The Hindu Business Line : <I>Life at the gate of B-school </I>

It is a hot, sweaty Saturday morning and I'm standing at the gate of my institute, waiting for an important alumnus to arrive for a meeting. The alumnus had said he'd be arriving in ten minutes. That was an hour ago, and I cursed my luck as I, in my full- sleeve shirt and tie, was being gently cooked to medium rare. As I sweated buckets, I spotted a small, thin man with a battered suitcase make his way towards me."Why are you standing at the gate?" he asked me in crisp English and, for a moment, I was surprised."Is the institute open today," he asked, and before I could reply, said, "Of course, hostel students are here on weekends too."

"What is the fee they charge?" he went on. I found myself getting a little annoyed. "You may ask at the admission office." I replied and looked away.

He smiled knowingly and shifted himself in front of my gaze. "What is your educational qualification?"

I didn't want to answer him but I finally muttered, "Engineer."

"What specialisation?"

"Electrical and electronics."

He sensed my discomfort and smiled. "In two years you will get a job that pays you a nice salary. Then you will get married. But remember this! Keep your wife close to you!"

I looked at him in confusion. "Only ten per cent of your salary to your brothers and sisters. The remaining ninety to your wife. If you don't do that, you'll end up like this man — divorced and poor ... on the road." He turned around and walked away. I didn't know what to make of the whole thing but it bothered me. Did he have some place to go? What had gone wrong with his life? Could the same thing happen to me?

When you are studying in a B-school, you forget the world outside. You assume everyone will earn a six-figure salary, drive expensive cars and travel the world. You are sure that soon some well known company will hire you.

As I stood at the gate of my college, I realised that I was standing at the line that divided two very different worlds. I turned to the security guard, "Call me when the guest comes, I'm going inside."

(The author is a student of IMT, Ghaziabad.)

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