Symphony 2020: Double Edition by Symphony

SYMPHONY 2020

ANNUAL MAGAZINE, IIM SHILLONG

DIVERGING MINDS CONVERGING SOULS SPECIAL FEATURE

SYMPHONY 2020

Contents FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK

FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK

KALEIDOSCOPE

09 Where Minds Diverge (Amol Maske)

The Man Along the Creek (Simran Dey)

10 New Beginnings (Adrija Khan)

Blue (Sayali Gadkari)

11 The Power of Self Being (Ishan Kacker)

Kaleidoscope (Sankar Prudhvi)

12 Picnic (Soumya Malhotra)

Metamorphosis of MBA Grads (Jayaraman P.)

15 Conquerors (Ognibho Banerjee)

Symphony (Ranjana Ritu)

16 Words Worth (Kurja Rathore)

Similarities & Differences (Sabreesh)

17 Watching Avengers in Begusarai (Avikshit Pratap)

Helplessness (Srinidhi Sridharan)

19 A Snowball's Chance in Hell (Aakash Saxena)

Miniature Garage (Astitva Kumar)

Tawang Diaries (Nitin Nathani)

ASHEN: BLACKOUT POETRY -

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ARTIST'S GALORE 40 FAME BY FRAME 45 CAMPUS LENS 47 COLOURS OF IIM SHILLONG

SAP STORIES

A Tribute to Late Prof. Tapas Kumar Giri

A Tribute to Late Prof. Arindum 52 Mukhopadhyay

STUDENT CLUBS

STUDENT COMMITTEES

INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES

73 BUSINESS LEADERSHIP 86 SUMMIT: 2018, 19

INNOVATIVE CORPORATE ENGAGMENT MEET 2019

75 ZENITH 2019, 2020

BE THE CHANGE

76 EMERGE 2019, 2020

WORLD STUDENTS' DAY CELEBRATION

PGPEX - MBEE (Inauguaration of 8th Batch)

NURTURING MINDS

78 PODIUM 2018, 2019 82 NIRVANA 2019 83 KHLURTHMA 2018, 19 85 ANNUAL GOLF CUPÂ

STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENTS

BATCH PHOTOGRAPHS

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IIM Shillong, Admin Block

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From the Director's Desk

SYMPHONY 2020

Dear Readers,

D.P. GOYAL Director, IIM Shillong

It gives me immense pride and pleasure to introduce to you the latest edition of Symphony, IIM Shillong’s annual magazine. This edition of Symphony is based on the theme “Diverging Minds, Converging Souls”. IIM Shillong’s strength is the unity in its diversity and this edition hopes to celebrate the same. We, at IIM Shillong, take pride in the diversity that the college offers. Divergent thinking entails the ability to elaborate, and think of diverse and original ideas with fluency and alacrity. Convergent thinking is more about the logical processes of the brain, of the ability to use evaluative thinking to critique and narrow ideas to ones best suited for given situations, or set criteria. In all kinds of complex problem solving, one needs to be able to weave in and out of divergent and convergent thought patterns in order to effectively arrive at an appropriate conclusion specific for a given situation. The success of our students in various national level corporate competitions stands as a testament to the problem-solving skills of our students. The magazine comprises myriad articles, poems, and photos submitted by our students, as well as faculty and alumni talk, among other sections. Hopefully, this magazine will be an enriching experience for all the readers. Before signing off, I would like to wholeheartedly congratulate ‘Team Zeitgeist’ on conceptualizing and developing this edition of the magazine. I am sure that the students of IIM Shillong will continue to leave a mark wherever they go, not just as managers, but as effective leaders. I wish all the readers the very best. -

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Message from the

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EDITORS' DESK Dear Readers, “The more room you give yourself to express your feelings and thoughts, the more room there is for wisdom to emerge.” With the above notion, we present to you the 10th edition of Symphony, the Annual Magazine of IIM Shillong. In the years that have gone by, and the years about to come, life has and will be gifting us with untold escapades in varied expressions of art. Within them lie areas of vast silence, and a part of an artist’s job is to go to these areas and return with words of thought. The theme for this double edition is entitled “Diverging Minds, Converging Souls”. It is the inherent diversity and unity that formulates the strength of the participants of IIM Shillong. On one hand, lies an inspiration from the poetry of Miroslav Holub that highlights the optimism of life on Earth through the rise of dawn; on the other hand, a parallel is drawn between the well-known superhero stories of the Marvel movie series Avengers and Christian mythology, sourcing the former back to Christian parables. From travel stories to abstract poetry from prose, our participants have poured their hearts out. The Art Section, with its varied paintings, sketches and photographs, brings about the different colors of life.

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We also introduce to you the institute’s clubs, committees, events, activities, and achievements over the last two years. The 2018 and 2019 edition of the annual flagship events of the institute – The Golf Cup, Khlurthma, EmergE and Podium have been covered. 2018 marked the first edition of the Business Leadership Summit and Zenith – the Literature Festival of IIM Shillong. Similarly, 2019 marked the first edition of Nirvana – the Cultural Festival of IIM Shillong. We also bring to you a word from our respected Director, Professor D.P. Goyal and a tribute to our beloved Late Professor Tapas Kumar Giri and Late Professor Arindum Mukherjee. We hope you envision our magazine as nostalgia for the years you have shared with the institute and with each other. Regards, Team Zeitgeist

Clockwise from Left: Ankit Purohit, Vikas Goyal, Simran Dey, Soumya Talwar, Isha Bhargava, Khushi Baheti, Akash Verma, Shrishti Paliwal. Srinidhi Sridharan, Vaishali Sharma, Vaibhavi Parvatikar, Soumya Malhotra, and Ranjana Ritu. -

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KALEIDOSCOPE A TREASURE TROVE OF ARTICLES, PROSE & POETRY

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WHERE MINDS DIVERGE BY

like to play guitar. You may want to play the drums. Someone else may like singing or a keyboard. Now imagine a world where everyone liked the same thing or may have been forced to do so. It would surely be dull and boring to just listen to an all-guitarists or an all-singers band all the time. Thankfully this is not the case. Each one of us is born different, having different mix of attitudes, behavior, qualities and skills. Some of us go on to become scientists, exploring why the world is as it is, some become artists, who give people an escape from reality, some go on to take responsibility of managing the affairs of a nation and so on. We, as humans, have taken and will have to take advantage of this diversity to figure out how to walk through this world together. With time the challenges we have faced are becoming more and more complex in nature. They are out of scope for one man alone to solve them. This is what is happening. Majority of the Nobel prizes are being shared by two or more individuals, be it for chemistry or physics and even peace. It is also increasingly being acknowledged that collaboration of minds breeds creativity. Be it any field from economy to sports to business to political systems and global conventions, they all are giving priority to diversity.

AMOL

MASKE

(PGP'19)

Climate change is the next big problem that poses a threat to Earth. But this is a misnomer. Our planet is known to have survived through times of incessant volcanic eruptions and even large-scale bombarding of meteors. So, to whom does this climate change pose a threat to? It is we, the humans. The solutions cannot be segregated from each other rather. Here it is encouraging to know that we, as humans, have acknowledged this as under the Paris deal. In fact, individual countries, acknowledging their responsibility, have themselves set up targets to curb climate change. Modern-day football, as we see, it was drastically different in the 1900s. Back then, there was less focus on the ability to function as one organism and more on the capability of star players to weave their way around the defenders and score goals. This ability to dribble, although important today as well, is not enough to win matches. Now, Football teams have evolved and behaved as if they are one organism and it is becoming more and more difficult for teams to depend on one player to win matches. A classic example is the tiki-taka style of play, primarily associated with the football club Barcelona.

The world has been through what is called the Dark Ages - a time of ignorance and barbarism which was followed by Renaissance a period of “rebirth” of arts, science, literature and exchange of ideas which reignited creativity of our minds ushering in modernity. But still instability, intolerance, violence, inequality, etc. is on the rise. We need to understand that at the end of the day, we all are one and have a responsibility towards the future generations to leave an Earth which is livable, free from violence, nurtures creativity, promotes the free flow of ideas and provides a dignified life to each individual.

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NEW BEGINNINGS BY ADRIJA KHAN (PGP'19)

Veronika counted the raindrops That splattered on her open palm Placed gently on the window sill Two inches away from the cold glass pane And slid off onto the unkempt grass below Never to be counted again Much like her open heart With which she had believed his words And let him splatter lies all over her life Before he tore away at her tender heart and veins And walked out into oblivion And her heart grew cold as an icebox Always two inches away from feeling and trusting And counting on people again Veronica counted the raindrops.

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‘From Being Undesirable to Being Undeniable: The Power of Self-Belief’ BY ISHAN KACKER (PGP'19)

Just a year back around the same time, while I was struggling to find a path for myself, confused and unsure about where my future lay. And it's funny how things turn out to be, as I sit here writing an article for the annual magazine of IIM Shillong. What a difference a year can make. It took just 365 days and a bit of luck and hard work to transform these feelings of despair and hope, to one of confidence and assurance. Now sometimes people question what changed and how this change came about. And a year removed, I realized that the strongest arsenal in your kit remains the belief you place in your own self. What people fail to realize is that there is no additional skill set required that would push you through the tough times, it’s the power of believing in your own abilities and talents which will eventually guide your ship through the troubled water. So, while ‘you might be the kid that no one cares about, you gotta keep screaming till they hear you out.’ I was always quite driven and intrigued by the superhero genre of movies and novels, and while there might be many quotes from the film ‘The Dark Knight’ that achieved significant fame, there is one which I feel never quite received the attention that it deserved, ‘The Night is darkest just before the dawn.’

Just like everything in this world, tough times too have a shelf life. While some of the readers of this article might be MBA students or aspirants or probably someone who doesn’t fall under any of these categories, I feel this article will resonate and appeal to everyone, as I feel like, today in this fast-moving highly-technological world, no one really stops at one point to really analyze as to what’s actually bothering them and they keep moving, keeping all their frustrations and unfulfilled dreams bundled inside them, just because something doesn’t work out.

trying to make a name for yourself.

While they may tell you that this a dog-eatdog world out there, with everyone trying to fight and claw for that coveted top spot, an MBA teaches you the importance of teamwork and trustworthiness. While it’s the high-pay packages or the biggest brands that allure you, and while you might be forced to focus on the numbers’ side of things, what you really need to allow yourself to learn is the ability to stay grounded, the ability to stay humble. Always remember, your Tuesdays can never be a reflection of your Mondays and Speaking specifically, what actually does an what I mean by this is that, simply put, you MBA have to offer you besides allowing you a can’t carry the bad or the good of yesterday membership amongst an elite and sophisticated onto tomorrow. group of talented individuals. The course structure isn’t something that you can’t find So, while some of the readers would be anywhere else, growth will eventually find you getting anxious and nervous about the GD-PI no matter where you are, or probably it’s the process to follow soon, and the others might high-paying packages that have been glorified be feeling gloomy about the results not ever since. But if that’s the intention behind working in their favour, what you need to joining a prestigious B-school, you are probably realize that the biggest brand out there is not on the wrong trajectory. After spending seven your Goldman Sachs or your ITCs, the biggest months in a top B-school, and while I might not brand in the room is always ‘you’. Just believe be the most authentic of sources to believe, in yourself and fight with all the grit in this what an MBA actually wants to teach you is the world, overcome the biggest of the hurdles ability to handle pressure and dire stress, while and you will eventually conquer the tallest of you are also the summits.

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Picnic B Y

S O U M Y A

M A L H O T R A

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( P G P ' 1 8 )

I stood in the driveway, watching my mother ride her bike down the street. I had the house to myself for the entire day. It was a sunny morning, and the sky was a clear blue. Autumn always seemed to have an inexplicable warming effect on me. I knew right away how I wanted to spend the day. Rushing back inside, I packed a basket of sandwiches and juice, along with my worn-out copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It was too beautiful a day to spend inside the confines of the house. I locked the house and made my way to the forest beyond the backyard. The Gulmohar trees were magnificent this time of the year. The sun was merciless. It took me two hours to hike up the trail leading to the bubbling brook, but the view was a sight for sore eyes. There was a giant banyan tree right beside the brook, under the shade of which I often took refuge. When I was a kid, my father and I often hiked up here early in the mornings. He would tell me stories all through the way, and we would splash about in the brook once we reached. It was a happy memory. The sunlight reflected off the clear water and made it sparkle in a few places. I hastily laid down the basket under the tree and took off my sandals. Making my way to the center of the brook, I sat on a rock, dipping my feet in the shallow water, and washed my face and arms. The cool water felt divine in the now scorching heat. Unable to resist myself, I immersed myself in the water till only my face was above it. I always find dipping my ears underwater a calming experience. There was nothing to not like about that moment. The muffled sound of water bubbling around, the tree leaves swaying about peacefully in the gentle breeze, the clear blue sky beyond the trees, the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves to caress the clear water. This was my form of meditation. After what seemed like an hour of floating weightlessly in the brook, the sight of the sandwiches I’d made crossed my inward eye. I got out of the brook. Soaked as my summer dress was, the breeze made me shiver a little. The sun didn’t seem so merciless anymore. I hadn’t realised how famished I was; the sandwiches were gone in a jiffy. I sat under the tree, my bare feet soaking in the sunlight, content in all aspects of the word. Away at the University for the past four years, I’d never once felt this sense of peace and security. I was finally back home.

