Its not in every life that you get lucky, or get a chance to be a wizard for that matter.

Kudos to A.R.T for being a reliable source of interface between the aspirants and the management *applause*.Really awesome work guys.

I remember the Vadodara meet of ‘Coffee With SIBM-P’ vividly

“Who is the CEO of GM?” and there I was raising my hand like a Hermione and I said “Mary Barra”.

I spent that night going through GUTS AND GLORY. Whoa!!

Then came along MUKESH PAREEK sir, an alumni of SIBM-P, who also co-authored an article in G&G. He came, we saw, and we were all impressed. From the subprime crisis to derivatives and debentures, he taught us all, along with the mannerisms in a GD and the nuances of an interview. He had this aura of sweet confidence that I was compelled to see what SYMBI does to people.

Well, I think it is all destiny, after a SNAP score of 99.5%, a very humbling interview, a waiting list rank of 87, and finally Symbiosis Institute of Business Management-Pune, I felt what Harry Potter must have felt on seeing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – Pure Wonder at The Top.

The infrastructure of Symbiosis International University is awesome, I mean – WHATTAY PLACE. My parents and sister were also equally enthralled, and I was eager to start the 2 years of MBA at Symbiosis, before I started feeling homesick.

EUPHORIC EXPERIENCES AHOY…

1. 4 – Sharing rooms…(okay! not so lucky there, I thought) but I have come around to like them more and more, witty chats and laughter with Aditya, Sati playing ASHES all day, Shashank seeing movies like the end of the world is near, and The HOSTELITES playing Counter Strike. Much Macho.
2. Swimming and Gymming, along with Squash, Badminton, Cricket, Football, Table Tennis, Pool, Carrom, Basketball, and beautiful girls. Hell Yeah! ( oh stop it, I would mention them again, probably)
3. I loved the Mess Food.( on my first day here, at least, much better than engineering college hostel). It is generally palatable( why not, they have an endless supply of te same gravy ;p) and still the dessert wala guy would need to be coaxed to give me the extra brownie)
4. The first day itself was so awesome

– With all due respect, Director sir’s time on stage was Dhamakedaar (The gist of his speech being… he was the jaykant shikre here so don’t forget to wish him a good day, anytime, every time…no, but seriously I was impressed by his command over Sanskrit, the no-nonsense attitude, and a hint of an innovation and steadfastness-with reference to his Fork experiment.) Shri Gurave Namah!!

– I was really engrossed by the time the chief guest, Mr. Prakash Iyer- CEO of “Mumbai Indians” let the ball in our court by saying “The most important thing needed to climb a mountain, was the DAMN MOUNTAIN!!! What wise words. ( Big time I found a goal, It can be a Person(see I told you), Placements, Parents or Parties)

– I have been always inspired by our Chancellor sir Shri S B majumdar…mind your time, energy, health and focus, and Symbiosis is there to help. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

5. The first time I read the words outside the Helipad at night, GOOSEBUMPS! Like the whole legacy of SIBM was talking to me.
6. The ice-breaking and bonding was contrary to what we all expected, It led to Epiphanies, Friendships, Being hurrayed on stage and PARTY( yeah we came 2^nd, with the skit topic of Depression getting a special mention from the judge).The night was like no other, ‘The A-team’ united for a cause. We danced to CHAVAT Boys, and the heresy is that it was nice.
7. Well, the amphitheatre at night is the most serene and silent of places, and we even played antakshari there, causing a ruckus. Enjoyed
8. All instances to Antakshari have been with SIMC people,(magically surprising :p), and I have enjoyed every bit. (yeah, SIMC).
9. Enter the outbound learning, it was what it was meant to be- funny, outbound, and adding value. Special mention to PURPLE SQUIRREL Eduventures, for a trip to coca cola, the marshmallow challenge, the amazing race, and lectures by startups and industry veterans alike…I love you, Rasna.( I even got a Tee).
10. The pre-induction test? No comments, But I must say, assuming that the students would utilise the nights, is a bit of an overstatement.
11. Went for Coffee. No elaboration.
12. The first week of studies?? My God, a more amazing set of Faculties has never been in my life. Marketing was worth the wait, and Economics—out of the world, no seriously, EconMom even pitches for Potter. The others are amazing too, and I would do better to study instead of reminiscing about the past few weeks.
13. And many many Gujjus here, so it feels like Home.
14. Did YOGA on ‘international yoga day’ in the Drizlze, and then it rained, heavy, probably a symbol of the storm to come.

Thus it has been a true SYMBIOSIS of sorts, with the alumni stressing on carrying the Brand forward, Symbi giving us all it has to offer, and we, hopefully would make it proud.

PS…another analogy

Gryffindor-Marketing( It takes courage, to go selling)

Slytherin- HR( everyone hates them, but are generally beautiful)

Ravenclaw-Operations( Only the clever can be efficient, others just waste their time)

Hufflepuff- Finance people(Humble and sweet and down to earth)

Akshayrajsinhji Jadeja

Student

MBA-1

SIBM,Pune