My first day at NITIE and my tryst with our prolific professor

                                            

               Weather prediction, they say, is a tough job. Very often, the predictions go awry. But anyone trying to forecast the weather in Mumbai can step into the role with aplomb. Such is the predictability of the weather in this part of the world during this time of the year.

               The weather inside our NITIE campus was also quite predictable. There was a lot of nervous energy around. Walking in the hallowed portals was a dream come true for all of us. Everyone had just one question in mind "It's my first class in my dream college. What's it going to be like?" as we huffed and puffed our way up the stairs to Syndicate-1.

                                             

               It was 9 AM. Dr. Prasad, fondly referred to as professor Mandi by his students, strode into our classroom.  The first few moments of the class was a throw-back to my cricketing days as Dr. Prasad gave us a few balls and asked to play around with them (Who said that learning wasn't fun?). It was more than enough to cool down the tensed nerves.

               Then came my time under the sun. Dr. Prasad asked me and my friend (Aviral) to take centre stage. He gave me a pink-coloured toy and asked me to sell it to Aviral for 70 rupees. I tried my best to fit into the shoes of a salesman for my company and named it 'Child-play International Toys.' At the end of the exercise, both of us received a word of appreciation from Dr. Prasad. We then realized that the objective of the exercise was to apprise us of the travails of a salesman in selling a product. It also showed us why management education was necessary to make a transaction click.

                                            

               2500. Yes, that's a number that I wouldn't forget in my life. For that's the amount that I would be sacrificing everyday as the opportunity cost of doing my MBA. How does one get it back? Listen to Dr. Mandi. His solution is Earning while learning. While that's easier said than done, I am on the lookout for ways to do it. Dr. Mandi's desi ways fail to impress nobody as he asked to take an oath saying "Aaj ki roti, aaj hi kamaana hai."

               "Blogging? Oh, such a waste of time." If you are one of those who say that, then think again my friend. This was the biggest takeaway for me from this class. Dr. Mandi spoke to us about the importance of blogging and the potential it has to educate the masses, free of cost. It can indeed serve as a panacea for the lack of infrastructure and quality of education that our education system is suffering from.

               Floyd is always fun to listen to. But Floyd inside a classroom?? It just doesn't get better. It was Dr. Mandi's way of telling us "Don't be another brick in the wall."

               At this juncture, I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes, The secret of life is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.