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La Casa De Papel, contributed by: Domenico Bagnato, Pinterest

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I spotted a rabbit on the other bank of the brook and was immediately reminded of my book. I reached out for it. I was ready to visit Wonderland for the umpteenth time. I couldn’t help but be amused over how Alice was basically describing me, reading on the bank of a brook on a beautiful autumn day, when she described her sister. As often as I am, I got carried away and started imagining scenarios where I really was Alice’s sister and had accompanied her down the rabbit hole too. I don’t remember when I dozed off; my musings had continued into my dreams. I was woken up by the sound of the white rabbit’s house crumbling. My eyes fluttered open, and I saw a doe a few feet away, crumbling twigs under her hooves as she tried to reach the low hanging leaves of a guava tree. She glanced at me right at that second and looked into my eyes for a moment, before leaping away into the woods. The sun had almost set. It was starting to get a tad chilly. I glanced at my watch. It was past 5:30. I gathered my things, getting ready to leave, when I heard some murmuring.

long way off the village for a picnic? I retraced my steps and made my way towards the source of the voices. It didn’t take me long to find it. A little way down the brook where I had been picnicking, there were four men sitting in a clearing between Gulmohar trees. I stood behind a tree with a particularly thick bark, and watched them from a distance. They had lit a small fire nearby. They were playing cards, and drinking what I suppose was whiskey, from a shared flask. There were five bags under a tree, on the branch of which an owl was hooting incessantly. I could hear their voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Every few minutes, they’d erupt into laughter. Something about the entire situation felt odd. I heard my rational self chanting “curiosity killed the cat” repeatedly. I felt my gut wishing to bolt from there. I ignored them. I stealthily moved closer to the clearing, hiding directly behind one of the trees in front of which they had lit the fire. I wanted to eavesdrop. And I was stunned when I did.

I froze. Our house was on the outskirts of the village. Was there someone spying on me? I looked around subtly, but there was no one. The only sound I heard now was the gurgling of the brook and the leaves swaying. I must be paranoid, I thought. As I took a few steps back towards my house, I heard it again, clearer than before. There were definitely a few people chatting in the distance. I heard laughter. I figured I wasn’t the only one out in the woods for a quiet day by the brook. Well, at least no one was stalking me. Phew! I started walking away again, but was soon taken over by overwhelming curiosity. Why would anyone come such a

The men were thieves. They had robbed the old Mrs. Singhania of Landour at gunpoint and were celebrating having gotten away with the loot. They ecstatically recounted their escape, unaware of the little girl eavesdropping. Apparently, they had boarded the daily countryside train while it was already moving, before Mrs. Singhania’s security guards could catch up with them. Their plan of disappearing to the city with the spoils of the robbery was effectively soiled when the security guards saw them boarding the train. They were sure the police would be waiting to greet them at the Central City Railway Station, and so they came up with an impromptu plan. They got off the moving train as it exited the village, and took shelter in -

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SYMPHONY 2020 the woods behind the countryside, obviously quite pleased with themselves. A loud phone ring broke my reverie. I didn’t even have a phone! The sound came from a duffel bag hanging on the tree behind which I was hiding. I hadn’t even noticed it there. All the four men looked towards it. I was terrified. I stood there, barely breathing, as one bald man made his way towards the tree. He retrieved the phone from the bag and answered it, speaking in a foreign dialect I didn’t understand. After he was done, he replaced the phone in the bag and started moving away. I let out a sigh of relief. Too loud. The man turned back. In the light of the fire, I saw a deep scar leading up from his left cheekbone to his forehead. He moved towards me with a suspicious expression on his face. Chills ran down my spine, as I stood there motionless, waiting to be discovered. He walked right up to the tree, his hand reaching down to the top of his jeans. He had a gun. He took a sweeping look around the woods, and took a step closer to me. That’s when another man yelled his name, “Jaquen”. Jaquen looked back towards his friends and yelled, “in a minute”. He turned back towards me, looked around for a second, and then backed off to re-join his friends. I was so shaken that I couldn’t move for what felt like half an hour. Finally, I gathered my strength and began weighing my options. I could retreat and make my way back to the house. It was half-past 8, my parents would’ve reached home by now, and would be worried about me. It didn’t seem like I had much of an option. It was the only way to go. Except, I was still weak in my knees, and doubted that I’d be able to get away without making any noise. It was dark now, and I couldn’t even make out much except for shapes in the woods. What would’ve generally spooked me, now invited me to its dark and cozy blindness. I wanted to disappear into the woods, away from these menacing men. I stood there, steeling myself to retreat stealthily, when another idea struck me. The phone. Adrenaline rushed through me as the alternative made itself clear in my mind. Blood pulsating in my temples, I peeked at the thieves. They were all too involved in their game. I slowly reached out for the bag hanging on the tree and tugged at it. It didn’t come off. It was hung too high. After a couple of attempts, I decided to rummage through the bag while it was still hanging, and retrieve the phone. I had to stand on my toes and it took a little effort, but I finally had the phone in my hand. I instinctively proceeded to message my father and appraise him of the situation. As I started typing, I realised that the phone wasn’t on silent. Each key made a ‘click’. I peeped carefully, but the men didn’t seem to have noticed. I put the phone on silent, typed out the whole story, and hit ‘send’. Within minutes, my father replied, asking me to stay put and wait as he came to seek me out. I did as I was told. I sat down, waiting with bated breath. I knew I was about to get scolded for putting myself in such a dangerous position. Half an hour later, a firm hand patted my shoulder, almost making me scream. I turned around to find my father. He beckoned me towards him. As soon as I was safely with him, he pulled me away and made a signal to someone in the dark. In no time, the place was swarming with police officers in uniform, pointing guns at the thieves and instructing them to rise with hands behind their heads. I wanted to witness the entire scene, but my father dragged me away. There was an open jeep a little way off, and my father ushered me into it, following himself. The driver took us to the house. It didn’t take long, but nonetheless, the silence was deafening. The house was surrounded by uniformed officers and police cars. As soon as I entered, my mother threw her arms around me and started crying. In the next couple of days, I recited my story several times; to the police, to journalists, to reporters, to the neighbours. My little adventure was the only event people talked about for days. Something riveting had happened in our little countryside village for once! I was awarded fifty thousand rupees for aiding in the capture of the four criminals. Turns out that they weren’t only thieves, but also murderers on the run from the past five years. I was enjoying the attention to the fullest. My father, on the other hand, was not pleased with me. I was lectured on the importance of staying safe. My mother was too relieved to scold me, but I knew she wasn’t happy either. Late one night, however, back at my antics, I eavesdropped on my parents discussing how proud they were of me for having dealt with the situation in a brave and sensible manner. I grinned. That was all the encouragement I needed. Until next time.

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CONQUERERS B Y

O G N I B H O

B A N E R J E E

( P G P E X

' 1 8 )

The aged spring day has faded out of focus; Figures now slowly flock to the sloping, naked earth Where the walls of the edifice will later whisper about the memories of time past, Protecting them from the hollow of the abyss beyond. The drunken fire has masked them with faces and wrapped them in shadows, Crackling and burning red with the joy of its creations, Its Smoke colouring the sky inky black, Their arcane invocations paint the hollow night with ancient shimmering stars While tethered mulberries swaying to the tunes of men Shed melancholy red on the path to their shores of destiny Where wave upon wave of merciless time summons them to their inevitable odysseys. The promised Dawn will break and soon transform them into travellers, Armed with the ambition of conquistadores, Voyaging to distant, unknown kingdoms. Their trepidations remain buried in the sacred ashes of their bonfire: Will Elegiac hymns be sung for them one day as many were for the Argonauts? Did the gods keep a Homeric vigil on their souls? Blessing their initiation into a new age of discovery?

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Words Worth BY

KURJA

RATHORE

SYMPHONY 2020

(PGP'19)

I am thinking about our library and how the mosaic of our books Is a collage of souls now Wordsworth smiles with Rumi, & Manto shares a cigar with Neruda. When Tolkien offers some Cookies, Bond of Mussoorie pours, a cup of Chaiâ&#x20AC;Ś Mahadevi Verma and Sylvia Plath seem like sisters from different wombs, And Premchand is now acquainted with Hemingway by his side on the shelf. Finally. At night, we whisper each other some anecdotes, And trade our favorite memories. You draw me a Frost, and I sing to you, Tagore's verses, a little. In the world of words and emotions, We dance together on our favorite fairy-tales. And let the most futile question stay, "What is there in a name?"

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Watching Avengers in Begusarai BY

AVIKSHIT

PRATAP

(FPM'18)

Captain America says, 'it's a one-way trip'. Iron Man jumps into the Tesseract and nukes it, falling afterwards with his arms spread. She thinks this is a call-back to the biblical myth of Jesus on the cross and Iron-Man coming back alive is the resurrection of Christ. She pauses the film to note that every superhero movie has at least one callback to the bible and Christ; even the origin stories can be sourced back to Christian parables. Superman is indeed similar to the idea of Jesus and superheroes have become new mythological figures. In 2014, Azar Nafisi, an Iranian writer, wrote a

They tell about the experience of being 'born like

book titled 'The Republic of Imagination'. Kabir, a

this, born into this'. They are what it means to be

16th century poet, has an idea of 'vichaar ka anant'

human. And they keep occurring and re-occurring

or the infinite of thought. And curiously enough,

across

Ghalib, a 19th century Urdu poet, has a couplet

geographical

talking of creating a new world in language, or a

important realities are often the ones that are

cosmic world of ideas.

hardest to see and talk about'.

Different languages, Different historical and social

An idea is expressed through a medium: Kalidas's

settings, yet a common uniting theme. One that

work has poetic ideas, Van Gogh's a graphic one.

perhaps, lies at the centre of human nature.

What does it mean for a film-maker to have a

There is a reason V For Vendetta's (2005) dialogue

cinematic idea? Can we understand the idea

'Ideas are bullet-proof' has become iconic. Great

without understanding the medium? Meaning, can

ideas, like those of Ghalib, Kabir, Baudelaire,

we know what Messi's dribbles mean without

Michelangelo, Einstein etc, talk of something

understanding the medium used to convey them,

fundamental about the human condition.

that is the game of football? Perhaps not.

time,

across borders.

social For

'the

realities most

and

obvious,

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SYMPHONY 2020 And therein lies the problem. Ideas are not easy to understand; they demand effort. One, each idea is a half, one that you must complete by adding your own half. You must be willing to add your own half-truth to the idea. When you gaze at a painting, the painting also gazes at you. Second, even before you can engage with them, you have to understand the medium they are conveyed in, the conventions, traditions and mimetic register of the medium. And to obtain that, why, there is no other way other than interacting with the medium again and again. The process is circular in essence. Initially, one must take a plunge into the inscrutable sea, and slowly, very slowly, one may learn to ride the waves. The old clichĂŠ holds true: 'padhte padhte hi padhna aata hai'. Once you have conversed with the idea, it may remind you of a Murakami quote. "And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about." A couplet may save your life. A painting may be your only friend. A song may make you confess your love. A fable may help you make through the long, long check-out queue at a departmental store. None of this is exaggerated and is firmly rooted in real events. Whatever truth and beauty and justice are, they can only be found through poignant, difficult ideas. But, truth and beauty and justice have since long ceased to motivate us; that is what Nietzsche meant when he declared God is dead. We no longer 'trust the difficult forgetting that everything alive trusts in it'. Our lives have become too skittish, our homes a godown of things. By and large, the powers that be are continuously making it easier for the human experience to become meaningless, void and ugly. At times like these, one may feel ideas to be useless, boring, and confoundingly difficult elitist jargon. To use a Yiddish word in an Indian sense, ideas may feel like chutzpah. And one may be justified in feeling so. We may choose not to trust the art, pure science and the humanities because they are not utilizable in the strict 'Management way'. If we do that, we may increase our productivity. But, when injustice, anxiety, darkness and death will come hunting, we'll have nothing. No amount of binge-watched Avenger movies will save us then. -

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A Snowball's Chance in Hell BY

AAKASH

SAXENA

Imagine a spot of snow that has just slunk down from the top of a pine tree. This little spot, due to no fault of its own, is now rolling down the mountain unrestrained. It can’t turn back. It can’t pause. It can’t stop. In this scenario, where the little spot of snow is blatantly reminded of its impotence to affect its fate, how could it find solace to make this terrible journey down the mountain worth it? What realization could be so powerful that it could overcome this feeling of helplessness? In a particularly nasty tumble, our little spot flips through the air and catches a glimpse of its snowy brethren, not very far behind. Some look to be in more of a hurry than our little friend. But they are all heading down the valley. A thought pops up in our little friend’s head, ‘I think, I am a snowball!’ Tumbling ever more violently, it tries to look around and counts off- ‘That is a snowball. That too, is a snowball. That idiot that just crashed into the tree was also a snowball.’ It looks down the mountain and gets a sinking feeling, ‘We are all snowballs. But we would be nothing in a couple of seconds.’ And then the familiar and empty feeling of helplessness follows. Our little friend tumbles on. Finding its identity as a snowball was meaningless for the little spot of snow. What it shares with its brethren is a common but unfortunate fate. To celebrate its identity is to also commiserate its brethren’s fast approaching and inevitable demise.

