Dear Alumni,
Greetings!
Normalcy seems to be returning to the campus.
The campus looks much more vibrant with the students back on campus. Executive Education courses have started in the physical classroom setting with strict norms for social distancing. PGPX classes are being held in hybrid mode with half the class attending in person and the other half joining online.
In this volatile world, it is comforting to have things that do not change. IIMA continued to be ranked as the top management institute in India by the NIRF 2021 and QS Global MBA Rankings 2022. The Financial Times ranked the PGP as 26th worldwide and first in India in the Masters in Management category.
Meanwhile, the PGPX Sports Committee dared the faculty for a cricket match on the eve of Teacher’s Day. The captain of the faculty team, the young historian, Prof. Chinmay Tumbe, rose to the occasion with the following email:
We look forward to the cricket match. Despite missing out on a few of our star players (who have been called to England to help the national team), our team is supremely talented with our distinctive talents and brimming with over-confidence. Presenting the Faculty Almost XI:
Ernesto Noronha: ‘Organizational’ expert who will study our Lagaan kind of team for award winning research.
Rajat Sharma: ‘Digital marketing’ guru will ensure that the public thinks we have won even if by chance, we don’t.
Kathan Shukla: ‘Education’ expert will educate you on how to hit the ball to the flyover.
Chinmay Tumbe: Self-appointed captain aiming for a ‘historic’ victory
Sagar Dedhia: Special team hire from Singapore to knock you out.
Arvind Sahay: With his ‘neuro’-speciality, he can literally read your minds.
Sachin Jayaswal: The first name says it all. You will chant his name.
Sriram S: ‘Data science for real-time decision making’ can solve any problem in a few seconds.
Neerav Nagar: ‘Accounts’ expert will ensure that both team scores tally even if they don’t actually.
Amit Karna (who may join in with his ‘dynamic capabilities’)
Finally, Rakesh Basant: Cheerleader and coach with years of experience in ‘Strategy’, ‘Innovation’ and script-writing, will write our victory speech.
The PGPX Sports Committee responded:
Wow, that is a scintillating line up for sure!! Thanks for sharing Prof. Chinmay!
While we may not be able to boast of a pedigree like the faculty team, we will make up for it with grit and determination.
Motivation for a competition has been extremely high ever since our term 2 grades started trickling in! However, if Prof. Sahay and Prof. Karna end up releasing grades for DMCV and SMGT before the match, the tide can turn either way (depending on the grades of course) – tongue in cheek!!
Quite predictably, the faculty team did not take up the offer. The stage was thus set for a nail-biting match – would the faculty be able to bowl bouncers on the cricket pitch with the same elan that they show in the well of the classroom? Would the student team be able to extract revenge for the grades received? Would the faculty team stamp its superiority both on and off the classroom, aided by the fact that they have been lording over the campus for one and half years in the absence of on-campus student population?
Curiously, no mention was ever made on notice boards about the outcome of the match. Clearly, the faculty team did not want to discuss the outcome while the student team was wise enough to not rub it in. Moral of the story? Grit and determination always win. Let’s remember that as we rebuild our lives and businesses after the second wave of the pandemic.
Warm regards,
Prof. Saral Mukherjee
Dean, Alumni and External Relations