The Following is a work of total fiction... any resemblance to truth is merely co-incidental

A day in the Life of a NITIE Student

“Beep Beep Beep!” goes my alarm at 7 AM. Just two hours of sleep but this has become a habit now. I pull apart the shades and the beautiful Powai Lake lies serene. The crimson red rays of the rising sun reflect back from the shimmering waters. A jog seems perfect at this hour. My buddies Sharad and Meenakshi join in. We greet each other with drowsy looks but decide to jog to Vihar Lake. As we huff and puff up the hill, a cool breeze brushes past us and birds chirp across the rustling trees and the manicured lawns.

In thirty minutes we are back at the mess, to be enticed at the sight of steaming idlis and butter laden Aloo Parathas. Two cups of strong coffee kick in, just to remind me of a Marketing Case Study Presentation. A quick bath and up the “96 steps of excellence” to the Academics building. The professor digs in hard at the concepts and knowing the reputation of this Prof., there are no airy fairy “strategies”. She wants water tight recommendations with a strong reasoning. Thankfully she is satisfied with my work and I manage a wry smile.

The next lecture is by a Supply Chain Management professor of international repute. I sit with bated breath as he grills the girl in front about the chinks in the supply chain of an FMCG giant. The guy next to her is quizzed on changes in VAT effective in the new budget. If he turns to me I’ll have to blabber what I glanced through in the Economic Times last evening, and which I am sure will push me from the frying pan into the fire. I make a mental note of studying that topic before the next class. Thankfully the guy in question is well read for the lecture and the rest of it passes peacefully.

Post Lunch, I rush for the quiz in Accounting. Seeing multiple choice questions I manage a chuckle. But that was the last time I smiled that hour. The options turn out to be excruciatingly close. I am sweating profusely as minutes tick by. A glance across the room reveals a similar state amongst my all engineer batch mates. I am able to scrape through a few answers just before the professor collects the sheets with a sadist looking smile.

It’s now time for my foreign language course. I am not able to decide whether I love this course for the love of the language or for the attractive French instructor. Almost time for dinner and the mess is buzzing with Junta. I have a light meal but the sumptuous gulab jamuns make me drowsy. I head to the reading room which is filled with students validating the causes of today’s market crash aired on CNBC. Sharad walks in with Tennis racquets and I can’t resist the temptation. It’s just past midnight when we finish our game.

As I lumber to my room, thinking about a full night’s sleep, I am buzzed on my cell. Meenakshi announces a meeting to freeze the new editions of MBALive, our magazine that reaches out to corporate honchos and MBA students across the country. Over cups of cold coffee the junta comes up with one innovative idea after other. We are able to wind up only at 3:45 AM. All the banter has left us famished. Some Hakka noodles and juice at the night canteen save us.

As I finally step back into my room, I can only think about the three hours to go before another fascinating day starts @ NITIE.