(PGP'17)

It is the paradox our little friend has to live with for the remainder of its existence. An excited and cheerful blob of snow passes our little friend by, ‘See that old tree up ahead? I am going to peel that bugger off the ground.’ It tucks itself in, gathers momentum, and rams straight into the tree. The tree lurches and falls, roots torn out of the earth. ‘Woohoo!’ yells another snowball as it crashes into a rock and sends it flying off. ‘I’m coming in hot!’ screams a fat snowball uprooting any poor sucker of a plant that happens to be in its way. Suddenly, our little friend lightens up. ‘Ah!’ and it all feels better now. The fate of being a lifeless heap of snow at the end of the mountain feels disheartening when you are alone. It feels even more disheartening when you know you’re a snowball and that all snowballs will end up the same. But it isn’t all that bad when you’re a snowball with a purpose. For our little friend, there was a strange solace in finding a purpose. Our little friend, who began as a spot of snow, has now gathered epic proportions. And it is no longer alone. It finds itself a part of a massive avalanche. Endless white sheets of snow are hurtling down towards the valley. And in the brief moment, before they come to a stop and cease to exist, they are united by a common purpose- complete and absolute annihilation of whatever is in their way.

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SYMPHONY 2020

The Man Along the Creek BY

SIMRAN

DEY

(PGP'19)

I saw him in the darkness of the night Along the dried creek, His face calm, composed and polite, A gentleman indeed. I had gone to the lake with a rod and a bait, On a late Friday afternoon, And as along the swamp I waded, I gradually walked towards my doom. The creek gaped at me looking parlous and dire, And that’s when I noticed him, Posing in a luring attire, Standing so close, to the brim. His face was shining with a golden glow And now I know the reason, But I fell for him in that very instant And that was my only treason. As I moved towards the heavenly figure. I thought I heard a ‘splash’ But paralyzed by the celestial man, I moved ahead, senseless and unabashed. When I finally reached for him, I hugged him so tight, That I felt breathless and suffocated, And tried to break free with all my might.

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SYMPHONY 2020

Then finally, I felt free again, So light and so calm, I looked behind to see in the creek, A silent, dead lump. And as the waters hit the lump, And turned it upside down, I gasped to see my disfigured face, My corpse in my white, satin gown. Â Now I stand along the creek, So lonely and so slack, Amidst the darkness, I stand forever, In this forest, shrouded in black. Â Well, now I see him every day, Along the dried creek, His face still calm, composed and polite, What a gentleman, indeed!

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BLUE

SYMPHONY 2020

BY SAYALI GADKARI (PGP'18)

Sometimes it feels like I should get away from this world Why are thoughts and relations always twisted and curled? Why do some bright days turn blue? We love the trees that never grew Why do we give full strength to show a smile? Once friends become foes in a while Why don’t we look people in the eyes? Give speeches but never act wise Why sometimes does an oyster not open its shell? We say fine when we’re not doing well Why some days the flowers don’t bloom?? And a newly wedded bride is surrounded by gloom Why chatter when someone is ready to speak? But never utter when we feel weak Why over truth do we prefer a lie? And the bold one pretends to be shy Why are we always ready to blame? But our eyes never reflect the shame Why often do we not have time? But never feel guilty for any crime Why some days do we not pay attention? Love and care, why do we forget to mention? Why some day do we set out with no reason? Forgetting colours fade with changes in season Why some day do we laugh near a grave? And sometimes the lion is not brave Why not gather courage to blow a chance out? And burst when not needed to shout Why do we keep complaining for what’s not there? Fully broken but not ready to share Why not accept something that’s new? And never bother to observe the dew It happens with me and sometimes it’s you It’s just that some days are destined to be blue

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SPECIAL FEATURE

SYMPHONY 2020

KALEIDOSCOPE BY

SANKAR

PRUDHVI

Diversity is one of the key factors which organisations have picked up of late, to add to the portfolio of human resource management. While corporate giants are beginning to accommodate and leverage upon the diversity factor, India, as a country, inherited ‘diversity’ all along its evolution and existence to date. Let’s explore what lessons India has for us. For the world that always juggles between the majority’s judgement and the minority’s opinion, India’s diversity is just a wonder. Diversity is the word that surely reflects India in all its senses. Diversity is in terms of customs, religion, habits, language, societal norms, family structure, behavioural aspects and many more. Historically, India was democratic in allowing its culture to evolve and exist through times, whether it was welcome or not, creating the India that we see today. Ironically, the true spirit of India’s unity lies in respecting and allowing this diversity to flourish. Diversity transforms the idea of exchanging words into an idea of exchanging a variety of thoughts, experiences, opinions, thereby creating new dimensions, perspectives, and possibilities. It envisages the synergy between those, different but valid, individual thoughts that come when one recognises, understands, appreciates and acknowledges the other. The problem occurs when we try to fit the diverse attributes of our society into a typical “bell curve.” By calling the majority the ‘norm’ and the deviations the ‘outliers,’ we are trying to enforce the same rules for all. That is not fair! And let us not forget to discount the long-term consequences of such unilateral enforcement. When the anxiety to maintain order under the mask of uniformity multiplies, it just dusks the real unity but does not disturb the underlying diversity. It’s high time for one to realise that uniformity does not mean to create the same person.

(PGP'18)

It is instead to build a common shelter for all. Likewise, diversity does not build walls between you and me; it allows us to stay together happily under that common roof. It is to that world of freedom that the profound Gurudev Tagore wished to head this country towards. On the flip side, building consensus is often painted as a herculean task in a diverse environment. That may not be the case if appropriately dealt with. India, across ages, sourced its agile transformation by building consensus among its people through unbiased, candid and healthy debates and arguments. Unfortunately, such a precious ornament lost its place, somewhere, to our stubborn thoughts, opinions, and biased facts, leaving consensus to bureaucratic setup rather than maintaining it as a democratic process. As Obama rightly pointed in his adieu speech “yes, we can!”, ‘We became so secured by building bubbles around us and only accepting those that fit our opinions, rather than basing our opinions on the evidence that’s out there’. When we sit across the table and are willing to listen, debate rationally and agree to others by acknowledging the facts, consensus finds its own way. This empowerment of all of us is the actual celebration of diversity. Like the world that celebrates the diversity in the uniqueness of its creation, let’s celebrate the diversity in the people around us in our daily lives. Thanks to IIM Shillong that formally introduced me to diversity, by gardening itself with the variety of blossoming flowers of students. It’s a bigger step for a greater thought, the thought that finds its way to lead us towards a better living world. May the myriad reflections of a Kaleidoscope wonder and inspire me forever and ever!

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SYMPHONY 2020

Metamorphosis of MBA Grads BY

JAYARAMAN

This is almost the time for the enthusiastic first-years to get ready for their internships and rejuvenated final years (for there is nothing else to do on campus in the sixth trimester) are getting ready to take the world with their management might. Like every good thing (like campus life), these illusions will soon come to an end. Hey! Nothing against illusions – illusions are good sometimes. Dreams are also manifestations of illusions and one should dream big to achieve big. But eventually one has to wake up to reality. In no relation to the above statement, most students will be beginning their career from their months of 'Shillonging' slumber, since Shillonging was almost like a dream (again). Most of us might have only thought about getting into a B-School and not sure about the life ahead. Let’s try and help out these young grads by giving glimpses of the corporate world. It may be of some help to somebody at some point in their help. Who knows? The experience would differ basis the discipline of their employment. First things first – we need to go for a house/ PG hunt which itself is an enthralling experience. The sense of pride in ending up in a great house/ PG, of course in comparison to our newly joined colleagues and our old (oops! not old enough yet, scratch that) friends over WhatsApp groups, is the first big achievement in our corporate career. Some analytical brains would invoke game theory and some others (HR folks - stepchildren of management) would think about collective bargaining or worse – Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality. But it’s actually the “inverse bigger slice of the cake effect”.

(PGP'13)

Everyone would end up feeling that they have been conned by the landlord. The reality is, in fact everyone was conned by the landlords. Hey, that’s alright! There would be more such realities hitting us like wave after wave, like the slow way of getting up from sleep by snooze after a snooze. We will be awake there eventually. Next comes the induction program. Those who indulge in habitual DCPs will have their moments of glory. They are generally late risers, still have fancy illusions about becoming the fastest to get promoted based on their CPs. No, they are not trying to be desperate, not according to them. It would take little more time for them to realize that the induction team is different, and they are not secretly passing on the intelligence and leadership qualities of the incoming batch to CEOs and CFOs. But those who have missed the bus in impressing others and finding a partner on campus, this could be some head start. But jokes apart, people who indulge themselves in DCPs, should not consider the above statement seriously and this could potentially ruin all your chances - a responsible statutory warning. The next few days would be crucial. That is the time when life comes to a full circle for some of us. The same feeling of dejection, helplessness, potential to become a wasted talent that we once had when we joined a reputed IT firm post our UG, will come back. The same feeling of having to face the same old “dal chawal’ / ‘upma’, despite all the praise about homemade food AKA ‘Ghar ka Khana’.

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SYMPHONY 2020

Those who were fed up having upma in plastic disposable plates in cafeteria of IT corridors, will now face upma with couple of chutneys in ceramic plate with knife and spoons in our hands (knife in which hand again?) in those same IT corridors. Not that knifes are particularly useful in having upma, it gives us the wholistic experience of a fine dining, a fine profession. Just like those frameworks 4Ps, SWOT, TOWS, 4M (Operations do exist), Johari window, it will give us the wholesome experience of a fine management analysis. Not that they are particularly useful always, but we end up using them. Likewise, we would end up cooking upmas – even with Paneers and pepperonis. Don’t get me wrong, this is such a novel idea– the paneer upma. Coming back to the point, the sense of dejection would also be subjective – just like the half-filled glass. Some would get used to this and some get these fancy ideas to pursue PhD, applying for ivy colleges or something more ambitious – looking for a job switch. Just like the newly inducted Hostel committee which would end up changing the mess menu, only realizing much later that there is no point in changing anything whatsoever. But hey, one should never hesitate to pursue our true calling. Many unenlightened others would not even known what that even means – the lucky ones. For all self-proclamations that management jobs are only about Excels and PPTs, we will be getting used to a few other tools – communicators/ workplace chats, HR portals, performance management and goal setting sites. Communicators/ workplace social groups would be really handy as this prevents us from getting bored.Instagrams,

Twitters and Facebooks could be considered unprofessional at offices. But office social groups act as refreshing alternatives for the above.Those stalking with chat images, nick names and organograms are considered official. Spending time on these will not be frowned upon. Instead you can score brownie points in meetings by mentioning the email alias of the employee in discussion or coming out with their out of office timelines before someone else does. But we would eventually get bored of all these and fall back to Facebooks and Instagrams How else can we broadcast and communicate to the world about our reunions, gettogethers and Shillonging moments? But deep within we, will all agree that those are only the pretexts and there is this truth for using social media – to appraise about your well-being to our beloved friends and family circles. No! Truly. Those status updates about new high-end restaurants, newly acquired cars, those official foreign tours and some occasional seminars and conferences – without these how else would our friends know that we are living our normal lives? That is the reason modern world is so better. Imagine a life of 1980’s MBA grads graduating from IIM Ahmedabad and unable to post his graduation day pictures on Facebook – it used to be such a sad state of affairs. All the mentioned things are just the initial things, footsteps. The success or failure of your career lies in far more complex things – vocabulary. Let’s not confuse jargons with vocabulary. Jargons are B-School words. They are not just cash cows, value chain analysis, paradigm shifts, etc. Success takes much more than management jargons.

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SYMPHONY 2020

Those are ‘taking a step back’, ‘top-down’, ‘bottom-up’, ‘deep dive’, ‘working backwards’, and the likes. Sometimes arriving at the right word to express, is itself the end result. If you are stuck somewhere, you just need to work backwards. We can write that without any regret in our self-appraisals. It’s pretty much the same as untying a stuck knot. You need to work backwards. Despite all these efforts, it all boils down to the magical message that we would receive in our mobile phones from our banks – the salary. Invariably we would be underpaid (Remember the ‘inverse bigger slice of the cake effect”?). But everyone will also go through the phase – did we put in all those efforts for ‘that’ salary? But those moments are short-lived and soon would pass and be ignored. But those self-doubts on us having arrived in life will continue to exist. Not just poverty, prosperity is also a state of our minds. In the end, it’s all about the inner self (Maslow’s hierarchy?). What we really want to do with your life. It’s not very simple. It could be that sense of accomplishment in life – the sound of our bike engine, the legroom in your car, the shopping malls you visit, or the paycheck of your prospective spouse.

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SPECIAL FEATURE

SYMPHONY 2020

Symphony BY RANJANA RITU (PGP'18) Born from the ashes of your “beloved”, is your lethal freedom Lethal to the being of us, appearing to be a phantom Turn around the turbine of time, Fly back to your tranquil moments. And try to recall, rethink, reflect How is your mind at peace? Why hasn’t terror engulfed you yet? In this state of solitude and reminiscence, You will hear a whisper. A whisper of violent screams, by your side A whisper of war-cries, immersed in pride Each of which, is a story in itself A story of a martyr, who battles for you A story of a family, which endures for you A story of soldiers. Be it Mumbai, or Pulwama Be it 26th November 2008, or 14th October 2019. Stories are emerging from every corner, every day It terrifies you from within, doesn’t it? You feel impatient, you feel helpless, don’t you? But are you?

