Recently, I attended the Delhi chapter of IIM Indore Alumni & Freshers meet. The last such meet I attended was in Chennai, 2005.
With each passing year, it’s a delight to see batches of enthusiastic youngsters push you further and further up in the echelons of seniority. Fortuitously, for my batch (1998-2000) the tag ‘senior-most’ or ‘first batch’ came as the fringe benefit of being the first batch of IIM Indore! No matter how many batches get added, we will always remain — the ‘batch of origin’.
A few observations:
- The recent batches are the strongest in terms of numbers, most visible, and not surprisingly, most vocal too :-)
- The fresh batch of people joining the institute are invariably a mix of predictable profiles (Engineering and economics graduates) and some interesting ones too (MBBS doctors & people with etymology as a hobby!). Maybe it’s a figment of my imagination, but these youngsters, on the threshold of a career defining move, have a dreamy halo around them!
- It’s good to see the presence of girls at such a gathering; and if they are smartly attired, even better! Why do I even need to make such a statement that has shades of sexist overtones? For the simple but stark reason that girls continue to remain a lop-sided minority in institutes of higher education in India. I don’t have the numbers, but the number of girls students would be less than 10% at IITs and less than 20% at IIMs. In our batch it would have been around 15%, but in the batch after us — it was 0% . Yes, no girls at all!
- One of the easiest ice-breakers between various batches is a discussion on the faculty. “So, who taught Operations to you guys?” “Prof. Agarwal? Oh! He taught us too. Great guy!” “So, is he still around?”
The ‘batch of origin’ privilege ensured that I was asked to cut the cake and deliver a speech too ;-)
And since 1998 itself I was ready for such an occasion, and had this one speech drafted in my mind! :-p Borrowing extensively from Prof. Asopa’s (the then Director of IIM Indore) talk to us when we complained to him about sundry facilities not working. He had mentioned that building an institute is like building a big boat, that sails on high seas and charts new courses and discovers new horizons. We the first batch, were the bottom of the boat — the most critical part of the boat. That bears the brunt of choppy waters on behalf of the whole boat.
I used to wonder then (1998) why did he not use ‘foundation of a building’ as the cliched metaphor to define the first batch. Today, I can see why. The bottom of the boat moves along with the boat to where ever the boat is headed. On the other hand, the foundation of a building lies buried underground and forgotten, once the edifice takes shape.
It’s been a decade. Time flies. IIM Indore soars.
I say. Essay. Assay. ऐसे. 
the foundation is hidden and forgotten. a ship when it sails keeps the bottom firmly under water.
wonder why he did not compare you to the underbelly of a plane. that is what most of us see of a flying plane (and even in a parked plane). this would have given you guys something to feel good about and would have been more apt.
LikeLike
liked the simile and your ‘sexist’ comment with it’s interpretation,keep on rolling,best,sugar
LikeLike
Even better than a soring bird would be a circumferential navigation which gives you a 360 degree view of the world:-) Time Flier. IIM Indore soars, ShakeChilly Circulates:-)
LikeLike
a splash of blue microbial colonies has surely done wonders to this clayhead’s blog!!!any clones in the market for this taker???
LikeLike
Hi,
We have a fest “Umang” which is one of the top college fests in mumbai. We publish the official Umang magazine called “Sans Frontières” and are inviting famous writers and bloggers to give in their contributio for the same.
You get a complementary copy of the magazine if your article is published.
Get Published in Sans Frontières!
Get a parchment, seize your quill and start scribbling! Here’s your chance to get your words in print. Submit original articles in your style and on any subject for Sans Frontières, the official Umang magazine. Creative writing, fiction, non-fiction, short stories and poetries are all welcome and the subject matter is entirely upto you. No clue where to begin from? Then here’s your aid…
1. “I wnt 2 b ur FRAAND!” (The Boons and Banes of Social Networking Sites)
2. Should we watch the watch dog? (The Media – Hero or Rogue?)
3. Teen Life Crisis.
4. OMG! My mom is Angelina Jolie and dad is Brad Pitt! (If I were a celebrity kid…)
5. 10 reasons why you would want to be a politician!
6. People ask for criticism only when they want praise.
7. Streetcorner Symphony – How music exists everywhere.
8. 40 going on to 20! (Age is only a number!)
9. Year 2050 – Into the Future. (Fiction)
10. High on Art!
11. Girls, Gossip, Shopping – Synonyms???
We also encourage artwork, photography, trivia and miscallany. Reach out to us at sf@nmumang.org. The last date is 27th July.
for further details contact:
ruhi shaikh
editor
9819272410
LikeLike
Surprisingly no one seems to be concerned about the Batch next to the Batch of Origin…….the Batch (N)ONE….who had no girls in the batch.
Guys I am part of that batch…..!!
Nostalgia!!
LikeLike
are you ever going to update your blog? can i remove the link?
LikeLike
Wish you the very best in life today and always,Happy Diwali!Diye jalte hai,Phool khilte hai,badi mushkilse magar duniya mein aap jaise log ,milte hai…..Cheers!
LikeLike
Wish you the very best in life today and always,Happy Diwali!Diye jalte hai,Phool khilte hai,badi mushkilse magar duniya mein aap jaise log milte hai…..Cheers!
LikeLike
BTW.Solved the ‘manpower ‘problem,got a new recruit !!!Life seems to be better now with a bottle opener cum mechanic cum electrician ……hahaha!
LikeLike
Hi Rahul,
Great to read IIM Indore alumni posts.
Appreciate the strength of the first batch to build the boat platform.
Diwali greetings…
Ankit
IIM Indore – Batch of 2006
LikeLike
Alpha:: Worth a thought. Or is it?
Sugar:: Thanks!
Masood:: Soring bird, or soaring bird? ;-)
Ruhi:: Thanks, but no thanks!
Mohit:: My heart beats for you guys! (And no, that was not a sexist remark!) :-)
Soo:: Soon. Unless you have already deleted the link…
Sugar:: Thanks, but belatedly!
Sugar:: Cryptic. Cryptic. Cryptic. But I can make some sense :-)
Ankit:: Thanks a lot!
LikeLike
I think you should put more of your experiences on the blog now..
LikeLike
Enthusiastic Youngsters are already palced to valuable places and now new opportunity is opened in india.
LikeLike
Which exam is passed for iim pls
can u tell me.
In iim MCA is available or not?
LikeLike
I can see myself in ur shoes….joining IIM-I
nicely expressed…:)
LikeLike
Nice article.. Gives a glimpse about time that our first batch had at Planet I :)
– Abhinav ( Batch of 2013)
LikeLike
Can anyone please let me know the names of well known alumni members of IIM I?I have my interview lined up for I & the website doesn’t allow me to see the names.
Please help me out!!!
LikeLike