The welcome speech

Written on : 22 june
Am sitting at the CC right now as seniors have taken our LAN cords for the time being. The net connection will be provided in our rooms in 4-5 days. But this is the best place to sit to escape from the heat. It has been terribly hot here and I have rarely seen this much heat in past few years of my life. Waiting eagerly for the rains now.

We all (students+parents) assembled in the auditorium at 5 PM for the welcome address by none other than the man himself, the director of IIM-A, the man whom I have seen millions of times on TV, the man revered all over the education and industry world...Prof. Bakul Dholakia.

Its a huge auditorium and when he stepped on to the dias bearing the IIM-A logo, the sight looked so awesome, so overwhelming, filling you with pride and fear at the same time. In the next few days, we will be meeting professors who are gems in their own field, who appear on news channels, who write in econominc times and business magazines.....we had only heard about them, to meet them personally and interact with them on a daily basis is a nerve wrecking prospect indeed.

Anyways, the welcome speech started by making us realize how fortunate and deserving we have been in sitting there today at the best management institution in the continent. After briefing us with the history of this institute, he went on to give us some facts about the standing of IIM-A vis a vis other institutes across the country and the world.

Just to give a brief update: IIM-A was started in 1961, the first management institute in the country along with IIM-C. It has been rated as the "toughest B-School in the world to gain admission into" by the Economist, beating places like Harvard and Stanford. In the past 5 years, more than 15 rating agencies have conducted surveys and all have continuosuly rated it as the Best B-School in India without any exception in every ranking.This place is very strict about academics and you just can't afford to slip up at all. Anyways, we were all expecting this.... After all, thats what makes IIM-A what it is.Towards the end, the motivation level increased again. He reminded us that in these seats sat the likes of MS banga, KV Kamath, Harsha Bhogale and Jerry Rao one day, and look what they are today. They have carried the name of IIM-A to the peak and thats what we will do in the coming years. The institute owes its success to these greats and it is in our hands now to carry on that tradition. With this, he ended, wishing us luck for our tenure here.

I felt rejuvinated. I felt honoured. I felt priveleged. I felt the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. I am in an institute that has produced real life heroes. The mere thought sends a shiver down the spine
The lecture was folllowed by tea and snacks for all students and parents. I was talking to the mother of a frined of mine and telling her that today she is here with all the students and parents at this first day on campus.....and 2 years down the line she would again be here when all of us would be wearing our graduation robes, laughing away in the glory of finally being a product of IIM-A. I dont know about her, but I certainly could feel my eyes getting moist at the mere thought of that day.

But all that is far away now. A gruelling shcedule awaits us starting this monday. In fact, there is a practice case study discussion this saturday itself for which we have to prepare beforehand. Ha Ha Ha.....the countdown begins.

PS: The entire teaching here is case study oriented. Will post the details when the classes start. We have already been given the entire course material and I just cant fathom how on earth are we gonna finish that in 2-3 months. Anyways, will give the details of the subjects n all in the next posts.