Back to the Campus: 40 Years Reunion of PGP 83

By: PGP-1983

Our batch celebrated its Ruby Reunion on December 21-24, 2023 at the IIMA campus. It was attended by 57 batchmates, most with spouses, with the total count going to 101. Our batch conducts reunions as often as possible, the most recent ones being Bhubaneswar in 2022 and Poovar in 2017, but a reunion at IIMA campus is a different experience as it was here that we all came together 42 years back.

The Reunion was packed with many activities at the campus and out of it. There was a session with the Director, dinner with some of the old faculty of 1981-83, cricket match with the current PGP batch, tour of old “heritage” campus and IIMA Archives. We also had endless debates on trivialities, an impromptu birthday celebration, a quiz by Chhavi and the mandatory tea at Mafabhai’s tea stall outside the gate.

There was also plenty of sightseeing and getting a feel of old and evolving new Ahmedabad with visits to the Riverfront, KBG Golf club, Heritage walk, Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum, local thali lunch at Karnavati Club and shopping trips. Many of us took the opportunity to visit Rann Utsav, Statue of Unity, Sun Temple, Rani Ki Vav, Thol lake etc. before and after the reunion.

The overall experience was best described by a few (as excerpted from their parting notes):

Ravi Rajagopalan (Dada): I leave with a heavy heart. For those of us who came from small towns and insignificant educational institutions, coming to IIMA was hugely transformational and life-changing.

From the first sight of the three Dorms on the left when arriving at the campus on the evening of June 24 1981, to the last look at the same three dorms on the morning of March 26, 1983,  the sights and sounds and experiences of IIMA made men out of boys.

It was a dizzy experience to sit alongside exceptionally bright and talented young men and women from elite institutions in a classroom and debate.  The very first orientation day, with Srinivasa Rao taking us through the first WAC was intended to awe.

Everyone has different memories of IIMA.  I was extremely fortunate in that I was thrown into the company of some special people who would become life-long friends.  Perhaps we all knew that early on, that we were a bit special, because we quickly constituted ourselves into a family of sorts.  We dined together, played together, laughed together and made noise together.

Some of us found love on campus.  For the others, the repeated forays into D1 resulted in some great friendships.  For the small town me, having seen how insular and chauvinistic relationships between the sexes were seen in my small town college, this liberalism was a revelation that inspired responsible and gentlemanly behavior.

The night of the convocation, Sundar, Rampi, Ramesh and myself sat in our top floor “common room” talking about physics concepts, perhaps to fill the empty spaces that were just beginning to be visible.  Then we stood up, and I remember we embraced as brothers in the silence of the night. And then we were gone.

Sanjay Goel: What a wonderful reunion Jagdeep, Saluje and Harish and all who were behind the scenes. A big thank you to all. Sangeeta and I are so glad that we could make the trip. This is the place which has molded me for what I am and it felt hugely nostalgic for me when we crossed the “old” entrance to get to the new campus on Thursday.

Nikhil Negi: Since the reunion was on the campus, it brought back so many fond memories of the days we spent together at this great institution. Feel blessed to have come here, learnt something and achieved some of the personal goals in life.

Popat Jain: My journey from a small village in Rajasthan to Bellary (till my final year BSc I had not even known of IIMs) to Ahmedabad and now life’s journey to Dubai – feels like a fairy tale and so unreal but, thankfully true.

Samar Das: I wonder why I come to these reunions. What is it that draws me to travel great distances to come and spend a few days. Nostalgia? Friends? Memories? Probably all of the above, but most importantly a reliving of the most authentic moments of my life. IIMA was a monastic experience for me…. I feel I have to keep coming back to all the reunions- it’s the one precious thing I own that needs to be reaffirmed at every opportunity!

Soma Shiv: The shadows merge …We are transformed by the love we receive . Thank you friends…you gave me a home in your hearts – many years have passed…I feel enriched each time our paths cross.

Sivadas: Beneath the timeless skies of Ahmedabad’s grace, A reunion of forty years, in a nostalgic embrace, Indian Institute of Management, our hallowed ground, Where memories and friendships in abundance are found. Old friends, now sporting a few more gray hairs, Gathered together with recollections and shared affairs, Nostalgia hit us like a surprise exam paper, But we tackled it together, like a seasoned caper. Jagdeep, Jatinder, and Harish, our masterminds, Arranged things so smoothly, we left no room for binds, With precision and a touch of their unique flair, They transformed the mundane into an affair so rare.

Prof (retd.) V. Venkata Rao:

Dear Jagdeep,

I enjoyed the get together on Friday evening. It was very nice interacting with your PGP batch mates during the dinner. It was amazing that several of them remembered me well. Thanks for organizing the event and inviting us to it. Thanks to Jatinder Saluja too, for organizing the pickup and drop. My best wishes to all of you for a happy new year 2024. Let us keep in touch.

—Compiled by Jagdeep S Kochar (Ahmedabad) and Jatinder Saluja (New Delhi)