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Directors and drinks

It is one thing meeting management institute directors and professors

in b-schools. It is another bumping into them at a party or at a get together post a seminar and they are nothing like anything you have seen before. No, am not talking about all b-school officials, just those I encountered at a convention in Goa recently. I am not going to name the people I met nor the institutes but I can assure you they were some of the best.

While the three-day seminar mostly consisted of speaker sessions during the day, the lunches and tea breaks were a treat to witness. There was one director from an institute in the South, who lunged on to the food like he had not eaten for days, everytime a waiter passed by, he asked for a helping. Another director drank like a fish. At least three pegs of a strong whisky during the dinner session and the last I saw of him, he was going for the fourth. But he spoke sense and told me about the intake for the next academic year in perfect English.

One director from an institute up north stood alone and ate and ate. Everytime I went to him to discuss an issue, he was gobbling down a spoonfull and I had to turn back. He was apologetic everytime and tried to explain but he really could not do so because his mouth was always full. One director told me that he had recently lost a dear family member and the next minute cracked a joke about one of his professors. I was not sure whether to offer my condolences or laugh.

One professor was constantly trailing a director from another institute and it did not take long to guess that he was looking for a job switch. He confessed to me that the offer had almost come through.Yet, another director who was recently appointed so was seen standing quietly in one corner. A known figure once, a long sabbatical had made him unknown and no one really seemed to care. Yet, another professor seemed to care so much for the sea-view outside that it seemed he was stuck to the window sill. He kept constantly clicking pictures from his phone. Still another director kept asking a scribe why he did not feature in any latest issue of the edition.

Inside the seminar room, some professors acted like children. One was quite upset at not being given a chance to ask questions. He simple got up and said: “I have been putting up my hand for long. I want to ask a question.” And amidst these all, there were also professors and directors who kept their esteem and respect. They spoke little, ate little, drank little or nothing and appeared to have attended the seminar to hear people speak. Thank God for this kind, visiting a b-school after the event can remained a learning experience.

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