REUNIONS: REWINDING TO THE PAST, RESHAPING THE FUTURE

–By Chhavi Moodgal (PGP 2004), CEO – IIMA Endowment Fund (endowment@iima.ac.in)

The red brick walls, the case mats, the tempo shouts & dunking, the WAC runs, the quizzes, the celebrations on the ramp or the LKP, the chai @ Rambhai; and the Widgets and WIMWIANs galore…. Each of these phrases invokes nostalgia and a plethora of memories on campus from our time in IIMA; Reunion season in December helps us reconnect, come back to the Institute and engage with our batchmates and professors.
This year, despite Covid and thanks to the marvels of technology that made phygital reunions possible – I had a chance to connect with many of you who visited campus. I was amazed to see the level of emotion, pride and gratitude which we as alumni feel towards IIMA – the orchestrator of our shared experiences and the institution which instilled a passion for excellence in each of us.

As students, we enter with trepidation and expectations about where our lives and careers will take us; as alumni and as part of the reunions we return with anticipation on how the Institute has shaped over the years, what kind of experiences nurture students in today’s age? We hear from the Director who apprises us of the Institute’s overall progress and we get to witness first-hand, the modernization in the infrastructure. We walk around campus and relive old memories.

Our reunions only further remind us how IIMA has been a life-changing experience for most of us. And this thought becomes more profound as we move away from the campus. Harsha Bhogle beautifully expresses this emotion; he says, ‘The IIMA brand in my life is much bigger than everything that followed.’ Now, that’s the power of brand IIMA we carry and are perpetually grateful for. Our alums not only recognize themselves as brand IIMA but they are encouraged to make the brand IIMA even more prolific by participating in and supporting the Institute’s strategic initiatives and projects.

During Reunions, such possibilities are explored and often, new ideas emerge and take shape. During the Reunion of the PGP 2008 batch, the concept of the emotional well-being of students was discussed, leading to an initiative providing confidential counselling service for IIMA students (in memory of their batch-mate, Vivek Gupta). PGP 1989 batch generously supported sports infrastructure and facilities at the campus. PGP 1990 became the first batch to contribute to the general corpus of the IIMA Endowment Fund. These are fine examples of inspired collective Giving – to an Institute that built us. With the setting up of the IIMA Endowment Fund, this dialogue of collaboration between the Institute and its alums now extends into a more structured way of Giving Back to IIMA.

‘The Tree of Life’ – IIMA’s logo – reminds us to never forget our roots and implores us to reflect upon what was, what is, and what must be. As alums, let us come together and reaffirm our commitment to strengthen the roots that have nurtured us. We invite individuals and batches to join us in this journey of supporting IIMA’s strategic objectives and the continuous pursuit of excellence.