I am relieved to be back here.It has been a long B-school schedule induced hiatus and the experience so far has been quite different than what I'd expected it to be.I cannot but feel a strange ambivalence about my stay here.Perhaps I am still settling in,even after five months;perhaps I don't belong here.Anyway, I shall first list certain terms from the lingo that is unique to MDI so as to avoid repeating myself later.

Hostels

1. CM-Change Masters-A corny name for the main hostel,this is the center of all activity for all PG students.It houses our mess and pigeon boxes
2. Takshashila(pic above)-this is where I live-the rooms are much better furnished and have the (seemingly) unbeatable luxury of an attached bathroom in each room.This was originally meant for executive students ( people in other courses like the National Management Programme (NMP) or the school of Public Policy& governance) and also comes equipped with a much fancier kitchen and dining room which,sadly, is off limits to us
3. Kshitij-Another hostel which is a little secluded and populated with seniors and exchange students from foreign universities

Other places and lingo

1. Gurukul-The place where the classes for PGPM are held and which also houses the 'Placecom'
2. Arcus-The main night hangout inside campus which is right by the parking lot.Arcus is witness to everything that goes on-the fights, the politics, the pranksSharmaji-A day canteen adjacent to the Acad block-most frequented by profs and people in search of that elusive dish from back home
3. Mandev-ian-A convoluted acronym for Management Development Institute.The students of MDI are known as Mandevians.Mandevian mail is our official email client
4. GP group-Like most B-schools,we have a concept of group work wherein a random pre-decided group of six students are clubbed into what is called a GP group (Graduate programs).You do all assignments and projects with your GP group and your GP group can either make or mar your CG.
5. CG-shortened form of CGPA-relative grading needs no introduction.CG is what makes life hell here
6. Ghissu-our term for the in-house padhaku.Since we can't really have nerd or dork,ghissu has to do for now.
7. Faff-This is the four letter word on campus.Every self-respecting B-school has a term for this.Used as a verb (Faffing) or as a noun (Faffer) denoting excessive verbiage of the B-school type.A way of answering questions without actually saying something. Sentences like 'leveraging my synergies to better align myself with organizational strategy'.But this has been twisted way beyond what it actually means to include anything and everything which can be considered an alternative viewpoint.For e.g

• Faff subjects-any subject which is not quantitatively driven like Marketing,HR,Organizational Behavior-anything which most right brain numb engineers (who make up about 90% of the batch) cannot fathom easily or appreciate
• Faff paper-An exam paper which makes the 'grave folly' of asking your opinion on an issue which doesn't have any numbers involved
• Faffer-The laziest stereotype for a person who is not interested in number crunching of the Finance type.For someone who professes a love for Marketing.The implicit assumption being that to be good at marketing one just needs to speak well aka faff
  

I guess one of the few things that I would remember the most about these months is the sleep deprivation.I have never experienced levels of sleep deprivation that I have encountered here.Three hours is considered normal whereas four is considered a blessing.This is definitely not normal if you do it three to four months on a trot.But contrary to popular belief the remaining twenty one hours are not being spent doing entirely productive things.The morning person in yours truly has been replaced by an irritable,groggy and always hungry twenty five year old. No time is downtime with preparation for presentations,quizzes,work on assignments happening almost simultaneously.Some people are of the opinion that this is a kind of a boast about the super-humanness of MBAs.Maybe some B-schoolers would like to think of themselves this way.But the point is,every grad student worth his salt would have dealt with sleep deprivation, it's just that this is hard to do after working for about three years and enjoying the freedom which comes from being financially independent and being in control of your leisure time.So much for 'sabbatical from work' or 'last chance to broaden your mind'.The only sabbatical I am taking is from the last-Friday-of-the-month-'your salary has been credited'-SMS.Shall be back with more later.