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SYMPHONY 2020

It is rightly said, “Don’t blame an entire nation for the actions of a handful” You never did. But they do. You have been accused of this. Since the inception of history, Your country has been accused of this. Ever thought, what led to this? …Hatred, hostility, resentment

Just as two sides of a coin, For every Rama, there will always be a Ravana For every ounce of love, there will always be a gallon of hatred. All you must do, Is overturn this balance Deteriorate the power of their hostility Nullify the potential of their threats. You boast of your country, as the most radiant, intellectual, diverse nation They use it as a weakness, make it your strength, your inherent foundation. In the name of religion, Or creed, or caste, or belief They pit you against your brother, your sister But think, Aren’t you infuriated by those stories? When that same brother of yours, is riddled with bullets When that same sister of yours, is blasted in bombs Remember, outside India Your only identity is, Indian. Be rich, or poor; Be Hindu, or Muslim You are an Indian.

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SYMPHONY 2020

Take a pledge today. A promise to stand by your countrymen, A promise to be in unison, come what may. Prove that, You cannot be manipulated. You cannot be instigated. Our minds might be divergent, But our souls will converge. Wish to do something for your soldier? Be the Indian worth fighting for. Be the change this day calls for. Born from the ashes of our “beloved”, Is our lethal freedom. Along with the phoenix of our wrath, They shall succumb.

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SYMPHONY 2020

Similarities & Differences BY SABREESH (PGP'17)

Here I sit, on my flight from Bangalore to Guwahati, back to college for the last trimester. I sit quietly and observe my surroundings; the flight is a microcosm of our country (though a relatively well off one). IndiGo begins with the introduction of the crew, mentioning the cities the crew hails from and the languages they speak. It is probably a way for us to connect with crew, thinking of them as one of us. We accept our countrymen and form cliques (leaving out others) with equal gusto. India is diverse, but the differences are the same. The scenes in a flight would be the same everywhere, be it tourist attractions, hospitals, or even homes. The mother affectionately feeding her children, the small toddler crying, a newly married couple flirting with each other and giggling, teenagers with their eyes stuck to their phone, an old couple arguing, friends making fun of each other; you would find these scenes anywhere in India. These instances are completely different from each other, but you'll find them everywhere. The funny thing about our country is, we are different in so many ways, yet so similar. We cherish our diversity and are proudly boast about it in front of foreigners. Yet casteism and regionalism persist throughout the country. We have to work towards the eradication of differentiation based on caste and creed. And celebrate the differences in individual people. We are truly a nation of "Diverging Minds, Converging Souls."

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SYMPHONY 2020

Helplessness BY SRINIDHI SRIDHARAN (PGP'18)

Helplessness again Why this pain You lie there awake in the middle of the night Wallowing in your misery, wondering if this will forever be your plight The feeling too familiar, the burden too much to bear No respite from the all-consuming heaviness that is there Always alone, no one to hold you and comfort you through this ordeal No one to rescue you from the horror that you feel How much heartbreak can one suffer? Before you break, before your life is devoid of colour The mind is only so strong But the pain above and beyond You have built a dam within To keep the emotions from releasing But what happens when the dam overflows? And there is no one to catch you before it all blows You need the rain, need it to relieve the pressure Not just through cracks and fissures You lie there waiting, waiting for the safest place to hide Hoping that it will one day be brought in by the tide That the moon in its serene glow Brings in the right ebb and flow

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SYMPHONY 2020

The Miniature Garage B Y

A S T I T V A

K U M A R

( P G P ' 1 8 )

In this frantic world distraught with uncertainty, you got to have something that gives you a passage away from all this mess. No matter what agony life puts me in, I always have my go-to place ready. And that’s my car collection. Alright, not a collection of real cars but their official scale model replicas. It’s a hobby that’s unknown to most people owing to a very small section of petrolheads in our society, but my love for cars goes as far back as I can remember. And for a child, it obviously used to translate into buying toy cars. But unlike most kids, I could never grow old enough to stop purchasing those. Just that, my toys evolved to officially licensed models, and I evolved from a kid with toy cars to a die-cast model car collector. Collectors generally collect their cars on a particular scale that suits their style. In my case, it turns out to be 1:24, which means the models are in 1/24th ratio of the actual car they are based upon. It all began back in 2012 when I purchased my first licensed model, which was a Lamborghini Aventador. It has since gradually expanded to multiple Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Paganis, and many more. Today even though I have nearly 30 models but I’m far from satisfied with that number and intend to increase it indefinitely. In fact, just moments before penning down this article, I ordered a model for Lamborghini Urus, which will serve as the first SUV in my collection. Soon after I finish my MBA, I know where a major chunk of my first salary is going to go. Due to my love for photography, I don’t just stop at buying those cars but also go a step further in clicking them in as realistic ways as possible and also modifying them as per my tastes. However, the modifications had a jerky start as I had a lot to learn and ended up destroying my Nissan GT-R in the process. Though it still serves as a model in my display, showcasing my learning curve. Indulging in such a niche hobby has its own set of pros and cons. Speaking of the upside, I got to meet a lot of wonderful like-minded people from various parts of the world owing to my Instagram and Facebook posts, while the major downside is protecting the collection from kids visiting the house. There is no way a kid can control himself/herself upon seeing such toys. That being said, I have to give credit to my parents, friends as well as the special person in my life for supporting me in this rather money-draining hobby and making my collection a good one.

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SYMPHONY 2020

Tawang Diaries BY NITIN NATHANI (PGP'17) Wanderlust, travel, explore, traverse… Are these just words we’re talking about? What do these “words” mean to you? A smile to your face? Nostalgia? Friendships? Peace? Late-night fun? Those mountains, or the seas? Have you ever paused for a moment and thought, why do you travel? Maybe you are Bunny from Yeh Jawaani hai Deewani, who just wants to keep exploring his entire life and never take a break. Or you’re Naina, who wants to enjoy the moment she’s in. Or better yet, you are Arjun from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, who wants to earn money till 40, chill for the rest of his life and see the world in luxury. Or most probably, you are YOU, which sets you apart from others! A lot of questions, but the best thing about them is that their answers keep changing with newer experiences and perspectives! Tawang, not just a name, but a feeling. A fearless feeling to travel across cultures and explore people. Having been to Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Nagaland in North-East, I knew this was going to be my next stop. Are these trips just how they’re shown on Facebook or Instagram? We all know they’re not! A budget trip with so many obstacles in it is where the fun part lies. We haven’t even started and guess the time-period not recommended for visiting Tawang? Of course, December-January! The trip should’ve been postponed to later. But then, life is seldom about doing the logical and right things. We formed a group, with no lectures in the near future (not that they could really deter us) and just a month of this beautiful “student” journey left in my life. After all, when will I meet people from all parts of the country again and have the time to visit this picturesque place? No one knows. So, we went on with the plan. #Dekhajaega I’ve always wondered which types of trips are better - trips with planning that spans across months and includes complete research about the place, or the spontaneous ones where we just decide the destination, place our faith in our Gods, and out we go. We all know the stories of both. But for us, Tawang was more of a latter type of trip. It was Yash (Young Leader :p) who came up with the idea just two days before. I was the next to be asked (Because Nathani would be the one acting poor and negotiating everywhere), followed by Deepak and Harish, and the final one to enter was Garvit (Garbage :p).

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SYMPHONY 2020 We applied for Inner Line Permit (ILP) required to enter Arunachal Pradesh online a day before leaving. Our cab was scheduled to arrive at 4:30 AM, and we were in doubt as usual whether to sleep early and wake up at 4 AM or just not sleep the entire night! Departing from Guwahati and reaching Khanapara at 7:30 AM, we took a local Sumo to reach Tezpur at 11:30 AM. Another Sumo at 12 PM from Tezpur helped us reach our first destination, Bomdila, at 6 PM. You’d get several homestays and hotels nearby at cheap rates of around Rs. 1000 per night for two people. The next day, we visited the Bomdila Monastery! There’s an unquestionable beauty to the peace one finds in monasteries like this. Since we were the only tourists there at that time, we got to explore the place as we wished. In that serene atmosphere, we found some monks who gave us priceless knowledge of Buddhist culture. After visiting a couple of other places, we reached Dirang. With my first ever experience of a “Hot Water Spring” and a few other places, we decided to stay there for the night.From Dirang, we left at 6 AM and reached Tawang around 12:30 PM. Soon I had my first experience of snow at Sella lake! Though we couldn’t be there for more than 15 minutes, it was totally worth it. People in Tawang were so happy, caring, and kind. They would greet everyone with a big heart and be there for anything we asked for. Such people make us realise what it takes to be a happy person, after all! The monastery at Tawang was huge, and the most amazing part of it was its museum, which had items kept as ancient as the 7th century! We stayed therefor two days and came back the next day. A journey to remember because of the moments to cherish!\

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SYMPHONY 2020

ASHEN - Blackout Poetry Abstract poetry created by stringing together words from a paragraph and blackening out the remaining text leaving only the poem on the page

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SYMPHONY 2020

BY PANKHURI SAXENA With a paralyzed inability to accept She wept at once, with sudden wild abandonment The storm of grief had spent itself Pressed down by a physical exhaustion that seemed to reach into her soul Her head thrown back upon the cushion A sob came up into her throat A dull stare in her eyes, a glance of reflection Something coming to her, too subtle and elusive She felt it, through the sounds, the scents, the color This thing was to possess her And when she abandoned herself, her eyes They stayed keen and bright Her pulses beat fast, and she did not stop To ask a monstrous joy that held her clear and exalted But she saw beyond that bitter moment Opened and spread her arms in welcome There would be no one to live She would live for herself What did it matter ! Love the unsolved mystery This possession, the strongest impulse of her being free Body and soul free! She was drinking in a very elixir of life MARCH 2020Â | Â 8

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SYMPHONY 2020

BY RANJANA RITU Break her gently, conceal the truth She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment Stood, facing the window Pressed by a physical exhaustion Her soul continues to sob Her eyes fixed away off yonder Was it subtle? Creeping towards her, his two white, slender hands The vacant terror followed, the corusing blood gray But she saw beyong that bitter moment Years to come that would belong to her No one to live for No men and women to impose Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering

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SYMPHONY 2020

BY SANCHARI DAS I know how hard it will be Hardly a soul to call yours You may wonder why they never came back They were all lost A creepy feeling bustled into the room With a whirl of apologiesÂ For being late in her appearance She rattled on about the shooting And the scarcity of the winter It was all purely horrible A desperate succesful effort of violent physical exercise The widespread ailments and infirmities Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention Here they are at last! Shivered slightly and turned towards the window Three figures were walking Across the lawn towards the window They all carried guns under their arms Was that a ghost? I expect it was the horror of the night

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SYMPHONY 2020

ARTIST'S GALORE

Picture by: Akash Dwivedi (PGP'18)

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Fame by Frame

SYMPHONY 2020

Keep your bustling cities and take me home.

GULSHAN KUMAR (PGP'19)

SUBHASISH DEBNATH (PGP'19)

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SYMPHONY 2020

Where the heart beats with the dripping of rain,

The soul cleanses away from the city-crowd, Dreams soar high in the lap of the mountain,

There she gleams, The Campus in Clouds.

SUBHASISH DEBNATH (PGP'19) -

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ELEMENTS

SYMPHONY 2020

AKASH DWIVEDI (PGP'18) -

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SYMPHONY 2020

MIGRATORY BIRDS Because of the limited freedom of movement and absence of financial independence. A large number of married women in the villages of western Uttar Pradesh lose out on their childhood friends when they move to their husbands' place. New life brings with itself a set of new friends; friends who themselves happen to be newlyweds.

From coming in as newlyweds to becoming great grandmothers, they face the vagaries of life together. From picking on certain habits like smoking up beedi and hookah to keeping oneself busy in household chores, the specific lifestyle that ensues has become a very integral part of the culture of western Uttar Pradesh. That essence still persists.

LOKPRIYA CHAUHAN (PGP'19) ENCLOSED IN CUSTOMS YET THRIVED IN LIFE -

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SYMPHONY 2020

LOKPRIYA CHAUHAN (PGP'19) -

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Campus Lens

SYMPHONY 2020

Powered by Fujifilm Fujifilm conducted a photography workshop for the participants of IIM Shillong covering the basics of photography. This was followed by a 7-day long Series Photography competition. The theme was "Campus Life," wherein participants chose a subject of their choice weaving a story over seven photographs.

