Season Paranoia

At the start of any much-awaited season, there's excitement. Like summer... when you're waiting to wear kurtis, eat chuski at M-Block Market (or golas at Juhu Beach, to be democratic) and go on a holiday to Mussourie or Matheran. Or like winter... which gives you the perfect excuse to cuddle up in blankets or seek some kind of human warmth and spend as much time in a hot shower till the heater gives up on you. Or the start of cricket season... where you can't get enough of discussing team compositions, batting averages or ads with cute cricketers. Or the Madras Margazhi Music Season. Or the new season of Desperate Housewives. Or... well, you get the hang of it.

Each season brings with it, its own characteristic language, trends & er... semiotics.

Quick Quiz. With what season would you associate the following things?

• Cold feet
• Frayed nerves
• 4.56
• 7.51
• 3+
• Verticals
• Day minus 1
• International
• CTC
• PPT
• Argh
• Negotiations
• Offer
• Kick some a$$

A: It's those lovely days at the fag end of B-School life inappropriately named Placement Season. The week that leads to misplaced sanity, misplaced happiness & misplaced CVs.

It's kicking in here. There's 40 days to go until placement week, not counting Day Zero. And already, it's the ONLY thing people around are talking about. The best of people switch to a zombie like mode, where they're only dreaming about GDs, PIs & CTCs.

Normal conversation around campus:

Student 1 (Not yet in placement mode): What's for lunch?
Student 2 (Mis-Placed already): I won't apply to XYZ if they're offering such a sad profile. But for that kinda money... maybe I should.
Student 3 (Smug-with-PPO): I heard the economic boomtime won't last till Jan 20th. We're all sinking man.
Student 4 (Another Mis-Placed already): Shut up. You know that Cholestrol isn't giving PPOs this time. I'm going to prepare 200 page word documents on all companies to show that I've done research on them & I know better about their corporate strategy than the VP, Corporate Strategy.
Student 5 (Placement Co-ordinator): CalvinHobbes is coming for a PPT tomoro, folks.
Student 6 (Another Mis-Placed already): Yay, I want FMCG!
Student 2 (Mis-Placed already): No dood, financial services rock!
Student 7 (Confused media student): Where are the TV Channels? Let's go pitch to Ass-tha & Balley-Balley too!

Student 8 (Paranoid Zombie): I will never get placed - waaaaaaaaah.
Student 1 (Not yet in placement mode): Yeah, but what's for lunch?

Can't wait to get over with it... it's not that big a deal.

I guess.