Move over B-school Dean interviews and opinion columns, because the PaGaLGuY B-school Backpacker is on the loose! Making a pilgrimage to B-schools across the country is his mission, and in this mission he shall not falter. The B-school Backpacker will travel to b-schools, write about their campus cultures, lingo, quirks and pass on freshly brewed flavor from India’s MBA campuses for your reading pleasure. (Tip: If you wish to invite the B-school Backpacker to your b-school, mail him at editor pagalguy com.)

The second stop in the Backpacker’s itinerary is the Shailesh J Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay. (His first stop was GIM, Goa) Read on!

The well maintained and tree lined road which greeted me at the main entrance of IIT Bombay (IIT-B) was a far cry from the road which led to the institute. The latter is partly under construction and the dust in the air is perceptible when one travels on it. Nikhil Kedia, a first year student at the Shailesh J Mehta School of Management (SJMSoM) of IIT-B met me at the entrance and proceeded to guide me around the campus. I asked him, aAre these coconut trees that we see on either side of the road?a aWell, I donat really know. You see, we have so many trees here,a was his simple response. And I could see that he wasnat exaggerating. As we discussed later; a resident of the campus at IIT a B can well be forgiven for thinking that he or she is not in Bombay at all. The clean, green campus with its fresh air and quiet environs does not quite appear to be located in a bustling and bursting at the seams metropolis.

As we made our way to SJMSoM (known as SoM within the IIT campus) I understood the reason behind IIT a Bas smoke and noise free surroundings. As is the case with all IITs, students at the institute may not own motorcycles and usually move around on bicycles. . Further, buses ply every 15 minutes from hostel 13, which is the last hostel in the campus right to the main entrance to the IIT campus. These buses which are of a distinctive red colour are called atumtumsa by campus residents. Vehicles are only permitted for staff and visitors to the institute. Autos are available within the campus.

The SoM building soon appears and stands out in its appearance. Students are dispersed in the vicinity of the building and I am told later that today is the commencement of a new term for first year students at SJMSoM. The first year batch at SoM has been divided into two sections with one section having four hours of classes in the morning and the other attending classes from two in the afternoon to six in the evening. The batch timings are reversed every term. The second year batch is currently busy with tests as well as placement related activities.

I met a group of first year students and we decided to grab a bite at the Nescafe joint and talk about life at the B-school. As I munch on a Maggi bonda (a vada stuffed with Maggi) which Iam told is a specialty of this eatery also known as coffee shack, a student of the morning batch joined us. He was feeling a bit unwell and after the first hour or so, had decided to attend the afternoon session of classes. The others at the table immediately pounced on him to grill him about the morning session. Why so? Itas the first day of the term: students have to submit an HR assignment (for which most of them have been up till 4 AM) and are also required to read a hundred odd pages before attending the class of a senior professor who has not taught them earlier. Naturally, they were curious about how strict and observant the professor was. Notes were exchanged, ideas discussed and a strategy for the afternoon classes came to be. aThe coffee shack incidentally is the only savior between classes as it helps us to stay awake. And on Sunday, the day it is shut, it is quite difficult to stay awake,a quips Parasuram NA, a first year student at the B-school here.

Students at SJMSoM often fall prey to a aTim Luck Lucka a generic slang for the play of a prank. If a laptop or a mail account is left unguarded then an alert afrienda may choose to send out a mail from the concerned personas account to the entire SoM batch. The friend basically lets loose his or her creativity for the person in question. This essentially translates to crazy, wacky mails which have rants about subjects ranging from placements to the fairer sex. Even as we discussed this, Parasuram remembered that another person at the table, Kunal Deep, had had a aTim Luck Lucka played on him some time back. Kunal smiled sheepishly and didnat really know where to look. On probing he said rather vaguely what the prank was about. Needless to say his batch mates ensured that the mail was discussed earnestly with appropriate attention given to detail. aTim Luck Lucks come back to haunt you. You send one out and you can be assured that another will go out in your name, soona, dryly remarks a student at the table.

aSoM rocks!a is a phrase which is brandished often by students of the institute whenever a competition is won or an MBA student performs well in an event. The phrase stems from an actual rock like entity which is present in the SoM foyer. The SoM Well is an open space which is often used for lunches and events at fests such as theatre competitions.

As far as the fairer sex is concerned, seven may be a lucky number for many but certainly not at SJMSoM. The batch strength at SoM has increased from 53 to 73 to 86, for the current first years. However, the number of women has remained at seven through these batches. A possible reason for this may be importance attached by the institute to work-experience; a mere five students out of 86 are freshers, with all five being male. aEngineering college was far better in this regard. For that matter, even government colleges have a stronger female presence!a says a student on being asked to compare the gender ratios in engineering college and B-school. Another muses: aThis is akin to staying in a desert in a local (SoM) as well as global (IIT) scenario.a Interestingly enough, the hostel in which post graduate male students stay is named aQueen of the campusa.

So, how different is the experience of a B-school with only science/engineering graduates from college for students here? aWell, assignments need to be acopied intelligentlya. Simply copying from the internet or a colleagueas work is easily detected. Everything gets scrutinized because of the batch strength,a explains a student. Another says, aThere is more holistic learning here with fewer hours being spent in class but with students still being very involved with academic work.a

I rounded up the afternoon with lunch at the mess where the post graduate students at IIT-B usually have their meals. As we tucked into the food, Nikhil Kedia remarked with a twinkle in his eye, aSo, you can understand that we tend to feel drowsy through afternoon classes.a I definitely could! Anyhow, we finished lunch after which the first year students scurried off to their rooms to get ready for their first few classes of the new term. I, meanwhile, walked around till I hailed an empty auto and then proceeded to return to the grime and hustle of the world that lies outside IIT-B.

So, the PaGaLGuY.com B-School Backpacker has made his second stop! If you wish to invite him to your campus please feel free to shoot a mail to editor pagalguy com.