Posted in Student Diaries by Viswanathan Ravichandran – Student, Fall Class of 2013.
As I sat this afternoon watching C. Pujara and M. Vijay hitting glorious centuries against one of the most formidable teams in the world, I realized that I had completed my own century of being at the Fall batch of Sunstone Business School 2013. And I am equally elated at my own humble but significant century.
Just like an international debutante in cricket who also gets to open an innings for his team I was nervous when I joined the batch. I had butterflies in my stomach back then which might not have disappeared yet. My batch mates from college who have graduated from Sunstone had given me their ‘expert’ opinion on how this might just play out. But like yesteryear’s cricketers I am not sure how they played the game and if they knew well enough that the game has changed- it’s the nature of the game that it always changes.
My memory has been my .303 Lee Enfield- rusty but has managed to fire at the right times. I clearly remember the first Contact Day at Sunstone. The hustle bustle was settled quickly and we were introduced to the values of Sunstone by Rajul Garg. It was all warm and gooey till suddenly Rajul threw the core problem at us. We were divided into groups, had to suggest a leader and revert back with a synopsis in a short while. I think this might be like how a batsman playing against Kumble might have felt like- you think that he is a spin bowler till you have received that Yorker.
And that was just the beginning. Keeping up with the forum discussions, assignments, vivas, quizzes and contact days while juggling the time requirements of a job and the needs of one’s family has been challenging, unsettling, demanding and all the what not’s.
But like any sport, it’s about gaining a rhythm. You start seeing the ball better as time goes by, be it cricket, ping pong or tennis. It requires patience, skill and discipline. I don’t think I am there yet but I am definitely better off from where I started. Financial statements don’t look like cryptic music notes to me anymore. I understand better how to story board and have been introduced to some great techniques of problem solving. Most importantly I have gained a few more friends and mentors.
There’s a long way to go and from what I have gauged thus far- things are never going to get easy. But the destination is not so important- the journey is, and a lot depends on my companions en route.
I would like to end with an urdu couplet which pretty much summarizes my current state of mind:
“Thandi saason se jee ulajhta hai..
Zindagi maangti hai angaaren!”
Wow..what a nice way to share the state of mind.
I hope you would be able to settle all the butterflies at the end.
Liked the Urdu lines..very inspiring.
Well said Ravi…I am sure this applies to most of us.