SMARTPHONE CATEGORY : NIKITA AGRAWAL

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SYMPHONY 2020

PROFESSIONAL CAMERA CATEGORY: HARSHIT GOEL

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SYMPHONY 2020

Colours of IIM Shillong KHUSHI BAHETI (PGP'19)

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SYMPHONY 2020

PRADNYA SHINDE (PGP'19)

NAVNEET PRIYA (PGP'19)

THE CHAOTIC LION The lion signifies oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soul while its chaotic mane signifies the divergence in thoughts

KANIKA SINGH (PGP'19)

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SAP STORIES 2018 Arumuga Vinayagam Study Abroad Programme provided us a very good learning environment with great professors and a perfectly tailored course outline. The arrangements made by IESEG Paris were appreciable, with Sharan from IESEG playing a significant role in making the entire process very smooth. All of us arrived on different dates with maximum students arriving on 25th December, and there was an IESEG representative to receive the students and take them to their respective hotels.Â Â The course commenced on 27th December with a warm welcome and an ice breaker session. Our first course was of Intercultural Management, taken by Professor Jacob Vakkayil. He helped us in understanding the behavioural and cultural differences and similarities between India and France, along with other European nations like Germany, Italy, Belgium, etc. Following these sessions, we had a New Year break, during which we explored different parts of Europe. We re-joined on 2nd January and continued with course European Financial Market taken by Eric Leurquin, where we studied the forces shaping financial institutions and markets in Europe. Next was the course on Strategy and Innovation by Ghassan Yacoub. It provided us an opportunity to study and apply various business strategies with the help of a simulation tool and presentations. This one was a hectic course where the professor kept us on our toes throughout the program, but it was a great learning experience. It also included a tour to La Caverne, where we learned various strategies in setting up a new business. After that, we had a course on Luxury Management, which was something unique on how to apply marketing strategies to luxury brands. It included a tour to Galeries Lafayette, where we were assigned to visit various luxury brands and prepare a report on how they were different from India, what kind of customers were visiting, and the strategy adopted by its employees to attract customers.

We also visited a jewellery showroom called Cecile et Jeanne and its workshop to understand the jewellery market in France.Now we entered the last leg of the program with Fashion Communication by Kellerjochims Bruna. We learned about the trending fashion industry and how it is growing. We were asked to prepare a strategy for any fashion brand to launch a new campaign for its expansion, which provided us an opportunity to study the fashion industry in great detail. The programme ended on a good note with goodbyes and photographs. Overall it was a great programme which had a perfect balance of learning academically as well as travelling and having fun. The professors and the IESEG staff were always helpful, not only in academic issues but also personal issues like where to get the best food and various places to explore around. We were provided with the opportunity to learn new and unique subjects, which would help us in the long term in our professional careers. The pedagogy was different than IIM Shillong, but the knowledge, commitment, and delivery of the information were commendable. More students from our institute should go for this programme and use this platform to gain new knowledge in a different environment, which would prove to be beneficial academically, personally, and professionally. All the students who went on this programme want to thank IIM Shillong for providing us this great learning platform. - 4 9

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SAP STORIES 2019 Ayesha Dutta "The experience of a Study Abroad Program is everlasting. It turned out to be one of personal growth and exploration for me. There was cultural enrichment in countries speaking myriad tongues and knowledge gained from out-of-the-box subjects, but what stood out for me most was deep-diving into unchartered terrains galore, which proved to me that I could swim out of any situation. And that's what I'm taking back with me!"

Kunal Aggarwal "IIM Shillong's Study Abroad Program was one of the best experiences I can count. The diverse courses ranged from Intercultural Management to Luxury Marketing, wherein my favorite was Negotiation. Different simulations in the course helped us understand the nitty-gritty of the approach towards Negotiation."

Yash Jain "SAP allowed me to understand business and its management aspect from the global purview. The courses were correctly modeled to facilitate knowledge sharing most efficiently. The tour of Europe was a glimpse of what a fantastic amalgamation of cultures it is. After all, the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

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A Tribute to Late Prof. Tapas K. Giri

By Vishal Gupta (PGP'18) Fondly called by students as 'TKG Sir', he was a Professor of environment management and sustainability with over 22 years of experience. A tall and strong person with a stern expression on his face was the gentlest and sweetest at heart. He genuinely enjoyed the company of students and had a passion for teaching, in every sense. As I fondly remember, he would always address his students as "my dear friends." Also, he remembered every student by their name.

He was the one who organized and accompanied us to what has been termed as the 'Sustainability Trek,' inspiring us to know, appreciate, and preserve nature. A true nature lover, we could always see the disappointment in his eyes whenever we used avoidable paper cups or plastic products, but he never scolded any of his students. Such was he, a man who led by example and did what he preached. He was very blunt and straightforward when it came to the administration's internal matters, always upholding the environment and student's welfare. Fancy presentations never impressed him. Instead, he would always ask for the real difference that we made through our assignments and projects. He was one of the few who raised questions in our minds and motivated us to find their answers. As was John Keatings in the movie 'Dead Poets Society,' he was the real-life figure to his students. With his tragic demise on 17th February 2020, IIM Shillong was bereaved of one of the most prized assets it had. As we lament his loss, we wish that his departed soul rests in peace and pray that the Lord Almighty always be kind to his family.

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A Tribute to Late Prof. Arindum Mukhopadhyay By Akash Verma (PGP'19)

Dr. Arindum Mukhopadhyay strived relentlessly to guide his students toward a deep understanding of his subject. He worked very hard at teaching us to ensure every student felt sufficiently engaged. He had an excellent knowledge of the subject, and he talked to us about the real-world applications of the concepts indepth, well-aware what his students needed to know to do well in the real world. A gentle and jolly figure, he often cracked jokes in the class with his trademark mischievous smile. He was slow to anger and quick to forgive.

While he was strict regarding attendance and administrative affairs, he was also one of the most approachable professors around on campus. One could go up to his cabin and ask for help at any point. Arindum Sir always gave his students time of the day, and he ensured that no student was left behind in the class. Moreover, he was genuinely interested in what the students had to say. He would listen carefully and give out measured and well-thought-out responses. With his tragic and untimely demise on 27 May 2020, IIM Shillong was bereaved of one of the most prized assets it had. As we lament his loss, we wish that his departed soul rests in peace and pray that the Lord Almighty be kind to his family.

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STUDENT CLUBS bITeSys bITeSys, the Systems & Analytics Club of IIM Shillong, aims to provide a platform to unearth professional opportunities for students in the domains of Technology, Analytics & Systems Management by acquiring live projects regularly. The academic year saw many exciting events conducted with students from premier B-Schools participating. The season started with 'JustBidIT' - A Strategy based Gaming and Case Study event, which brought out the analyst in people and provided them with the opportunity to don the hat of a bidder. It was followed by the flagship competition "Sim-bITe," a Spreadsheet Modelling & Simulation contest that tested the participants' decision-making and resource utilization skills. The club also conducted a workshop on Tableau, which imparted cognizance to create attractive dashboards. Students were also allowed to interact with industry experts in the Annual Business Leadership Summit organized by IIM Shillong, focusing on Data Analytics and Smart Businesses as a driver of 5 trillion dollars. The club also organized an Online Treasure Hunt event, which provided a Digital Adventure to the participants.

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SYMPHONY 2020 ConQuest ConQuest, the Consulting Club of IIM Shillong, was founded in 2008 with a vision to be a Centre of Excellence in delivering sustainable solutions to society by acting as a forum for information sharing between the industry and students passionate about strategy and consulting. It strives to equip the students with knowledge and skills to help them assimilate classroom learning and solve real-life industry problems. The Club also has a strong presence across several online platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, which helps it in providing an excellent platform to enthusiasts and enhance its reach among B-school students. The Club has activities around the year attracting student participants from over 65+ B-schools pan India. Consulting Club's flagship event "Paramarsh," received participation from 500 participants across the country, and the tri-annual event Battleground received a massive response with over 400 participants. The Club also helps the student community enrich their knowledge about the economy's performance through the monthly sectoral analysis covering sectors such as automobile, e-commerce, banking, and so on. In the future, ConQuest aims to grow bigger with more reach and initiatives, facilitating more significant interaction between corporate stalwarts and students, building a long-term symbiotic relationship.

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SYMPHONY 2020 E-Cell E-Cell, the entrepreneurship club of IIM Shillong, endeavors to promote the student community's entrepreneurial spirit by providing opportunities throughout the year to explore and test their business acumen. Pratyay and Emerge are the main events that are organized by E-Cell. Pratyay is an annual BPlan competition that provides students the opportunity to put forward their business ideas, present their business plans in a competitive environment, and see how their ideas hold against others, battling it out through various evaluation rounds. Emerge, the entrepreneurial summit is the flagship event of E-Cell. It witnesses entrepreneurs from different industries, and different levels of success share their stories with the students. Through Emerge, the students are provided with insight into the journey of an entrepreneur through the various speakers' experiences. Apart from the illustrious entrepreneur discussions, workshops are organized for the students. As part of Emerge, these workshops aim to help students widen the scope of their learnings through practical exposure to emerging fields in the industry. Apart from these two events, E-cell organizes small competitions and guest lectures throughout the year. We also look for opportunities to engage with local entrepreneurs and bring in live projects for the students.

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SYMPHONY 2020 EcoBiz EcoBiz Club of IIM Shillong is passionate about promoting and practicing sustainable business practices and corporate social responsibility, thereby achieving institutional excellence through its thoughts and actions. We kickstarted the year 2019 with a blood donation drive organized in association with Blood Bank Neigrihms, Meghalaya AIDS Control Society, and Meghalaya State Blood Transfusion Council. Further, Meghalaya State Blood Transfusion Council awarded ECoBiZ Club for organizing the voluntary and non-remunerated blood donation camp. The auspicious day of October 2nd marked the inception of ‘Cleanliness month.’ This is consistent with the vision of making IIM Shillong a plastic-free campus. To promote awareness on the dangers of irresponsible dumping of plastic waste, the club organized a Clean-Up trail from the campus to Fire Brigade, Nongthymmai. The event saw enthusiastic participation from the students and was also featured in The Shillong Times, one of Meghalaya’s prominent newspapers. In line with our continued commitment towards sustainability and environment protection, Ecobiz Club organized tree plantation drives at the old and new campus. The club also participated in the city-wide ‘Operation Clean up Shillong’, organized by The Shillong Times, removing heaps of plastic waste along the Umkaliar River in Nongmynsong.

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SYMPHONY 2020 IIM Shillong Amateur Golf Club In the ‘Abode of Clouds,’ IIM Shillong Amateur Golf Club (IIMSAGC) is among the various clubs across the premier B-Schools in the country. It is the first club in any B-school to host golf practice sessions in the interest of the participants.After its inception in 2012, the IIM Shillong Amateur Golf Club (IIMSAGC) took it up as its mission to augment the interest of students, the faculty members, and the administrative staff towards the game of golf. Hence, the club envisions bringing the game to the institute and making it a part of IIM Shillong’s students’ lives. Thus, it releases ‘Albatross’ the Annual club magazine, which updates students about the happenings in the world of golf and suggests tips for improving their game. It features articles highlighting the importance of golf in life and business. IIMSAGC encourages students to take up this sport and blend their learnings in their lives. The students, often under the supervision of a professional instructor, undergo basic training on playing golf. The practice session involves training on swinging, teeing, putting, chipping, and various tricks essential for playing golf. The IIMSAGC and the Students Council and Volunteers also hosted the Golf Cup Season 12 held on the 7th-8th December 2019 in the Assam Rifles Environmental Park, and Training Area (AREPTA) witnessed participation from 100+ professional players from across the country. IIMSAGC has come a long way, and it continues to spread the spirit of the game of golf among the participants.

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SYMPHONY 2020 Markathon Established to promote marketing fervor among the students of IIM Shillong, Markathon provides a platform for disseminating marketing knowledge and catering to students' marketing enthusiasm. The bi-monthly magazine of IIM Shillong has a readership of more than 10,000. Over the issues, we have also featured exclusive interviews with eminent personalities, as a part of Vartalaap, from the world of business & academia.The club interacted with eminent personalities like Mr. Samar Singh Shekhawat (ex-CMO at United Breweries), Mr. Kapil Arora (President â&#x20AC;&#x201C; North Ogilvy and Mather), Mr. Gaurav Mehta (CMO at GirnarSoft) and Mr. Vijay Kadu (VP Sales â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Business Standard). To build enthusiasm towards marketing outside the classroom, the club also organizes multiple competitions for the students. These competitions are a mix of online & on-ground events. The flagship event of the Club is GodSellers, which is based on the premise that marketing is a lot more than plain sales, which can only be supplemented with market & product deliberation. It is a real market simulation where the participants are evaluated not just on their revenue performance but also on profitability, marketing activities, strategy, and feedback. Other events include - Touchstone, a Case Study competition, Jingstad â&#x20AC;&#x201C; covers two significant events of the club, the War of Brands and Ulta Pulta, X-Marketer: revolves around the core concepts of marketing, branding, and advertising.

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SYMPHONY 2020 Niveshak Established in 2008, as the institute's first club, the finance club has progressively evolved into a strong platform for building a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship between the corporates and the student community. The club's principal activities are to publish the magazine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Niveshak, organize finance knowledge sessions, conduct events, and manage the Niveshak Investment Fund (NIF). NIF is a diversified equity portfolio that aims for growth through a focused and optimally diversified portfolio strategy. The fund seeks to optimize the risk-adjusted return by building a portfolio of large and mid-cap stocks across sectors. This is selected as per a sector choice methodology developed by the club members. The club organizes various events like Findrishti, Dalal street, Comtrade and Finmanch to facilitate learning for students in the domain of finance and economics. In association with ICICI direct, the club also conducts a virtual trading contest â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Stockmind, which encourages the students to learn the nuances of the stock market. The club also partners with various online training academies to encourage students to groom their finance knowledge by registering for finance certification courses, such as flip challenge, Finshiksha, and white knight ventures. Club successfully organized Khlurthma and business leadership summit along with other clubs.

