Week 14 - The Section-B night

Week 14! The calendar for this week looked scary from the get-go:

Classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Class on Thursday followed by an end-term exam.

Two end-term exams on Friday.

Two more on Saturday.

And then? Just one Sunday off before Part 2 of Term 2 kicks off on Monday.

Are we prepared for it? No.

Do we have a choice? Also no.

Even though we had regular classes for the first three days, nothing about them felt regular. The entire cohort had this silent buzz about the upcoming exams: REM sessions were being held by batchmates, notes were flying across groups, and everyone just wanted the week to be over.

I decided to do my bit and help in the way I know best – Excel. I created a fully automatic file for SCM (Strategic Cost Management). Costing has always been one of my favourite subjects from CA days, and combining that with Excel felt like a dream task. The file turned out to be super helpful during the exam. Honestly, hearing batchmates say things like, "I just plugged in the numbers and could solve most questions" made it all worth it.

Like I’ve said in my past blogs, exams at IIM-A aren’t a solo fight. It’s 157 of us going to war, one exam at a time. And for SCM, I just happened to be the soldier with a handy little weapon.

Another exam that stood out this term was SHRM (Strategic Human Resource Management). It was a pen-and-paper exam... but we were allowed to use our laptops and the internet. Some might argue it diluted the exam experience, but I found it very real. In the real world, no one locks you in a room without Wi-Fi and asks you to solve business problems. You Google, you collaborate, you build on what’s already out there, and that’s exactly what this exam allowed us to do.

Right or wrong, intense or unusual, the exams eventually ended. And the moment that last exam on Saturday evening got over, we all hit refresh. I went shopping with a friend to a nearby mall, followed by a long walk at the Sabarmati Riverfront. We even got drenched in the rain, but no complaints. The night ended with few of my close friends in my room with music, food, and one of those long, soul-talk sessions. After a week like this, we needed a night where deadlines didn’t exist.

Sunday brought with it a very happy visit, Mansha, my wife, came to Ahmedabad for a short trip. The day was slow and perfect. Biryani for lunch, a cozy afternoon nap, coffee at Korebi (one of the more boojee cafés on campus), and in the evening... the Section B Party.

Yes! We had a proper Section B party. The idea behind it? A small realisation that hit us. This is our last month as a section. From next term onwards, we all choose electives, and the familiar classroom of Section B will no longer be a thing. So, we celebrated while we still could. And since we didn’t have an 8:45 AM class on Monday (bless the schedule gods), the party went on late into the night.

After a brutal week, the weekend was everything it needed to be - chill, comforting, and just the right pause before Part 2 of Term 2 begins.