The train journey: Where it all started

The journey to Planet-E and back: A walk down memory lane

A series of blogs about my alma mater - Amrita School of Business(ASB) located in the beautiful village of Ettimadai which we Amritians fondly call ‘Planet-E’ and the happenings in the eventful two years of my life there. Dedicated to all Amritians.

The train journey: Where it all started

The very first memory that I have about my college is that of a view from the compartment window of the train that I was travelling in – the train that was to take me to a place that would be my home for the next two years of my life. Little did I know back then that very soon that place was to become as dear to me, if not more dear to me, as my own home.

It was two years back. I was one of the fortunate applicants to have got an admission to the MBA programme at my college. I packed my bags and set out on the journey from Cochin to Coimbatore in the Ernakulam-Bangalore City Intercity Express. I was told by one of the ladies whom I met in the train, that one can get a glimpse of the campus from the train.  I kept my eyes glued to the window after the train crossed Palakkad trying to find signs that we were nearing the campus. What was I feeling at that time – anxiety, excitement, happiness or was it a mixed bag of all those emotions? At one point of my career as a Project Engineer with Wipro Technologies, I had almost given up on my dream to do my higher studies. However I overcame all odds and there I was sitting in that train enroute to my college to fulfill my long cherished dream of pursuing my higher studies. 

I was engrossed in thoughts about the course, the faculty, the students and all that I had heard about the campus, when the lady sitting next to me spoke to me. “Over there. Do you see that? That is the Amrita campus", she said pointing her hand to the window. I could see through the window, a cluster of pink colored buildings amidst a lot of greenery at the foot of a majestic hill. I couldn’t help but notice the uncanny resemblance of the hill to an elephant. As the train went pass the campus, I kept looking at the campus and wondered “Wow! Is this place for real?". I had often heard people using  the phrase "In the lap of nature" to describe places; I got a sense of what it meant when I saw the campus. The campus was bounded by the breathtakingly beautiful Western Ghats. I still cannot forget the way I felt when I saw Planet-E for the first time. It had me from the very first moment I saw it.

It was the first of the many train journeys I was to make to Planet-E. Train journeys were an integral part of my life at Planet-E. Nothing beats the excitement of the first journey, but I still experience the same kind of awe and wonder every time I visit Planet-E. There is also a strange sense of happiness and calmness I feel when I am at Ettimadai. I guess it is the same feeling we get when we know we are home.