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SYMPHONY 2020 Op-Era Op-Era, the Operations Club of IIM Shillong, has been working to promote an in-depth knowledge of operations management and decision sciences. In the previous academic year, the club successfully conducted events like Oper8- an intra college event, which included fun events and activities consisting of operations and strategy rounds, and Optimus, which resulted in substantial participation from other B- schools. Shrinkhala, a case study competition, was concluded successfully under Khlurthma, IIM Shillongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual management festival. It helps students to engage in various activities and events that help them get the necessary conceptual clarity in operations and supply chain management. It also provide students with a platform to showcase their talent and skills by conducting online competitions. The club takes initiatives to bring live projects from industries as case studies for Opera8 so that students may indulge in solving real-life problems. In the future, it is planning on increasing the number of events and workshops competitions so that students can get a chance to enhance their skillset.

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SYMPHONY 2020 Toastmasters The IIM Shillong Toastmasters club is an extension of Toastmasters International, wherein participants are encouraged to improve their public speaking and communication skills through leadership training. The overwhelming support of the students, the administration, and the continuous guidance from Area Officers have helped in the club's escalated growth. The club conducts weekly meetings where prepared speeches are delivered as per Toastmasters education materials. At the beginning of the session, a workshop was organized on impromptu speaking by Mr. Ayan Pal, recipient of the distinguished Toastmasters award. In September 2018, we hosted a meeting with distinguished guests and mentors, Mrs. Gauri Seshadri DTM, region adviser, and Mr. Prashant Goyal DTM, Program Quality Director, to charter out future planning to accelerate the growth of the club. The club successfully organized events like Speakerazzi, a round table delegate competition, and Pitch perfect, an elevator pitch competition, under Khlurthma and pre-Emerge. Ankit Purohit, a student of PGP 2018-2020, represented our club in the division contest. He bagged the second prize for both the humorous speech and evaluation speech category. The club members are working towards putting our campus' Toastmasters club on the map and helping students become distinguished leaders through self-learning.

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SYMPHONY 2020 usHR usHR, the HR club of IIM Shillong, is a special interest group that unites individuals from the student fraternity to conduct and promote events and activities that enlighten the students about all aspects pertaining to the field of Human Resources. Through activities like quizzes, case-study competitions, the publication of magazines, and organising expert lectures, the members of the club try to spread awareness about the strides taken in the field and ignite a spark of interest in the recent trends and developments made in the field of HR. The club conducts various events and activities; tHRive is a three-round event, in association with Khlurthma- the annual management fest of IIM Shillong. The rounds consisted of an online quiz, case-study competition, and on-campus presentation by the qualifying teams, testing their knowledge, sensory skills, and case analysis merit. Under usHR Week, the club organized various online events like entHRal (case-study competition); crossHR (HR based crossword competition); quizHRia (HR based quiz competition), and offline events like togtHR (simulation-based competition), designHR (poster making competition) and collaboHRate (team-building event). Speakers from the HR field spoke about "Structurally communicating to the internal and external labor market target groups and their influencers to recruit new employees." In the second season of the Business Leadership Summit, that saw top leaders from respected fields invigorating students' minds with their knowledge and real-life experience.

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SYMPHONY 2020 Zeitgeist Zeitgeist is the Quizzing, Literary, and Activities Club of IIM Shillong. The past year saw a flurry of initiatives from the Club - launching the Book Club, new activities like Potpourri and Razzmatazz, and holding various intra-college events like monthly quizzes. The Club also assists the college is hosting the second edition of the Tata Crucible Quiz in Shillong. It is also a founding organizer of the first pan-IIM debate, 'Death by Rebuttal.' The Club sent representatives to participate in Nihilanth, the inter IIT/IIM Quiz Championship and came second amongst all IIMs.Â Zeitgeist is also responsible for Symphony, the Annual Magazine of IIM Shillong, which is distributed to management institutes across the nation. Last but not least, Zeitgeist also presents the Prep Team, whose sole purpose is to help the batches be better prepared for the placement process.We believe Quizzing, Debating, and Dramatics are a culmination of multidisciplinary learning that improves budding minds' overall improvement. The Club's vision is to encourage students to read extensively and keep abreast of current affairs, to aid in the quest of the Institute to become one of the centers of excellence in the country.The Club's mission is to develop, foster, and nurture oratorical, debating, and quizzing culture in the students of IIM Shillong.

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STUDENT COMMITTEES Alumni Committee The Alumni Committee fosters healthy relations between the Alumni and the Institute by generating synergy and collaboration. To enhance the knowledge of students and keep them abreast of the current developments in the industry, the Alumni Committee has been instrumental in organizing online and offline workshops and lecture sessions with the assistance of its alumni. The Committee works to keep the alumni up to date with the college events through our various social media platforms and a monthly newsletter called Campus Connect. We also help in providing students with career guidance by facilitating the formation of mentor-mentee relationships between the Alumni and the students. The Committee conducts an annual Alumni Meet â&#x20AC;&#x201C; MĂŠlange, which sees alumni participation from all the previous batches, the Director, and the members of the Alumni Association. The purpose of the meet is to increase interaction within the alumni and derive the maximum synergy, networking, and camaraderie. The Alumni Committee, in coordination with the Public Relations Cell, organizes 'Nexus' to initiate connections between the incoming batch and the Institute. The event sees participation from the alumni, current batches, and the incoming batch. Apart from this, it also comes out with a yearbook for the outgoing shipment. The Committee is also in the process of getting registered as a non-profit association by the government to enhance its functioning and help bring together alumni in various cities through various chapter meets and events that shall be conducted.

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Cultural Committee The Cultural Committee, also known as the ambassadors of happiness, is the committee responsible for bringing the student community together by organizing and coordinating cultural events in the college. It also tries to bring out the immense talent on campus and develop an interest in extracurricular activities. The greatness of the culture can be found in its festivals. The committee tries to bring smiles and spread joy among the students of IIM Shillong by celebrating every possible festival on the campus. Apart from festivals, the committee organizes various workshops such as Dandiya workshop, The Waltz - a 10-day dance workshop which teaches three dance forms namely Hip Hop, Salsa, and Bollywood. To welcome the incoming batch the committee organizes the freshersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; party and to bid adieu to the outgoing batch, the farewell. The committee initiated Section Wars this year which saw great enthusiasm and became a bonding platform for the incoming batch. The Cultural Committee along with the Student Council organized the first-ever Cultural festival of IIM Shillong â&#x20AC;&#x201C; NIRVANA 2019, which witnessed nationwide participation from various colleges. Thus, the committee tries to maintain the joy and spirit of happiness among the participants.

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Hostel Committee Liaisons between students and administration, the hostel committee at IIM Shillong is committed to creating a home away from home for students enrolled in the two-year residential program. The committee is involved in a plethora of activities from facilitating laundry service, taking care of minor medical issues of the students to acting as representatives for ensuring quality food at the mess. Over the past years, the committee has worked hard to streamline the procurement process of essential items required by the students throughout their stay at the hostels. The committee has also achieved higher efficiency and improved mess related operations through continuous monitoring and discussions with the various stakeholders involved. With significant operations in place, the committee now is coming up with new regulations to improve transparency in the mess and the laundry activities. Additionally, the last two years saw the initiation of 'HossParty, a fun multiple-round event involving participants trying to finish the given food in the least amount of time, be it Pani Puris, spicy Pakodas, cans of cold drinks, or half a kilogram of cake.

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SYMPHONY 2020 IT Committee The IT Committee is IIM Shillongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s student IT support team. The committee is responsible for the fulfillment of the IT requirements of the institute and its participants. The committee functions independently and ensures the smooth functioning of the IT infrastructure.The committee achieves this task by communicating the needs of the student body to the IT administration of the institute, delivering the appropriate solutions to students and faculty members, and enabling unhindered access to the instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IT infrastructure for all. It also assists the placement team during the placement processes. It helps other student bodies of the institute in successfully conducting events such as Podium, BLS, Khlurthma, etc. by providing all necessary technical assistance behind the scenes. On the agenda for next year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we are ensuring state-of-the-art connectivity and a smooth transition to the new campus!

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SYMPHONY 2020 Placement Committee The Placement Committee actively works towards connecting the students with the corporate world and acts as a liaison between the corporate world and IIM Shillong. About the final placements and summer internships, the committee strives hard to achieve a symbiosis between students' talent and the industry's opportunities. It seeks to get the best roles and offers in placements for all students across both batches.Arranging the necessary transportation, infrastructure, and communicating with the corporates regarding any assistance are some of the prerequisites for the placement processes that the committee takes care of, along with assisting the students in all matters pertaining to the different aspects of placements. In addition to these core responsibilities the committee works through the year to understand the emerging trends in the business world by strengthening the existing foundations with the corporates and fostering new relationships by coordinating live projects, corporate competitions, corporate interactions and pre-placement talks thus providing a platform to the students to interact with the pioneers of the corporate world.

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SYMPHONY 2020 Public Relations Cell The Public Relations Cell of IIM Shillong acts as an interface between the institute and different external stakeholders, viz. corporates, the media, and other business schools. It aims to create, foster, and develop professional relationships with each of these entities. To provide the best possible support and guidance to the incoming aspirants, the PR Cell has a presence on forums such as PaGalGuY. On these platforms, various queries arising from the aspirants are managed, and PR Cell acts in collaboration with the institute's admissions team to make sure that requisite information reaches the aspirants well in time.The PR Cell's mandate is to amplify and augment the presence of IIM Shillong among various national and international entities. In this quest, we aim to work towards making external stakeholders aware of the exclusivity that we bring to the realm of management education as one of the premier business schools of the nation. To ensure optimum industry discussion for the institute's participants, the PR Cell conducts 'The Podium,' the annual corporate interaction series at the institute. This year the likes of Principal Economic Adviser to the Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India; COO, Karvy Fintech; Senior Director, Last mile Delhivery, became part of the eminent Podium lecture series of the institute.

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SYMPHONY 2020 Sports Committee The Sports Committee at IIM Shillong is dedicated to providing a much-needed break to the participants from the monotonous B-School routine. It aims at promoting physical fitness among the participants. A range of intra-college activities and tournaments are conducted around the year. BPL-the football tournament, RANBHOOMI- "Battle of the Wings" played across various sports and KOPDA- the Ultimate Cricket league are a few of the significant events. The committee provides an essence of management and the tournaments, where nonsports enthusiasts can also participate. It also encourages the participants to bring their talent to the forefront and conduct trials for participation in various B-School sporting events such as the annual sports festival of IIM Lucknow and FMS, where IIM Shillong won multiple laurels.Â This committee ensures participants learn how to work in a team and emerge victorious in a competitive environment.

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SYMPHONY 2020 Students Council Office bearers of this non-hierarchical team act as an interface between the student community and the administration, dealing with activities that touch every aspect of student life on campus and plays a pivotal role connecting the institute and external parties. The Council also actively assists the institute's administration in conducting the Study Abroad Program. Since the commencement of this program, MoUs have been signed with globally recognized universities in Europe, Singapore & China. The experiences gained from foreign universities' interactions help mold the students to become successful managers with a global outlook. The Student Council organizes the institute's annual fest that comprises the flagship event- IIM Shillong Golf Cup; Khlurthma- the Annual B-School Fest, and Business Leadership Summit (BLS). In 2019, the Council also organized the first-ever Cultural Festival of IIM Shillong â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Nirvana â&#x20AC;&#x201C; along with the Cultural Committee. The flagship events provide an excellent platform for corporates and B Schools to battle it out on the greens and give a hands-on experience to the students, who learn nuances of management by organizing such grandeur. The Annual B-School Fest, Khlurthma, which means "War of Stars," has captured students' imagination, creating a place for itself in the annual calendar of B-School activities across institutes.

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2020

INSTITUTE ACTIVITIES

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BUSINESS LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2018 Business Leadership Summit is the 3-day annual conclave of IIM Shillong. It is graced by experts from all walks of the industry who share their experiences and key insights. The first edition of the Business Leadership Summit was organized at IIM Shillong from September 14-16, 2018. Themed' Refine, Define, and Design Business in a New India,' the three-day conclave hosted 24 experts from six key domains to give students insights into the industry's working and future pathways. In his inaugural address, the governor of Meghalaya, Hon'ble Shri Tathagata Roy, spoke about how leadership was a core aspect of management and motivation. Prof Keya Sengupta, Director I/C in her opening remarks, highlighted the close linkage between industry and academics.

Shri

Prakash

Javadekar,

the

Human

Resource Development Minister of India, congratulated students of IIM Shillong on its first-ever business summit. He emphasized the importance of such conclaves in promoting the start-up and innovation culture in India by bringing together the energetic youth and the experienced industry veterans. Panel discussions centered around topics such as financial assets being the new gold for the Indian middle class, the role of the financial sector in making India a trillion-dollar economy, the transformation of

Industry stalwarts included the likes of Infosys BPM CFO Nishit Shah, Kotak Mahindra AMC CIO- Equity and Sr. EVP Harsha Upadhyaya, and Value Research CEO Dhirendra Kumar. Caterpillar Inc’s Head of Talent Acquisition (Asia Pacific) Mukesh Tiwari, Eastman Auto & Power’s President & Chief Human Resources Office Satyendra Mallik and Business Head (HR) of Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Service Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya, Colgate Global Business Services’ Head HR (India) Ranjeev Lahkar also graced the occasion with their presence. The first edition of IIM Shillong’s Business Leadership Summit thus concluded with the Institute’s students learning through the combined experience of experts from a variety of fields. The young leaders of tomorrow were left with a refreshed sense of motivation to work towards a brighter and smarter India.

