Tall and Sturdy, stands determined and grand

“We are the leaders” as if it commands

Holds up high our imperishable dream

Nurtures it, till in the dark it gleams

Anuj tied his laces, wore the cap to save himself from the scorching heat and knowing it would be a difficult 40 km marathon ahead he still decided to go for it. As he covered the 20 km mark his knees ached, his throat as dry as a desert craved for water but he didn’t give up.  As he vaguely saw the finishing line and literally dragged himself to it, he thought his legs would give way under his own weight, his feet would topple anytime, his calf muscles felt torn yet he could see himself being there in any minute, any second. As the distance between him and his goal receded he thought about his childhood days when he ran around the house and his ‘Ma’ sat down holding her knees when she couldn’t run after him anymore. He remembered the game of “chor-police” as he raced like an unwinding spool of thread. He had glimpses of him and friends trying to grab some mangoes from the neighborhood garden. While he lurked forward to grab the mango he extended his arms wide and let the ribbon loosely wind on his chest. He heard the crowd cheer, saw his friends running to him with water and towel. He fell on his knees and let the moment sink into him not sure if the salty water that wet his face was sweat or tears. Did you feel what he felt?

Sukhi put the children to sleep not listening to any arguments about allowing them to watch TV till late for the Friday night. She neatly folded lieutenant Amandeep’s clothes to hang them in his closet where he would usually put them. As she opened the closet she could smell the cologne he used that day as he got ready to leave for the emergency his battalion had been called for. For a week now there was no news of his and his team’s whereabouts. Today morning the army told her they found some clues . As she closed the closet and contently looked at the children sleeping in serenity, she went to the lobby and sat on the rocking chair while she waited for the phone to ring and give her the news she so much wished to hear. She would look at the phone now and then and even pick up the receiver to see if the line was working. As she waited she drank 6 glasses of water, opened the fridge stared at it for two minutes and closed it, picked up the receiver a zillionth time confirmed its working and put it back. Just when she snuggled into the chair she heard the phone ring. Her heart somersaulted while she took quick steps to pick the phone. As the voice over the other end spoke – tears welled up in her eyes, she covered her mouth with her trembling hands to keep herself from venting the emotions. Her heart beat so fast she thought it would pop out. While she breathed heavily to pacify the anxiety she only mustered to say “I thought I lost you”. Did you feel what she felt?

Losing hope when a portal told me that the admission results for the ISB, Mohali campus were done and the Hyderbad campus had started flowing out – I hit the F5 for the nth time on the keyboard. Gmail bolded a new entry ‘ISB Admission Offer’. The adrenalin rush in the chest, the overwhelming feeling of disbelief, the rereading of mail to confirm the success, the shivering hands to call my parents, the exponentially loud voice in which I shouted my victory, the What-should-I-do-next feeling, revisiting Gmail, calling up friends at odd hours, barely sleeping over night, reconfirming the mail again in the morning pheww !! As I write I savor the moment I lived that night and the following days. The perpetual smile on my face told people I had some news to share and reiterated to me the triumph – the charismatic feeling of winning is irreplaceable. Did you feel what I felt?

- Navneet

Navneet Kaur Khangura is a student of PGP class of 2014 at the Indian School of Business. She has done B Tech in Computer Science from Manipal Institue of Technology (Sikkim). She has over seven years of work experience in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics – and prior to joining ISB she worked with Cognizant and Fidelity Investments.

Read all ISB stories on isb.insideiim.com