My business school has always been my second home -By Nayana Suri from NMIMS Mumbai
The Cambridge English Dictionary defines “campus” as “the grounds and buildings of a university or college”. My business school, situated in the suburbs of Mumbai, is one marvelous, posh and well-equipped building that has no “grounds” to its name. It has ten floors for everyday use with two floors of an awe-inspiring auditorium and more floors for underground parking. I do not know the exact number of students coming in and out of this building on a daily basis but it is home to around 1200 students of non-MBA programs as well.
TV Shows and Grand Piano performance
Do you think it gets a bit tight sometimes? You’re both right and wrong. You will realize the pain of the massive population primarily during lunch hours when their rumbling stomach just won’t take “wait” for an answer. When you want to cram before an exam or brainstorm before a corporate competition and head to the library in the hopes that you’ll get calm, you find you’re not the only one who had that idea. People have also abandoned all delusions that they can work in peace and are now in a heated discussion about TV shows. Some of them were “Stranger Things” and “Chernobyl”.
Despite the headcount and the fact that we spend the day in one building, I seldom feel suffocated. Let me tell you the joys of this campus. Every afternoon, a student of the performing arts program plays the Grand Piano in the Atrium for two hours. I like to eat my lunch quickly so that I can spend ten minutes and be fully present for the classical music performance. It is also a great opportunity for me to truly enjoy the beauty of music, the talent of the pianist and the diversity of the campus that encourages a student to perform.
There is a campus that lives outside the building. The Anand Foodstall right outside the gates is where you’ll find students trying to grab that Vada Paav between classes. Walk a few meters and there is a Starbucks, a Coffee Di Bella, and a Naturals Icecream.
Rickshaw rides and cafes
Take a ten-minute rickshaw ride and you’re at Juhu Beach where you can feel the sand shifting under your feet with the sun setting over the blue open waters. Another short rickshaw ride will take you to Prithvi Café which is a really quaint food joint in the open air, attached to Prithvi Theatre. Here, you see and meet all kinds of people enjoying the moment and forming real social bonds. The artistic air is infectious and puts you in a relaxed and upbeat mood.
Another reason I’ve never felt suffocated here is due to the sheer activity and variety. I feel important every single day on this campus. Right from the security personnel who smiles at you, as long as you have your ID card on display. Was it overwhelming when I first got here? Hell, yes! Was I scared? Absolutely. Did I want to run back home? Yes. Did it get better over time? 100% yes. I’ve met people from a lot of different states in India and learnt better Hindi in a year than I did in my twenty plus years of watching Bollywood movies. Moreover, I know a little Punjabi as well. When I first watched Lamborghini song on the class projector between classes and concentrated on the lyrics very well.
My next stop? Model Town. Everybody here, at some level, is going through the same thing as you. It helped me when I stopped seeing them as my competition and saw them as my family in this strange new city. Yes, you meet people you don’t like and want to avoid but the beauty of this campus is that you’ll keep running into “your” people and discover them till the day you leave.
Calm, safe and beautiful nights at business school
This business school campus isn’t residential but you’ll never know. This photo shows how calm, safe and beautiful nights in this building are. I’m fighting procrastination and working against a deadline to write this but as I sit here in this warm light, I realize the size of the space doesn’t really matter. What we do with what we get and how we appreciate and contribute to its glory can make all the difference. This campus has always felt like home and this home is not always comfortable, it pushes me, it frustrates me, it makes me wait in long lines for food but I keep coming back because I’m a better Nayana each morning when I walk through its doors.
This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author with Dare2Compete.