Alma Mater - Part II

Foreword: This is a post i had written a while back (August 2013), and is a follow up to Act V, Scene I - Alma Mater - Part I. In pursuit of continuity, you can read Part I before scrolling downward.

As a student, i always hated the late - night Alumni talks, when corporate honchos who had graduated from college a long time ago, dropped in on campus only to be pampered by the Placement Committee, demanded an interaction with the students, intruded on your post-dinner-relaxation time / hanging-out-with-friends time / late-night-badminton time / fifa-counter-strike time, to impart tit bits of knowledge which din't really affect or better your chances of getting placed in a company and profile of your choice with a higher than average package (every MBA aspirants goal)

And so, after a long day of clambering up an down ladders on an Anchor handling Tug at Paradip port, with a broken finger and plaster to boot, covered in coal dust from head to toe, when most people would have staggered into a hot shower and straight to bed, i found myself in the familiar environs of CR-6 (now called CR16) at 10 p.m., a perfect embodiment of all that i hated when i was a student.

What an amazing experience it was. Just to be able to present in that class again, with rows upon rows of students rising before you like a giant Roman amphitheater, and actually paying attention (as opposed to chatting among themselves in a fairly noisy classroom during college presentations); with the usual late comers knocking on the door every two minutes; with those same old curtains on your right (hopefully washed at least once a year); with the podium right next to you and the presentation on the screen behind; as usual not making any sense whatsoever, and quite like college times seeing it for the very first time right then. Complete nostalgia.

PS: Thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and hope to be able to visit the college whenever possible. Also felt great to meet some friends old and new. Finally met @Tom_Babu in person. This guy is an absolute twitter celebrity for me. His posts and links about finance related news and happenings from around the world is absolutely amazing and anyone who is remotely associated with the wonderful world of finance should follow his twitter handle. College photo courtesy Bibhav Behera Photography