ICON Part V

After testing us on finance, sales and marketing and communication, debating and general awareness levels; only one other vertical was left to be tested, i.e. operations. So, we all were quite confident that this was up next and we were not wrong.

This is how the game looked like. We were again spilt into teams of two and this time my partner was the other person from XLRI. The whole DU campus was the playground for us. We had some tasks to be completed and we would awarded points for them. We had 3 modes of transport - car, cycle and of course walking or jogging. There were costs associated to undertake any mode of transport. The car was most expensive followed by cycle and walking was of course, free :) The successful completion of a task gave us some points for the same.

Now, here come some constraints. We could not use same mode of transport for 2 consecutive tasks, some tasks required a particular mode of transport only, some tasks had to be done before a stipulated time and some after a stipulated time. Also, a buddy was assigned to each team who will be us all the time. Moreover, there were these news flashes which added more uncertainties in the game. And to complicate things further, number of cycles and car were restricted which meant the planning can go haywire if the next mode of transport which we need is not available and time will be spent in waiting only!

Both of us first of all identified tasks which were possible to do in the given time frame. The game started around 10 30 in the night and was to continue till 7 in the morning. Both of us were game to be awake till the morning, come what may! We set out to finish tasks one after other in the planned fashion. Even some news flashes were helpful also. Like, the moment we finished a task involving a car and planned to walk for the next one, the news flash came which resticted any vehicle movement for the next 30 minutes but walking was allowed :) Another time, wherein we had to buhy something and deliver it at another place, we got this news flash that anything we bought would be at half price :) :)

We kept on working when around 1 am we got this flash that a "curfew" is imposed from 1 30 till 5 and hence nothing can take place. Basically, this was to allow us all to catch up some sleep. We returned to our rooms at around 2 30 and were ready to go again at 5 in the morning. We completed some more tasks in the Delhi winter and I was enjoying jogging in the fog. The game was supposed to be over at 7am and we were our way back after completing our last task possible. We got this news flash which allowed us a bonus task which required us to cycle from a location to VKRV Rao hostel (where I had stayed in FMS days). That was the end of a wonderful round for all of us.

We went to Gwyer Hall (adjacent hostel of VKRV) for a cup of tea but everyone was quite hungry and tired and it was decided to eat the breakfast there only. It was a feeling a nostalgia for me as I remembered the umpteen hours I had spend in that canteen when I was there for one year.

We were required to report back at 10 30 in FMS campus again fully dressed (formally) and this gave us an hour or so for some sleeping. I had to pack too as I had an evening flight to catch.

Upon reaching the room, tiredness took over me and I slept :P Working on the JIT (Just-In-Time) syndrome, all of us got up, packed and left for the campus where an important announcement awaited us..

Coming up next, concluding part of ICON series