Ability Unlimited and Indore Convocation

There was a concert by Ability Unlimited at the IIM Indore campus two evenings ago. This is a group of artists under the stewardship of their mentor and Guru who, in spite of various physical handicaps, perform brilliantly. It was a pleasure to see their spirit, and as expected, it was a full house at the auditorium. They performed incredible movements, many times on wheelchairs, and their repertoire included a Sufi whirling dance (Turkish in origin), a Bharatanatyam performance and more.

Then, close to 550 students from different programs of the institute graduated in a Convocation last evening. Indore has a wide range of programs, from the Fellowship (PhD equivalent) to the integrated 5-year program called IPM that you start on after school (12th). This last is an innovative program, and is currently not on offer at any other IIM in India.  Ramchandra Guha, author, historian, delivered a wonderful convocation address, talking about India's secular, inclusive credentials and how we have not belied the faith of the founders of our republic, and have survived and thrived. He cautioned us that we were however, backward on our concern for the environment, and winning the trust of a few of our constituent states. His speech was peppered with witty takes, and it was a pleasure to hear him speak. His self-deprecatory humour added charm. He described himself as 'distinctly' second class, while talking about his foray into economics (undergrad and postgrad). What saved him was an IIM- Calcutta, by letting him do a fellowship in Sociology, which he grabbed with both hands and found his metier- finally.  Some professor remarked (on hearing he had moved from Economics to Sociology) that this was a Pareto solution- good for him (Guha) and better for Economics. Another cautionary quote from Ambedkar (1949) was read out, and essentially told us not to deify any politician, as that was likely turn him into a dictator.

By the way, we (IIMI) also have campuses in Mumbai and Dubai, where PG programs are offered in two different formats- weekend for working execs and regular for traditional students. Faculty here frequently teach in multiple programs, and get some enriching experience.


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