HR from an enabling partner to a strategic partner and rebuilding India with a billion human resources, the growing relevance of factoring in behaviors of suppliers, employees and customers in executive decision making, how start-ups are pushing legacy businesses to reinvent themselves, marketing to the burgeoning youth of India and the coming of age digital marketing in India

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BUSINESS LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2019 The institute concluded 2019 on a celebratory note with its flagship events - Business Leadership Summit and Innovative Corporate Engagement spanning between December 6 and December 8, 2019, carving out one more chapter in the history of the college. Chief Minister Conrad Sangma inaugurated the annual Business Leadership Summit of IIM, Shillong. The summit sees top business and corporate leaders discussing ideas that are transforming the regime they work in. Delivering the inaugural address, Mr. Sangma focused on how the institute is assisting the State in

The discussions, which were focused primarily on the

ameliorating its horizons and, at the same time, is being

Indian economy and its path ahead towards becoming a

benefited by the unique essence of the region itself. He

is a business graduate from Wharton School of the

personalities sharing their views in the light of different

University of Pennsylvania. He stressed using business

domains of management studies.

and entrepreneurship to help the State grow leaps and

The panels, headed by Yogesh Basole, Crompton

bounds.

welcomes

Greaves, Samrat Jha, KPMG, Kumar Alagappan, Hewlett

collaborative studies and research by institutes and

Packard Enterprise, Vinayak Joshi, Sterlite among

students

others, focused on a multitude of topics. They touched

formulating its plan and policies to develop the State of

upon the topic related to communicating to the external

Meghalaya best."

and internal labour market target groups and their

Carrying forward the vision that a strong industry-

influences with the aim of recruiting new employees,

academia interaction paves the way for building

investor sentiments as a medley of government policies,

tomorrow's leaders who can inspire the society and

recession,

build the future of our nation, the summit was themed

consumer strategies and advance supply chain and

"Towards a five trillion-dollar economy."

operation strategies in navigating the path to $5 trillion

said,

that

will

"My

administration

facilitate

the

government

trillion-dollar

economy,

protectionism,

saw

and

various

animal,

learned

new

age

Economy.

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SYMPHONY 2020

ZENITH - THE LITERATURE FEST Zeitgeist- the Quizzing, Literary and Activities Club of IIM Shillong initiated Zenith – the Literature Festival, in 2019. It encompassed all sorts of fun activities and events for students, both online and in-campus. The 4-day festival fortified the spirit of frolic and companionship with its own unique temperament at IIM Shillong. The 1st edition of Zenith was conducted from 20th to 23rd February, 2019 offering cash prizes worth 22000 with exciting goodies. Starting with ‘Interview the Villain’, wherein the team had to enact an interview of a famous negative character so as to

portray

its

positive

side,

Zenith

triggered

the

subjectivity behind real/fictional literary characters. This was followed by ‘Potpourri Z.0’, which with their two rounds

‘Not

Dumb

Charades’

and

‘Picture

Enactment’, enlightened the creativity ad coordination of the participant teams. Next in line was ‘Oration Zone’ that brought out the oratory skills of candidates through monologues and turncoat debates. but not the least, ‘Aesthetic

Strokes’,

the

Face

Painting

competition,

succeeded in providing the perfect graphic and dramatic end to Zenith'19

Zenith’20 revamped the well-deserved fun on campus with new forms of entertainment and festivities. It was conducted from 28th to 31st January, 2020 with exciting goodies and cash prizes. With ‘Mini Saga’, an online short-story competition and Kinosseur, a critical movie-review competition, candidates got an opportunity to pen down their inner thoughts and perspectives on a public forum. ‘Mama-Meme-A’ offered the candidates to create their own memes and fight for its popularity on social media, while ‘Popstickle’ put the artistic minds to work to reflect their ideas through ice-cream sticks. On one hand, ‘Potpourri’ continued its stride from last year and on the other hand, Movie Night brought all students together for a super gala time. as ‘General Quiz’ proceeded to test candidates on their knowledge on everything. All in all, Zenith became ‘A Fest So Lit’ for IIM Shillong in no less than two years.

7 5

SYMPHONY 2020

EMERGE 2k18- The Entrepreneurship Summit

E-cell, the Entrepreneurship cell of IIM Shillong hosted

the

seventh

edition

its

flagship

Entrepreneurship summit, ‘Emerge 2k18’. The twoday

summit

centered

around

celebrating

the

Entrepreneurial spirit of the North East, exploring ways to fully exploit its potential. The event started off with an Expert Talk by Mr. Farrhad Acidwalla, Founder, Rockstah Media, where he talked about his journey from an aeromodelling enthusiast to a technology aficionado. “Don’t talk, just do.”, was his advice to the to-be entrepreneurs. A workshop was conducted by Ms. Piyul Mukherjee and Ms. Pia Mollback – Veribic from Quipper Research Private Limited on the importance of knowing end consumers in any business while highlighting the role of Qualitative Research in attaining the necessary insights. A Panel Discussion on

the

emerging

trends

‘Handicrafts

and

Handlooms Industry’, where panelists like Mr. Dhiraj Thakuria (MD of North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation Limited), Mr. Dilip Barooah (Director of FabricPlus Pvt Ltd), Ms. Sakshi Talwar (Founder, Rugs and Beyond), Mr. Sandeep Sangaru (Founder, Sangaru Design Objects Pvt Ltd) and Ms. Sona Puri (Co-Founder and CEO of The Indian Craft House) discussed topics such as digitization,

commoditization

and

branding

handicrafts and the promotion of the industry in the Northeast India.

The second day of the summit began with a Panel Discussion on ‘Fintech. Mr. Anubhav Jain (CoFounder and Head of Risk at Qbera), Mr. Durlov Baruah (Founder, Kuhipaat Payment Solutions), Mr. Nitin Mathur (Director at TAVAGA) and Mr. Visweshwaran Narasimahan (Assistant VP at FSS) as panel members touched on a prevalent problem of reluctance of people to adopt apps and services based on financial assistance and effectiveness of various banking transaction technologies. The Expert Talk by Mr. Amit Kumar Agarwal, Founder and CEO at NoBroker, saw him sharing snippets of his own entrepreneurial journey in a bid

inspire

the

participants.

“Whatever

inconvenience you are facing is a problem, and that is an opportunity which you are searching for.”, said Amit Kumar. Even though the Summit was a two-day affair, the proceedings for the finale had started weeks before with online and on-campus events under the umbrella of PreEmerge. Social media handles of the club were filled

with

competitions

“Selfiesta”

association with Vivo India (uploading a selfie with your loved one and sending them a Diwali greeting)

and

various

other

competitions

organized by the other clubs of the college to generate

buzz

for

EmergE’18.

This

activity

generated a reach of over 45,000 on E-cell's social media handles. -

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SYMPHONY 2020

EMERGE- The Entrepreneurship Summit 2020 E-Cell, the entrepreneurship cell of IIM Shillong,

The Speakers included Prashant Rao Aroor, CEO,

conducted

Emerge,

entrepreneurship Celebrating

the

summit

the

annual

flagship

IintelliStay Hotels, Larsing Ming Sawyan, MD, The

IIM

Shillong.

Centre Point Group, Soumya Dutta, Founder Hatke

entrepreneurial

spirit

the

Stays, Girish Ahirwar, Serial Entrepreneur, Amit

managers of tomorrow, the eighth edition of Emerge

Gautam,

was conducted on the 22nd and 23rd of February.

Gursakhi Lugani, CEO Nakhrewali, Vandeep Singh,

Professor

Shillong,

CFO & Strategic Advisor GBFK Fashion, and

addressed the gathering in the opening ceremony

Ridhinil Roy, CEO NE8X. A workshop by Gunajit

and

Brahma,

D.P.

rekindled

Goyal, the

Director,

spirit

IIM

innovation

and

CEO

Founder

national

Industries,

award-winning

entrepreneur,

we realize that it is not enough to only develop

Success,” who talked about the vital elements that

managers, but entrepreneurs and job providers who

are indispensable in one’s quiver to carve a

are ready to innovate, to grasp the opportunities and

successful business career was also conducted.

remain

The event was also participated by students of

face

the

challenges.

‘Essentials

for

serial

entrepreneurship in the participants. “As a B-School

ready

Pasito

Business

Entrepreneurship is a mindset,” he remarked.

colleges from Shillong.

The inauguration was followed by panel discussions

On the second day of the event, the coveted “Best

with eminent entrepreneurs from across the country

Manager”

centering

around

competition, through three phases of grueling case

landscape

Entrepreneurs”

the

themes

North

East”

which

gave

and the

“Hospitality “The

Young

participants

competition

was

organized.

The

analysis, presentation and interview, checked the

mettle of the participants. The two day event may

perspective on how to counter impediments, failures

be said concluded with the whole of IIM Shillong

and challenges and look for opportunity in their

experiencing

entrepreneurship journey.

innovation and aspiration.

the

spirits

entrepreneurship,

7 7

PODIUM

SYMPHONY 2020

The Podium is the annual corporate interaction series of IIM Shillong. At The Podium, IIM Shillong invites speakers from the corporate world to share their industrial experiences with the students thus helping them to get corporate insights into the various industries that these leaders belong to. Speakers from diverse backgrounds like Marketing, Finance, Operations and HR Domain come every year to share their expertise.

SPEAKERS 2018-19 SESSION 1: Kaustubh Sonalkar, President HR, Essar Group Mr. Sonalkar's agenda focuses on going above and beyond as the disruptive thought designer that he is at heart. His talk further delved into the various facets of a new-age leader, from having the ability to say no to being able to take responsibility for the team's failure. SESSION 2: Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Former CMO, United Breweries Limited Mr. Sheikhawat's sports enthusiast side made the session very interesting as he gave management lessons from the area of sports and his own life. The anecdotes were especially intriguing with examples ranging from Rafael Nadal to Breaking Bad, memtioning the lessons he learnt about humility, showing grit, and not giving up, from the famous personalities he met. SESSION 3: Amit Kasliwal, India Head- Corporate Sales, Ford India Mr. Kasliwal's interaction revolved around the theme of thinking like a CEO. He helped the participants realize the importance of the impact of any Business Leader. This session was very interactive where the participants were involved in replicating the thoughts and aspirations they had in their mind on paper in the form of abstract sketches.

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SYMPHONY 2020

SESSION 4: Rajan Sethuraman, India Chief People Officer at Latent View Analytics Mr. Sethuraman walked the participants through his life journey and how his career has transformed after he graduated. He highlighted that as future managers participants might not always get to do work that requires them to wear suits and coats all the time. He said that there would be times where one is expected to roll up the sleeve and get down into pit mines to get the work done. SESSION 5: Jyotirmoy Mukherjee, Payment Card Professional Mr. Mukherjee's interaction with the participants pertained to the payments and lending industry, during which he spoke about the new India and the growing opportunities in the space of e-payments. The session began with a discussion on the evolution we’ve seen from the barter system to cash and now to digital payments, following which he detailed the types of payments in the economy starting right from government payments and remittances to pre-paid shopping cards. SESSION 6: Ameya Dangi, Chief Operating Officer at Hygienic Research Institute (HRIPL) Mr. Dangi's discussion was on "Digital vs. Traditional Marketing". He emphasized the fact that more and more Indians are gaining access to the internet, and how marketers can leverage the use of the digital platform to reach out to and engage with the consumers. He said, "You need to be very clear on what you’re chasing. Key measures are significant for evaluating your marketing decisions.” Session 7: Sameer Seth, Director, Marketing - India, Dolby Laboratories Mr. Seth conveyed the session on the present trends in the media and communications sector and the science that goes behind marketing a technology brand like Dolby. He touched upon topics like the rising number of Indian television viewership, differentiation factors of TV channels based on urban and rural population, contribution to the total viewership by different channels and content. He discussed the revenue generation model of the media sector and drew a comparison between the American and Indian market. -

7 9

SYMPHONY 2020

Session 8: Sunil Chainani, Former Director, Fabindia Speaking on the topic ‘Inclusive Capitalism’, Mr Chainani opened the session by asking the participants whether they were capitalists. Sharing that he himself is hardcore capitalist, Mr Chainani said, “The only product that I’ve seen people buy regularly because it’s for a good cause is the Christmas cards people buy whose proceeds go to charity”. He also expounded upon the importance of NGOs being transparent in their dealings and for them to set their targets in measurable terms. Session 9: Piyush Chowhan, Chief Information Officer, Arvind Brands Speaking on the topic, ‘Mindful leadership in the Digital Age’, Mr. Chowhan began the session by asking the participants how they believed technology was changing our lives. Sharing striking statistics from studies about the human mind, he spoke about how the ability of our external environment to influence us is increasing in the digital age. He explained how low attention spans and wandering minds have been strongly linked with unhappiness in our lives. Session 10: Unmesh Pawar, Partner, Head - People, Performance and Culture, KPMG Mr. Pawar talked about Geopolitics and its impact on businesses globally, and highlighted that according to KPMG’s India CEO Outlook 2018, 62% CEOs see emerging markets as the biggest priority for geographical expansion. Additionally, he disucssed about how technology holds the potential to disrupt how businesses are run. “It is an era of Personalisation; today we have the likes of Uber and Amazon, such is becoming the baseline expectation from the HR Department of an organization in terms of people experience”, said Mr. Pawar.

