I will survive

 

 

he relevance of attending a B-school has been debated over for long by those who consider management a science (skills for which can be acquired) and by those who consider it an art (acumen for which is innate). But events like the 2009 edition of IIPM’s annual B-School festival, Amaze, only remind and reiterate the importance of an educational course in one’s life that opens one’s mind at a young age to the various courses that life may take. The inseparability of business and people (and therefore, the inseparability of business and the romp, the run and the row of life) was not only visible around IIPM International Campus at Satbari from November 4 to 7, 2009 but was very thoughtfully and aptly reflected in the theme of the festival - The Indomitable Spirit of Survival.

“The year 2009 has thrown a host of challenges at the world, from rising global temperatures to terror attacks to a virulent virus to global financial epidemic that destroyed businesses, careers and even economies,” elaborates one of the senior members of the organising committee. And it was the spirit of hope and holding on, of courage and fortitude that was celebrated at Amaze 2009.

The Debate competition – Clash of Titans – not only marked the beginning of the festival but was surely the most challenging of all the events. Again, anchored around the central theme of the event, the topics – ‘Darwin is dead and so is his theory, survival of the fittest’ and ‘Fortune favours the brave and without fortune even the bravest will get stuck in their graves’ – did lead to “stiff competition,” says the winning Titan of the event, Gaurav Chibbar from IIFT Delhi. In fact, by bagging a trip to the US as the award, he did confirm his stance in the final debate, “Fortune doesn’t favour the brave. The brave do not anticipate fortunes, since they take risk for the sake of passion not for the compassion of any ‘lady luck’.”

Peeking through the windows of classrooms from the alleys of the campus during the three days, one would come across varied colours of passion. Be it planning for the route for the treasure hunt - ‘El-Dorado - The Great Gold Rush’ or reading between the lines to create maximum wealth while playing the CFO of a company in ‘The Inde‘X’ Factor’, students were ardently trying to crack the challenges posed in front of them. Well, who said the red of hard work is the only colour of passion? Crying backstage after losing by a thin margin in the Choreography Competition - Rhythms Of The Soul or reaching the verge of breaking down into tears on stage during the grueling stress interview round of The Best Manager Competition - 360 Degrees, all brought forth the hues of passion that lie in striving, hoping and even ruing . The last evening hosted the scintillating Grand Finale Concert by Neeraj Shridhar of Bombay Vikings fame that brought the crowd to its dancing feet. Marking the end of the festival and truly reflecting the human indomitable spirit of survival was the seminar that saw panelists like Captain Mohan Singh Kohli, Karambir Singh Kang, Captain Devi Sharan, Harmala Gupta, Subhashini Mistry, Tamanna Chona, Preeti Monga and many more. They were awarded the Silver Phoenix Award that ‘highlights the triumph of the human spirit and hopes for more heroism and kindness in the new year and beyond.’ Prof Arindam Chaudhuri introduced the panelists and set the stage with a glittering speech about ‘The Diamond in You’. The Guest of Honour was Maninder Singh Bitta, President of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front who himself survived several terrorist attacks. While he moved the audience with his rousing speech, Tamanna Chona was touched at being praised for overcoming the challenges of a spatial ailment and leading an independent life. Preeti Monga, who derived power to change her ‘visionless’ life from the poor sympathy of kith and kin, received lauds from the audience for sustaining a beautiful life of a motivational speaker, an aerobics instructor and a doting grandmother! Calling “exposure to adventure and general challenges in life” the key to finding that spirit of survival in you, Captain Kohli, who has climbed Mt. Everest twice and has been on 14 other expeditions narrated his tales of escaping death some “17 times.”

While pushing one self to face challenges does bring out several dormant traits in people, it surely makes them more appreciative of the survival efforts of others. This was evident in the crowd cheering the panelists for their indomitable will to win in life. Overwhelmed to see a large gathering recognising subjects such as these, Mr Bitta called “educationists the real leaders of our country” and bluntly trashed “politicians and their huge get-togethers and meetings for actionless ruminations.”

Well, with ‘education’ like this, it is only a matter of time that a new, empowered league of citizens in all walks of life would not only form a major part of our nation but would run it too.