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Life at TISS, over a year now, has indeed been a beautiful experience. TISS, as an institute, has an unmatched characteristic to accommodate and nurture all who come here, which is indeed a difficult task, for there is the widest possible diversity in terms of
background, geographical region, experience and so on.

For me, it has been a journey of learning all the way. The classes follow a standard pendulum of being relaxing at times, and grueling at the other; for most of the assignments make their presence felt simultaneously! Field-work has been the reality-check twice every week that there is a huge HR community out there which operate on many principles that do not lurk in text-books. Despite cribbing vociferously every sunday evening about the long hours of travel that field-work compelled us to, there was also satisfaction at having completed a project at the end of each semester.

Group work deserves special merit in any account of TISS. So does the-night-before-the-presentation, and yes, they are both intricately linked! The dawning realisation that there would be a presentation the next day has immense positive impact on our productivity... and lo and behold!!!... the next morning would see a group of students transforming from the age-old jeans to hauty professional attire, and express the deepest of insights about business, HR, India, in fact about anything that we could think of!!! However, this is no indication of our unwillingness to work together, for any event organisation, such as Manthan, our college fest elicits hours and hours of debate, discussion and preparation, where time just flies by.

At times I wonder if life at TISS is hectic or relaxed. I have often heard about how other B-schools have a far more grueling time-table with many more deadlines, and how we had it lucky. Yet, when I look back to reflect on the time I spent, there was so much we had to do! Classes, guest-lectures, field-work, assignments, extra-readings, competitions, doused with generous doses of cultural activities, parties, treks, movie screenings, festivals... Whew!!!... time simply flew and before I knew it, an entire year has gone. The beauty of this entire process is actually not the free time one has, but rather the choice to engage in what one is comfortable with, and this coupled with the experiences at TISS, offers space for reflection and self-discovery. This is actually an integral step for any manager of tomorrow, and sadly enough, very few institutions have the maturity to understand and nurture it in its students. The TISS experience is indeed a privilege when it comes to this.

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* Contributed by -
Sebati Sircar,
2nd Year Student,
M.A. in HRM & LR,
TISS, Mumbai.
Article posted on September 7, 2008.