Week-33 here refers to the week of December 01, 2025 to December 07, 2025. As the P-Week anxieties gradually begin to subside, it seems like the PGPX cohort (or at least a major portion of it) has collectively forgotten how academics work. Almost everyone is struggling to remember what projects look like, how deadlines function, and most importantly, how one is even supposed to write an end-term examination. The muscle memory for studying appears to have vanished somewhere between interview prepping, CV polishing, and infinite mock HR drills. Monday officially marked the end of Term-04 for me, a milestone that brings me one step closer to becoming an MBA graduate, and a moment that quietly reminds me how far I have come since Day-01 on this campus. Despite the limited time I have on this campus, that one call from home never fails to pull me toward it, and suddenly the comfort returns in full swing, with Netflix and Jio Hotstar running in parallel, as if that is what life was always meant to look like.

While I could go on endlessly about the thousands of moments where I fell asleep midway through Netflix episodes and multiple re-runs, the real headline of the week, and probably for many weeks to come, was how India’s largest airline, with over 60% market share, suddenly came to a screeching halt and brought the entire aviation sector to its knees. Instagram reels exploded overnight with conspiracy theories, self-proclaimed aviation experts, and dramatic breakdowns of how IndiGo had supposedly fumbled or was flexing corporate muscle in broad daylight. The other side of Instagram painted a far more sobering picture: passengers, regardless of gender, age, creed, or any imaginable category, stranded for hours and in some cases even days inside airports across India, with little to no support despite repeated pleas. Videos of elderly travelers sleeping on the floor, parents trying to calm crying children, and exhausted students waiting in endless queues flooded the feed, reminding everyone that behind the corporate drama and memes were thousands of real people simply trying to get home.

Incidents like these are a stark reminder of how fragile, and frankly, how theoretical, every academic textbook really is. One policy move from the government, a minor tweak in regulations, and suddenly an entire system screeches to a grinding halt. IndiGo’s otherwise brilliant lean management strategy became its own undoing, turning the airline into a subject of memes, viral rants, and nationwide outrage.

Yet, while LinkedIn thought leaders hurried to publish their Top-10 Leadership Lessons from the IndiGo Crisis without even having set foot in an airport during that chaos, the episode revealed something far more sobering: just how disconnected academia and boardroom frameworks can be from on-ground reality. Whether the crisis was orchestrated by IndiGo’s corporate arm-twisting or was simply an operational meltdown spiraling out of control remains to be proven. But one thing is clear: India’s no-nonsense airline (at least according to me) crossed every conceivable limit of nonsensical behaviour. And just like that, a real world case study unfolded before our eyes, illustrating in full colour why unchecked privatisation and monopoly can be disastrous for any economy, let alone for the world’s largest democracy.

And while I sit here, thoroughly relaxed and far away from the brick-and-ivy chaos of campus, I can not help but worry about my upcoming flight on Monday, and yes, it is with IndiGo. Whether I end up becoming part of the frustrated crowd yelling at ground staff, or sit 35,000 feet above sea level peacefully munching my Chicken Junglee Sandwich is a mystery only time will solve.

For now, all I can do is measure life in accidental naps between Netflix episodes and appreciate just how much this short getaway from IIM Ahmedabad meant. In a strange way, this pause was exactly what I needed: a moment to breathe before gearing up for the last leg of this incredible journey. The final stretch begins soon, and if the last eight months are anything to go by, it is going to be one for the ages.