B'day Dunking@ISB !!!

11th May - Midnight and it was officially my turn to get dunked. After dunking around 50 people within my first month at ISB and facing arbit dunking several times, it was a nice little change when I was getting dunked purposefully.

For my friends outside ISB, dunking is the coolest and most popular tradition at ISB. It’s unique to ISB too, totally ours. If you know a little bit about life at ISB, you must have heard about this tradition. It all started back in first class of ISB – 2001, when few students caught hold of the B’day boy, waved him three times at the pool, and threw him in. Since then, dunking has become a common thread, an element that creates lot more bonding within the batch than what case studies and lectures can just hope to. I don’t know where those Alums are but they definitely deserve to be felicitated with their names engraved by the pool side.

As for my B’day, few of my class mates - Premjit, Sushant, Apu, and Vikram - had decided to up the ante by those chain mails around bumps, taking the B’day celebrations beyond normal traditions. I tried to kill the enthusiasm by roping in Saikat to pitch in on the group but that didn’t work either. I went to RC with a fair idea that escape route from bumps does not exist but was hoping for more professional treatment. After all, we are doing MBA and will soon be minted into managers, true professional, et all. As I reached, Premjit and Apu were talking of getting warmed up for the bumps. WTF!!! My hopes faded little bit as I sensed the enthusiasm brimming around and definitely got wiped off with the first kick from Sushant. Next was Apu’s turn and from there on, Doom Ddaddakkkk DHAMMM…I stopped counting, just existed, and left my arse’s sanctity on God’s will. Just in time, Surajit and Rahul came to my respite “No more Bumps” – Thanks to diversity at ISB that not all people think alike.

Next it was the turn for the famous swing on pool’s side – ONEEE, TWOOO, THREEEE and….and…I was air borne. Mid-air,I programmed myself to move in slow motion.I have special powers to be able to move in slow motion and bring a small tiny observer who piggybacks on my shoulder to note things around...…In those few millisecond, the observer recorded zillions of thoughts that crossed my mind. The world around me, it said, is what I have created for myself. Weren’t these pics of airborne people what I used to see and dream as an applicant.The dream has just turned true and the observer reacted pretty puzzled that why am I am dreaming about my dream while facing the same beautiful reality. As this point, the slow motion was over and there was a SPLASHhhhhhh…..Alright, Alright! With the shape I am in, it must have been little more that that perhaps….sssSPPPPPPLAAAAAASHHHHHHHHH!!! Click Click....That was “My Kodak Moment”

I stood in the pool witnessing dunking for my study group, quady, arbit dunking for 10’s of other people. We had lot more fun, people jumping over each other, doing all sort of things. What wonderful people I thought. Soon, we were all set for Section E’s patented self dunking – Holding our hands and falling back wards in the pool. That move generally signals the end of dunking ceremony towards the cake cutting where another surprise was waiting. As if bumps were not enough, I had cake polished all over. I completely gave up as Mayank massaged a huge chunk and Rohit made some funny strawberry on my nose poses. Rest people had to satiate themselves with whatever little Cake was leftover and a round of handshakes, flurry of B’day wishes followed before everyone headed back to heaps of books, assignments, and other cruel stuff.

That’s all about my B’day experience@ ISB. As Prayank put it up, it was such a fun at pool today that I feel 10 years younger on my B’day. If I were to think of my 10 best moments at ISB, I am sure this moment will be right at the top and will continue to stay. Thank you once again to all those who made it possible. I shall be equally and perhaps even more a sport for rest of dunking around the year!!!