Hellish by Design

IIM – it’s a dream which almost every graduate in India hopes for, even if he/she doesn’t actually prepare for. And those who prepare for it, know how damn tough it is to get into one. Hell – I tried for three years before I sneaked in under the radar! My first coherent thought after knowing that I had got an admit from IIM Indore was – ‘Ha! Fooled them! Finally! I should cross the road! My specs seem to be dirty!’ I was so excited that I was thinking everything in exclamation mode. Not until later did I realize that the process of selecting people into IIMs was very similar to how we choose a basketball – it should be full of air with a hard exterior so it can bounce back time and time again . I sometimes seriously think that the fetish with the word ‘Hel(L)’ in IIM-L has become a self fulfilling prophecy. Some sado-masochist early on in the history of IIM-L must have coined this variation of the institute’s name, and because it felt cool to be known as the ‘Devils from Hell’, the entire insti decided to literally transform itself so as to match the nickname. So much so, that people who have spent a year here actively defend the rigorous schedule here! Its like a child going up to its mother and saying – ‘Mom, please spank me for no good reason with a iron rod because I know it will only make me tough – and make sure the rod is spiked….and red hot’. And the Mom actually does so – with relish.