Start of a memorable journey

Many of my friends ask me about what made me quit my job and join the Masters in Public Relations (MAPR) course of the Mumbai University. Well, before I had actually joined the course I couldn’t really tell them why I had taken that decision, I used to just say because I wanted to continue studying. That was the truth but not the complete truth.

Now that I’m a part of the current batch of Masters in Public Relations (MAPR), I can say confidently that I’ve the answer to their questions. I still remember the day when I first went to the Department of Communication & Journalism at the Kalina Campus of University of Mumbai. I had gone to meet the professor heading the course, to talk about my admission. It was the first time I was going to the Kalina campus and the campus bowled me over, there were trees all around and the campus was huge and for once I didn’t feel I had entered a concrete jungle.

After admiring the campus for a few minutes I walked towards the building where the lectures for Masters in Public Relations (MAPR) are conducted. Still having some doubts in my mind about whether what I had decided to do was the right thing or not, I entered the department. In the department I saw students in a couple of classrooms having a discussion with a professor, some students sitting on the stairs and working (an assumption) on their laptops, some just involved in a friendly banter. The scene in the department reinfused that little bit of faith I had lost in my decision, it made me feel that, ‘this is where I belong, this is where I want to be.’ That is one day I can never forget because it was the start of a journey of a lifetime for me.

Not to forget the statement or a question my HOD made/asked when I asked him where I could find the professor who handles MAPR. He exclaimed and I quote:

 “You’re a student!!!”

Damn!! I better get used to this reaction I get from people when they realise that I’m just a 22 year old and not some guy in his late 20s. 

Assignment submissions tomorrow at 11!!!

The words dreaded the most by the students of Masters in Public Relations (MAPR). Assignments play an important role in the whole education process. It’s through assignments only which helps a professor to judge how well the student can apply the theoretical knowledge he/she has gained in the lectures. Well, the assignments aren’t just something professors dole out because they want to but even the University of Mumbai officially uses internal/assignments as a yardstick to measure a student’s performance.

There’s a general perception amongst everyone be it the professors or the parents that students hate assignments. Well, being a student of Masters in Public Relations (MAPR) myself, I would say that the students of MAPR break that perception. We, here at the Kalina campus of University of Mumbai like doing these assignments because they aren’t in the mould of those boring homework activities we used to get when we were in school and junior college. The assignments here are fun to do and they push us to the limit to give our best. It’s not just that I’ve good things to say about the concept of assignments or the assignments that we get but it’s just out of habit that I like to talk about the positives. Assignments obviously come with deadlines and that means it’s a race with time.

Trust me when I say this, the professors conducting the Masters in Public Relations (MAPR) course in the Kalina campus of University of Mumbai take assignments and the deadlines seriously more than anything in the world. So, it’s but obvious that we students get anxious when the deadline nears. The anxiety is not just because we haven’t been able to finish off the assignment when there’s only like two hours left for the deadline, well, the anxiety levels are high because we need that stamp of approval from the professor. We need to know whether our hard work has paid off. It’s not just about the marks or score we get on a particular assignment but it’s about how well we’ve done it, how much we’ve improved from the last time and how much room we’ve for bettering ourselves.

To conclude I would just tweak a tagline of a washing powder

“Assignments acche hai”

It’s a Bloody Madhouse!!!

Yea trust me that is what it is a freaking madhouse. That is how I sum up the experience I’ve had while doing Masters in Public Relations (MAPR) from Mumbai University. When I joined the course I thought it’s going to be like a very graveyard kind of atmosphere, everyone serious and all but I was wrong.

It’s a Masters degree after all so I wasn’t wrong in assuming that the professors, seniors and the batch mates are all gonna be serious and very uptight. It’s not just the people doing Masters in Public Relations (MAPR), everyone in the department of communication and journalism is mad in their own unique way. There are professors who’re mad about assignments, there’re some who’re going mad doing their research but they’re all mad.

Coming to the students, like every other college or university or course Masters in Public Relations (MAPR) has a mixed bag of students. There’re some students who’re mad about studies and think because they’re very sincere and studious they’re the only normal creatures but dude breaking news even you’re mad. Then there’re some who’re just plain crazy like me and call the studious ones mad and think that they’re normal. Anyone who doesn’t have even a pinch of madness in him/her shouldn’t come here because dude you’ll go Maddddddddd. For the alumni and the current batch this madness is what gets them going. So, the madness isn’t a bane but a boon here in the department. On a serious note, even though we’re mad you can’t take away the fact that we’re an intellectual and creative lot.

One day when someone asked me about whether I’m happy to be where I’m, I looked at him and said,” Are you mad, of course I’m happy. I’m finally with my kind.”

A piece of advice for all those who’re thinking about joining the department,” Come here only if you’re mad or ever were because we don’t want anyone to blame us saying that we drove him/her mad.”