Untold stories of the underrated coffee cup -By Vaishnavi Subramanian from IIM Lucknow

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On a rainy Sunday morning, I am pulled out of my existential crisis as I see a young man whistling away happily out of the coffee shop. Although I know the reason, its significance continues to elude and baffle me. Apparently, he had just managed to pull off an all-nighter. He had finished off the syllabus for his Management Accounting quiz that day. I feel elated for I know I had kept my end of the bargain, keeping him awake the entire night.

The solution to everything: the underrated coffee!

I assure you, I am mostly left unnoticed, yet I am underrated (or what I would like to assume). I am the coffee in a small, old coffee cup. You would not spare me more than a second’s thought. Yet here I am, having your back since the past one year. The plight of the B-school students these days continue to bewilder me. I grapple with this sense of confusion, a lot these days, and yet I find it amusing. I observe a lot. More than you give me credit for.

The highly intellectual group determined to stay ahead of the competition down cups of coffee even when there are no exams. The people who do the so-called ‘RG’, (a.k.a. relative grading, something I picked up during a certain conversation). Then there are the procrastinators, who feel compelled and honour-bound to study at the last minute. They do it with great pomp and show, visiting the shop with drooping lids, pumping themselves up with loads of caffeine to get through the night (which they eventually do).

Then there are committees who haunt the shop, chalking out events and fests they want to conduct over a hot cup of coffee. And, of course, the night owls turned philosophers who don’t hesitate before trading life’s gyaan over a cup (either of my own or my fierce competitor, the infamous chai). Sometimes, I am unable to stop myself from overhearing those conversations, as it piques my interest.

The Last Refuge

Lost souls, I muse, unable to comprehend life’s meaning, mostly succumb to what they feel is fate. They incessantly work towards what they believe is their ambition. Yet, life is full of mysteries. A feeling of not knowing what is about to happen. Of course, for an optimist, the glass will always be half full. I feel sad at hearing the cynics, glad when I hear the upbeat philosophers sharing their sense of belief and purpose. All in all, I have a good time. Because here are raw stories, of people who will be powerful leaders of tomorrow, not some over glorified fairy tale where everything is rosy.

And as the rays of the sun stream through the shop, I see a young couple marching their way towards the shop. As they sit, happily discussing their lives together, I realize why they say the two years in a B-School are enough to teach you life’s greatest lessons. Of pushing yourself to the brink. And also sometimes savouring the small moments in life. And sometimes musing over the mysteries of this journey. With me, the underrated cup of coffee.

This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author with Dare2Compete.