Goodbyes Need Not be Painful

 Sometimes they are..but not always. If a ship does not leave the shore, it cannot discover new worlds (I don't mean this in the coloniser's sense, but a positive one). After a record 7 years (give or take a few weeks), I am going to soon say goodbye to my current workplace and home- IIM Indore. As usual, the feelings are mixed. Exhilaration at what may be awaiting me in a new role (Director) in a familiar city (Bangalore). Will join NMIMS there after Diwali. A bit of sadness at what I will leave behind.

The peaceful campus (MR students may recall my question in the first class- What do you like about IIMI? Most had referred to the campus). The conversations around the tea or lunch table, or in class and outside it, in my office, and the people, most of all. Bright and young faces full of dreams..

Of course, the academics were an adventure - from IMC/Advertising from where I still have some friends (Bhuvneet, Anwesha), to M.R. and Digital Marketing (Tamros, Reetu, Tanya, Neha Adiga, Anam Nuhi, Sapna Patni, Ruminder Kaur, Mihir, Shravan, Kshitija, Arshia Mulla, Anuranjana) and Tourism Marketing (Fatima, Harshita, Sruthi), with a stray Seminar on Innovative Thought Leadership with Shweta in IPM. And many case studies (with Sanket for the Case Centre being one), conferences in Bali, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and research papers with lots of IPM and Ph.D. students (Shweta Jha was one regular collaborator), and colleagues (Abhishek, Shweta Kushal, Jayasimha, EFPM's Srinivas Raghavan and Lubna Nafees, ex-IMTG and now in the U.S.), organising NASMEI conference twice with Veenus as manager, and a lot of bright students in various programs (listed them elsewhere) in Indore and Mumbai, MDP students (Sucharita, Alpana, Whirlpool guys, HPCL and more), are a few things that were enriching. Conferences in India too, at Great Lakes Chennai, NITTE, Mangalore and more. On one trip to Chennai, I visited Pulicat Lake..beautiful!

Published the 4th edition of Marketing Research with cases authored by Indore students. Also a Digital Marketing cases book with cases sourced from alums of B schools. Admission interviews were opportunities to catch up with alums in different places- met a few I had only connected with on Fb!!

And of course, the support staff from all the offices, and the acad associates who took the load off my shoulders. Will fondly remember all of you. Maybe meet a few. 

A Maruti loyalist, I also bought a Wagon R to replace my 2005 Esteem (note, Shruti and Aditya Naag). 

M.P. has been a revelation, with Mandu, Maheshwar, Bhopal/Sanchi, and Patalpani, Jam Gate within easy driving range, in Western parts. I also wrote a case on MP Tourism along with a student, and popularised poha beyond the state borders, with DP and Cover Pic Awards, along with quizzes, for which the reward included a poha. Met/made a lot of friends from the state, or reconnected with alums from hereabouts too.