Perils of Being a Teacher

As I embarked on my first year as a professor at IIM Ahmedabad, I was tasked with conducting the summer/preparatory program for a select group of about 40 students from the incoming MBA batch. These students were identified as needing additional coaching in communication skills and mathematics before the regular program commenced. My team consisted of two teaching assistants, two doctoral students, and myself, working together in the sweltering heat of May in Ahmedabad to prepare these students for the demanding first term of their MBA journey.

I quickly recognized that their most pressing need was not academic support but self-belief - the confidence that they could thrive in the competitive environment that awaited them in the MBA program. The students, many hailing from small towns and educated in vernacular languages, were grappling with self-doubt and fear as they prepared to enter one of India’s most prestigious business schools. The heat of Ahmedabad mirrored the intensity of their apprehensions.

At 29, I was only a few years older than my students. As a bachelor, I spent most of my time on campus, often dining at the staff mess run by the institute. This proximity resulted in frequent interactions with the students in informal settings. Once the MBA program began, many of the preparatory program students sought my guidance when they felt overwhelmed by both academic pressures and social dynamics outside the classroom. I provided them the moral support and encouragement they needed to cope with the challenges they faced.

One afternoon, after completing my morning classes, I was in my office when Rakesh (name changed), a burly and affable student from the preparatory program, knocked on my door. “Sir, we need your help,” he said as he entered. He elaborated that he had come to seek my help for his dorm mate and good friend Ajay Kumar (name changed). Ajay was not from the preparatory program.

Ajay's father and uncle had reached Ahmedabad to escort him home and get him engaged to a girl they had chosen for him. To avoid meeting them, Ajay had locked his room and disappeared. No one knew his whereabouts. Rakesh wanted me to persuade Ajay’s father and uncle not to put pressure on Ajay to get engaged to the girl against his wishes.

Overcoming my initial disbelief at the audacity of the request, I told Rakesh that if at all any intervention from the institute was warranted, it had to be by the Warden who was responsible for issues relating to students. I had no locus standi to intervene. Disagreeing vehemently, Rakesh insisted that I was their only hope. He also casually informed me that he had already suggested to the gentlemen that they meet me – to which they had whole heartedly agreed – and that they were waiting in the corridor outside my office.

I glared at Rakesh whose demeanor was one of confidence in my willingness and ability to bail them out. Relenting, I finally said, “Okay, show them in. I will deal with you later.”

As the two gentlemen walked into my room, I stood up and greeted them with folded hands. I asked them to sit down and asked Rakesh to wait outside. I called my secretary and asked her to arrange for tea and biscuits for the visitors.

The father narrated to me their tale of woes with their son. They had chosen the girl for him when he was in the final year of engineering. He had asked them to wait till he completed the engineering program. Without their knowledge, he had taken and cleared the entrance exams for MBA at IIM Ahmedabad. He came away to Ahmedabad, promising to get back to them after joining the program. They had travelled all the way to Ahmedabad as Ajay was refusing to commit to when the engagement ceremony could be held. Their plan was to take Ajay home and get him betrothed to the girl they had chosen.

Realizing that they knew little about the institute or what an MBA from the institute meant, I made them aware of how difficult it was to qualify for the MBA program of the institute, highlighting thereby Ajay’s achievement. I informed them that an MBA from IIMA would ensure a very rewarding career for Ajay. Ajay’s reluctance to get engaged may be to avoid distractions from the demands of the program he was in. I suggested that they needed to be patient with Ajay and consider his desire not to get engaged at this juncture.

After listening to my harangue, the father said, “Ajay never told us anything about the institute. I feel hurt by my son's refusal to speak to me and meet us. He knew we were coming to Ahmedabad.”

After a brief silence thereafter, Ajay’s father said, “We are indeed grateful that you agreed to meet us and speak to us. We now have a much better idea about what Ajay is doing. Please call my son to your chamber and give him a dressing down for his stupidity and insensitivity.”

I called Rakesh back in and asked him to escort Ajay’s father and uncle to the dormitory to check whether Ajay had returned and to ensure that they made it back to the train station in time. The following day, a sheepish Ajay came to see me with Rakesh by his side, to express his gratitude. Reprimanding him sternly I asked him to speak to his father even if that meant raised voices on the other side. I told him that it was important that he communicated with his family despite serious disagreement. Rakesh informed me sometime later that Ajay did speak to his father and that their relationship was on the mend.

In time, Rakesh and Ajay graduated from the institute and the incident became a memory.

Recalling the episode four decades later, I wonder whether we connect better with much quicker and more vivid ways of communicating with each other today - and whether that alleviates or exacerbates the generational friction.

IDK!

#MBA #IIMA #Teacher #Ahmedabad