had thought that we would be able to wrap it up in 2 hrs i.e. by mid-night, but alas how wrong were we, once we got into the discussion, getting in everyone’s point of view, we didn’t realize when it was already 1 am!!! The case wasn’t yet finished the readings for the next day were untouched and on top of that we realized we had a questionnaire to fill as well. Finally we tightened our belts and after deliberation and delegating, got the stuff finished by 4 in the morning. I headed home half asleep, realising that I had spent only 15/20 mins with S in the entire day. The remaining 4 days of the MDP were pretty much a repeat of the first one, just that we had a lot of camaraderie and bonding over cases and mutual feelings of being completely exhausted.

The MDP was an awesome learning experience, I learnt from not just the teachers and the course material but a lot from the experiences of my fellow MDPians as well. The day after the MDP finished it dawned on me that the entire week I was not only physically drained but also emotionally exhausted, I felt guilty about not spending enough time with S, not even being around at dinner. I  came home at 1 one night to find him waiting for me, -something that had been happening the other way round for the past 8 month. This MDP gave me a glimpse of what S has been going through these past months. I used to envy S and his classmates the time they got learning and growing at IIM A, the camaraderie they shared, the college life they lead. But I never fully appreciated the hard work and emotional strain that goes on behind the scenes The learnings from just 4 days classes at IIM A have been so great; I can hardly begin to imagine the full impact of a full MBA!!!