Wanna kill Roland Joffe??

Life in IIFT Kolkata!!...well, where should I start from? Okay, first about Kolkata. Ever wondered who is Roland Joffe? He is one person you would like to kill in your first 30 days in the city. Yes, he is the Director of the film City of Joy. And why would you like kill him? Obviously, you would find no joy in the city. How could he think of branding Kolkata as city of joy? Frankly speaking, for a person who has never been to Kolkata before, the city will be no less than hell. Food problem, water problem and moreover those taxi and auto wallahs shouting and arguing over nothing! Yes people, get ready to face the reality. It’s not at all easy to survive here.

But then days become weeks and weeks become months and then you realize your trimester is over. By then I can assure you, your hate towards the city will be far gone. Now you would be dazed and confused over whether you like the city or not. And for me, the confusion persists till date….

Now IIFT is a place where you will find solace. You make friends, you party out, and you crib over all the small things you thought were never worth attention. And then, exams happen. All of a sudden, there is a rush of things; not only adrenaline, but also presentations, projects, deadlines to be met and end-terms to be prepared for. This is where the real learning happens. Managerial qualities will not be tested from those bookish definitions; they will be tested in the last 10 days of each trimester. IIFT will make sure you work harder in those 10 days than previous 60 days. DGPs will be the best source of threat and they will have an effect. Burden of work is bound to take a toll. All those people with a “I don’t care about CGPA” attitude will be seen making notes and understanding economic graphs. After all, you don’t want to be the same person after 2 years of MBA. You want to be different, that’s why you are here. And believe me; IIFT will make sure you are different, in a better way, for a better life.

Life@IIFTK

“The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less.”
Arthur Miller

Fifty Two young people with dreams in their eyes to succeed and the courage to achieve their dreams, set on roll for their 2 years of challenging yet very interesting phase of life at IIFT, on 2nd of July 2007. With the majority of peers being engineers, I was determined to carve out a niche for myself too. We started getting along with each other through PDP sessions and the group assignments, projects, etc…. that part of life was called “Getting Accustomed To IIFT”.

At that point of time I had no clue what is in store for the coming 2 years. But day by day, month by month and now I can say even semester by semester, life has now become inseparable with IIFT. One of the advantages which I felt was the awesome enthusiasm in our batch towards the various activities which we got involved in, be it the Symposiums, or the parties, or the pujas (especially Saraswati Puja). Our small batch has been a very close knitted one ……and this part of life is called “Being a part of the IIFT family”.

Then came one of the bigger events: Summer Internship Program selections, which saw us pass through rounds of interviews and group discussions. Again we had all geared up by preparing ourselves through mock interviews and group discussions among ourselves. I enjoyed the 15 day stay at the Delhi Campus; especially being in the Atrium was really special. As all of us were through with the selections of summers, it came up as a great opportunity to make a small trip of northern part of the country along with IIFT friends -Praveen and Robin…..that part of life is known as “Living with Iiftians”.

From mid October i.e. 2nd semester thru 3rd semester in March, is the time when majorly all b-schools have their events and I got an opportunity to display my skills in presentations and reports at some of the best b-schools in India jointly with Diptangshu, who by far was ‘One of the best partners in Prime case study presentations’. This was the best part in terms of learning outside the classrooms. My main aim was to represent my college at different b-schools, and make the presence of our new Kolkata campus felt to all….this part of life is called “Presenting the IIFT way!”

One of the experience which stands out is that of elections for various club coordinators posts. Fortunately I was able to convince my peers for the post of Finance Club Coordinator but standing at the podium and answering questions for around an hour was no joke, and has definitely gave a boost to my confidence. With SIP starting now, everyone is focussed on their projects assigned to them. However I am too eager to listen to the various experiences which will bring the actual flavour of Corporate Life to our studies (as our professor Gautam Dutta would put in his words) this part of life is called “Flavour of IIFT”.

Now I seek more opportunities where I can focus on and specialize in, so that I can be an expert in the field of Finance. Life at IIFT Kolkata Campus has taught me to look further and further, understanding my scope, and always thriving to increasing it. Now with the 2nd half of my MBA at IIFT, I want to gear up myself and make everyone proud of me, my college in what will be called as….“Life after IIFT”.

Original thoughts

DJ
Gaurav Dhanani