Dreams do come true!

I do not exactly recollect the year when the dream of doing an MBA got into my mind. What was quite interesting was the fact that, it was not just the course, but even the campus where I should get it done was crystal clear like the waters of a pristine lake where you could see tiny pebbles resting on the lakebed.

During my BCom days, I chanced upon a brochure for the MBA programme offered by Christ College, one of the most prestigious campuses in a city that was then called Bangalore. Was it the course structure or the image of the campus, I still am not sure, that attracted me more, to that magical temple of learning. An opportunity to visit the campus during my BCom final year as part of a college tour added more feathers to my dream.

Growing up in the late 90s in Changanacherry, a small town in Kerala meant, limited aspirations and even lesser exposure to career opportunities. A fact that was contributed by not having enough mentors or resources to guide you on your career path and an equally responsible lack of self-driven initiative. All these manifested for me as just two options for higher studies post my graduation. Either get a master’s degree in management (MBA) or delve into the world of technology with a master’s degree in computer application (MCA).

Not wanting to miss out on either, I did apply for both. Those were the times when colleges had separate entrance exams for professional courses. I applied for MBA admission both at my dream college Christ and at Rajagiri college in Kochi as a backup plan. Meanwhile applications for MCA were also given in a couple of good colleges in Coimbatore. As destiny would have its say, I did not clear the entrance exam for Christ. I had to look at the next best options, with my dream shattered. I sat along with my parents at the MCA admission office of PSG College of Arts and Science in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, the day before entrance results were to be announced at Rajagiri. Little did I know that life was to take me on a twisted roller coaster ride that day.

Though I had good marks to get an admission in merit, the rule those days was that if you were a student from a different state, you had to pay a considerable amount as a non-refundable deposit fees. My dad asked me to choose between MCA admission which would be closed that day or take a chance and wait till the next day for Rajagiri MBA results. I did not have a Plan C, a mistake on hindsight. It was one of the most challenging decisions in my life till then. 

I weighed my options and finally opted to join MCA. A hefty amount was paid as fees, and my fate for next three years was sealed that day. You live with the weight of the choices you made through your life. By noon next day, Rajagiri announced the results. I was selected for their MBA programme. But since the fees paid for MCA at PSG was non-refundable, I burned the feathers of my original dream. 

Life in Coimbatore started. By the end of first year, my struggle with C++, Java and the dreaded Data Structures led me to have a heart-to-heart conversation with my dad again. I told him how I did not really see coding as my cup of tea. Full credits to him, the response he gave me, drives me forward even today, though he is no more physically with me. Such are the powers of genuine love of a parent. He addressed me with all the affection a dad has for his son, 'Da mone, you can study whatever you want, as long as I can support you. Do not worry. I will only suggest you complete what you started, especially since it had a considerable investment involved'. 

I listened to my dad. While I skimmed through my MCA days, I started to stick new feathers back to the wings of my original dream I had burned earlier. By that time, individual entrance exams for management institutions were a thing of the past. I had to compete at the national level with exams such as Management Aptitude Test (MAT). While a bit intimidated, I went ahead with the preparation. Dreams have a unique nature to power you forward, while your reservations may try to pull you back. It is absolutely a mind game where the power of your resolve will determine who wins at the end.

I was in Bangalore for my MCA final year project. It was a Saturday, a few days after I had applied for MBA admission at Christ college again based on my MAT score which was not bad for those days. By noon, I met Father Paul, the Director of MBA programme at Christ then, at his office, to check if I got the admission.

Father checked the list and looked at me. Two pairs of eyes met, one which seemed to have absorbed all the peace of oceans across the world and the other owning up all the tempests that raged across the planet! He told me, 'Jerry, there is one last seat left. It is currently assigned to a girl from Punjab who is expected to confirm her willingness to join by 3 PM today. If you want, there is a church behind the college where you can pray till then. Come back to my office after that. If she does not confirm by then, the seat will be yours!' 

I felt like the only man floating in the middle of Atlantic after a shipwreck, clinging on to a tiny life jacket, the last hope of survival, only to realise with horror that it has a hole which can be mended only by a glue called time! I felt the feathers of my dream starting to burn, again.

Those 180 minutes were one of the most intense experiences of prayer in my life. The church was closed, but I knelt outside on the steps and prayed in whatever form of prayer I knew.

By 3 PM I was back at Fr Paul's door. The only thing that was faster than my legs that took me back to the college from church was my heartbeat. The palpitation was quite high, that I literally had to try hard to keep my heart from getting out of my chest!

Father Paul saw me and asked me to come inside his office. He looked at his watch, checked a paper that appeared to be a list of names and wrote something on it. He then looked up and said, 'Welcome to Christ College, Jerry.'

Dreams do come true!