परिवार (family); Well that's the first word that came to my mind as I thought of writing this blog about my 18 month long journey at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research. And now that my course (PGP-FMB: an 18 week, parent sponsored educational vacation for unprivileged kids who chose to support Family Business :D) is over, the time spent doesn't seem long enough. I wish I could have more of it… but like all good things, it has come to an end as well. Also, it is time to do work for real and let my nation, my fellow citizens, my company, my people and my family reap the benefits of my mind-blowing biz-skills (no I'm not talking about the business plan we submitted for the lovely certificate we are yet to get) for once!!
I have so many people to talk about that I have decided not to mention a single name in this blog. It is for them to find their mention in this blog. I met some really amazing people at FMB, who not only changed the way I used to think about people and world but also changed the person I was. Better or Worse, is still to be answered ;)
I met the cry-babies, the drama-kings (hardly any queens), angry-young men, argumentative Indians, x-fashionables, leaders, followers, quiet ones, loud ones, sleepy ones, full-kill ones, genius minds, dumb minds, average mind, pretentious kinds, party people, early sleepers and me… a different me. Difference was only in the perspective; how I viewed them on first day of the course and on the last day? The same people, same acts and same talks now seemed different and the only thing that had changed was 'me'.
I owe a lot to everyone around. Everyone who made me 'shut-up' during lectures, everyone who was thoughtful enough to tell me as to why I was so irritating to others, everyone who made me 'drink' my first every kind of alcohol, everyone who made me dance, everyone who asked me to join them for lunch or dinner or movie, everyone who appreciated me when I was still judging them for various reasons… everyone who made me understand what exactly I had come for at FMB and exactly what not?
FMB class is way diverse, not the kind you find at institutes which have rigorous admission processes. In those places students still got the basic commonality of ability to grasp academic concepts at almost same pace. Hence they mostly think alike and work alike. But at FMB, there is nothing that you find in common. In a group of 150, you find 300 different personalities, who live different lives when they are at home and when they are at FMB. There exists no common thread except for the fact that they all belong to Family Business. And since we did business for 3/4th time every month, we were mostly busy making a special family of a kind in remaining 1/4th time… "The FMB Time".
I was still a kid and in my own world when I joined FMB. Back in Delhi, it would be a once in a month affair to go out and stay out after 10 PM. At this point I would like to clarify that there weren't any restriction. Let's put it like this… I didn't know much about spending what I earned. My mother now often complains that for past 8 months, I have been staying less at home. It was bound to happen. You FMBians were kind enough to take me to a bar for the first time. It may not have been ideal but iBar was my first Bar :P I am sure that sounds cheesy. But like all cheesy stuff, it feels good to have said that. And then people talked to me like never before (tu mera bhai hai moment). It was indeed a turning point.
For the first 6 months, i would tell people outside of FMB that FMB is all bout parties and alcohol and smoke and more party and more alcohol and more smoke… Only when i reached the 'maikhana', did I realise that those parties were more about Family, more about Business, more about Management and more about LOVE.
Goa Trip was probably one of my best times at FMB followed by Farewell, Tarang, PG Labs and Industrial Visits. Oh! Mumbai, thanks for being so nice and patient with me. You ensured that I could fulfil my dream of a 'Road-Trip' not once but twice. I hate you like I love you. I didn't think I would every say this, but I do miss Mumbai. I drove through some amazing cities like Jaipur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Vapi, Pune and Goa and made friends along the way. None of these visits would have happened, if it weren't for FMB.
FMB may not teach you accounts or economics or operations management… but it does teach you a great deal about Human Resource Management... and trust me it is the best on the job-learning experience possible. It teaches you a great deal about life… the life that you never had.
If any of you happen to visit New Delhi or even cross by it, you will always find a friend here.
"Thanks to all, ever-frustrating teachers, frustrated admin-staff and each one of my fellow FMBians"