Unmesh Pawar

Amit Kasliwal -

8 0

SYMPHONY 2020

SPEAKERS 2019-2020 SESSION 1: Mr Tulasinath K.,Â Mindgate Solutions During the session, Mr. Tulasinath showcased the importance of perseverance through witty anecdotes of personalities in all domains and related them to our lives. He emphasized the importance of ethics in the world, corporate and otherwise, by citing his decisions when he reached crossroads. He ended the Podium with the ten commandments that he drafted through his experience that would help people grow to success. SESSION 2: Mr. Rajeev Singh, COO and Business Head, Karvy Fintech In his address, Mr. Singh shared valuable insights on leadership and corporate management. With an inclination towards finance, he tingled the minds of those who aspire to grow in the corporate finance world. The participants had multiple takeaways from the session in the finance domain. SESSION 3: Mr. Dingtang Tikhak, Senior Director, Last mile, Delhivery Mr. Tikhak shelled out key knowledge on operational management and gave insights on how Last Mile service in Delhivery is transforming. His no nonsense approach aligned with the expectation of participants. The session involved a lot of domain specific question beingÂ asked which he used to turn the event into a highly engaging affair.

Mr. Tulasinath K.

Mr. Dingtang Tikhak -

8 1

SYMPHONY 2020

NIRVANA - ANNUAL CULTURAL FEST IIM Shillong hosted its first ever intercollegiate annual cultural fest ‘Nirvana 2019’ from 22nd to 24th November. The cultural fest saw a culmination of dance, fashion, singing, acting and a plethora of other activities that lifted the spirits of the crowd to another level. With the theme of ‘With True Bliss comes Magic’, Nirvana created magic in all true senses. In its very first edition, Nirvana enchanted the crowd and promised to create a legacy for years to come. These competitions saw the participants bring out the best of their artistic and creative side.

The event kick started on 22nd November

celebrating the spirit, culture, vibes and ethos of the North East all at the Battle of the Bands. The second day at Nirvana saw an enthralling blend of fashion and thought-provoking themes at Glam It Up which witnessed all the glitz and the glam. Nirvana ended on the third day with a ProShow of scintillating performances by popular local bands like Megh Express and Colours. Apart from these events, Nirvana also hosted various competitions for the students like Breakfree – The Dance Competition, Ankahi - The Monoact Competition, Antaragini - The Singing Competition, Fire and Ice -The Duet Dance Competition and Tamasha - The Street Play Competition.

The event was not just a show of the talent but also a testimony to the grit, effort and potential of the organizing team at IIM Shillong that resulted in the huge success of Nirvana in its very first year. The bar has definitely been set high and it can only get bigger and better. -

8 2

SYMPHONY 2020

KHLURTHMA 2018 Khlurthma and the 11th season of Annual Golf Cup were

Adhering to the meaning of Niveshak (Investor), the

conducted together in October. Khlurthma saw the

finance club of IIM Shillong organised “DelFINus”, the

campus abuzz with students from across India eagerly

mock stock event where young investing enthusiasts

participating in competitions organised by the clubs..

participated in an exhilarating stock trading round in an attempt to maximise the value of their portfolios. usHR, the HR club’s competition “entHRal” saw teams presenting their solutions to a case study based on the recent #MeToo movements.

Club ECoBiZ organized “Supernova– Let the brightest minds collide” and presented a chance to the future

“JustBidIT”, a live bidding event organized by bITeSys,

leaders to use their MBA skills to make a difference in

the systems club of IIM Shillong was about devising a

the lives of people. This year’s case study– ‘Improving

strategy in bidding for the weapons and coming up with

Foundational Outcomes’– invited students to analyse

a game plan to attack the opponents.

and provide solutions to improve the current state of

Zeitgeist, the Quizzing, Literary, and Activities Club of

education in India.

IIM Shillong organised “Coup-De-Grâce – The Great

Op-Era, the Operations Club, saw eight teams from five

Indian Debate” which saw five teams battling it out on

colleges igniting their grey matter to come up with

two of the most critical issues of our generation–

ideas for optimizing operations in a highly competitive

climate change and refugee crisis.

ecosystem through their flagship event Shrinkhala. The case required them to assist NutriMeal Food Solutions to go pan India. “Corona”, the event organised by Conquest– the consulting

club,

was

about

understanding

and

analyzing the integration and impact of Aadhaar Card in the Indian economy through a case study. “Touchstone”, organised by Markathon, the Marketing Club saw teams addressing problems ranging from target markets, pricing, distribution, competition, packaging and brand endorsements.

8 3

SYMPHONY 2020

KHLURTHMA 2019 Diversity at its best? Day 2 carried the competitive energy forward with events organized by Conquest, Markathon and Op-Era. Core functions of management being tested on the same day. Some teams crumbled in front of the pressure applied by the learned jury members, other rode it to make podium finishes. The audience at no point could guess where the results might sway. Triumphant high-fives were exchanged all day long. Nirvana had started by now, which offered a much-needed rest from the intensity of competition! Khlurthma 2019, the annual management fest, came like it always does with the cherries in full blossom and the temperature falling. The temperature inside the rooms, however, kept rising on all three days with intensely fought events, and shades of pink were replaced with a shade of the competitive-red.Day 1 started with a vibrant inauguration of the event in the presence of all the members of the IIM Shillong fraternity including the director Prof. DP Goyal, after a tree-plantation drive. The stage was then set for EcoBiz and Niveshak to organize the first competitions of the festival. One asked the competitors to present plan for a sustainable city, the other asked them to pitch one stock against

The final day was bittersweet. Sweet memories made by

another.

teams who won in the competitions organized by bITeSys, Zeitgeist and usHR. Sweet respite from the competition, yet again, by Nirvana. Bitter because as the final results were declared and the final jury memberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s constructive criticisms were heard and the final teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winning fist-bumps were thunderously applauded by everyone in the audience, the idea that it was all over for another year sank in. The War of Stars, fought well, again; Glorious, again; Will be back, again.

8 4

SYMPHONY 2020

ANNUAL GOLF CUP 2018 Day 2 also had the morning tee off at 6 from four different tee boxes of the course. This day involved the active participation of golfers from the corporate world drawn from places like Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai. The corporate honchos included Shri Mithesh Jain, Shri Gopalakrishnan and Shri Vinay Gajakosh. The second day also marked the prize distribution ceremony and valedictory program which was attended by the Governor of Meghalaya, Shri Tathagata Roy as Chief Guest. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Roy said, “First I was a teacher at Jadavpur University before taking on Khlurthma and the 11th season of Annual Golf Cup were conducted together in October. The Golf Cup saw the massive participation of over 200 golfers competing in different categories. This 2-day event was preceded with a Day-0 that witnessed the participants of IIM Shillong playing for the student category. This season marks the beginning of the inclusion of a student category in the game. Both the days were scheduled to accommodate teams from all over the country including professional golfers, corporates, the army officers and the air force officers. This brought in tremendous diversity and aided the students in networking with the best with them. Day 1 began with the teeing off at 6 in the morning by the army officers and witnessed the official inauguration at 9 by the Health Minister of Meghalaya, Shri A L Hek. The first day hosted participants including professional golfers and the juniors. Professional golfers from across the country came for the tournament. Others in the tee off included the Golf captain of the Shillong Golf Club, Shri Rahul Bajaj, Shri Batkupar Synrem and players like R C Saxena IGP (Retd) BSF, Col N N Singh amongst many. Apart from these players, the game was also extended to the Junior category attracting budding

public work, hence, it is always a pleasure to talk to students. Management, golf and Shillong is all I wanted to talk about as we have people gathered from all across the country who have contributed to finally make the tournament a grand success.” Shri Hector Marwein with a cumulative 2-day score of 151 emerged as the Overall Winner of the tournament and was presented with the Green Jacket sponsored by Shri M T Jatani, Style Craft Shillong. The other winners included Dr. Dilip Nadkarni Bombay Presidency Club , Shri Kailash Joshi from Jaipur , Shri Ashish Chemburkar and Vikram Sahgal from Bangalore. The Chairman of Board of Governors of IIM Shillong, Shri Shishir Bajoria appreciated the efforts of the students and said that the students are the future movers and shakers of the country. He complimented the organizers and said, “Conducting a tournament for 11 seasons consecutively is no mean task, and has been achieved only through sheer commitment. Thanking the golfers and business leaders, Director I/C Prof Keya Sengupta said, "By participating in the tournament, you have become part of the extended IIM Shillong family. Golf adds value in terms of academics and enhancing interaction with the corporates, which is very important for an IIM."

talent from golf clubs all over the country.

8 5

SYMPHONY 2020

INNOVATIVE CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT MEET 2019 While on one side, the leadership summit

was

being

parallelly

organized

Innovative

Corporate

concluded, was

the

Engagement

meet at the Assam Rifles Golf course which saw the participation of avid golfers including players from the corporate

world,

armed

forces,

professional golfers from across the region and country and students of

the institute, showing their sporting spirits and mastery of golf skills. The innovative meet really lived to its name where the students who are generally going through the rigorous process of the management school got to meet with eminent corporate personalities and top-notch officials and fathom their view on various pivotal issues which are shaping the world, we are living in. Both the events finally concluded in the State Convention Centre in the presence of Chief Guest A L Hek, Meghalaya Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Atul Kulkarni, member of the board of governors, senior officials of the armed forces and other dignitaries. Delivering the valedictory address, Shri Hek remarked, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Meghalaya is a land of beauty and great opportunities. I invite you, the corporate leaders, to seriously look at investment opportunities here. We remain grateful to the innovative methods employed by IIM Shillong, to bring in corporate leaders under one spectacular meet.â&#x20AC;? Director, IIM Shillong, Prof. D P Goyal felicitated the winners of the Innovative Corporate Meet and talked about how both the programmes have helped the institute give its students a practical and pragmatic look towards the society and have helped them shape opinion based on informed vies and advice.

8 6

SYMPHONY 2020

‘Be The Change’ Initiative at IIM Shillong IIM Shillong hosted a public lecture on “Psychology of Social Movements” delivered by Prof. U. Vindhya, Jt. Director and Head of Gender Studies at TISS. The lecture was organized as a part of the ‘Be The Change’ initiative which is the brainchild of Professor Sanjeeb Kakoty. The initiative marks the beginning of challenging the status quo and making a change as students and global citizens starting 'here and now'. Prof. Vindhya conveyed a talk on the psychology and sociology behind social movements. The session had a healthy exchange of views on revolutionary and radical movements in history of our country of religious, resistance and reform genres. The concepts in mass mobilization like frustration and aggression hypothesis, attributional orientation and grievance-identity reasons were discussed. The mob mentality and psychology behind protests since the evolution of mankind with the examples of India’s war of Independence, China-Hong Kong protests and the Tibetan suicide methodology of protests were talked about. In addition to that the increase of participation of women as Naxalite insurgents, followed by the arising need to understand the evolving role of women such movements was taken up for discussion. Prof. Vindhya conferred with the students and faculty on various such issues that are seldom discussed or taken up for debates in the normal context. -

8 7

SYMPHONY 2020

World Students' Day Celebration "World Student's Day marked the beautiful gossamer of relationship between the missile man of India and IIM Shillong" October 15 marks one of the most significant days engraved into the history of IIM Shillong. The day which marks the birth anniversary of former President of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam as well as World Student’s day marks the beautiful gossamer of relationship between the missile man of India and IIM Shillong. To commemorate Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the institute hosted the 4th Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam lecture series with Padma Bhushan awardee and former chairman of ISRO Dr K. Radhakrishnan as the chief guest; and Dr. Raju, Director, NESAC; Shri D. Prakash, IG, CRPF and Ms. Patricia Mukhim, Editor, The Shillong Times as other honorable guests. The event kickstarted with an inaugural address by Prof. Keya Sengupta, Dean of Academics at IIM Shillong followed by an introduction letter by Prof. Sanjoy Mukherjee. Later, the honorable Chief Guest, Dr. K. Radhakrishnan took the stage and commenced his lecture on “India and the New Space Age”.

Dr. Radhakrishnan started by reminiscing about his own tryst with Dr. Kalam and talked about how Dr. Kalam motivated everyone to work towards perfection and achieve more than they could image. Moving ahead, he talked extensively about the management principles applied in ISRO, and how ISRO, despite being faced with a galore of problems continues to excel because of its state-of-the-art management principles and backed his talk with management lessons ranging from Aryabhatta, India’s first satellite to Chandrayaan-2. He also took up the prospects of Gaganyaan mission. Later, he took part in a constructive discussion with the participants and answered their questions from areas regarding space laws and regulations, and new ventures in the same. Dr. Radhakrishnan’s speech was followed by the release of the first official newsletter of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Center for Policy Research and Analysis at IIM Shillong. Formed as part of a tripartite agreement between Ministry of DoNER, North Eastern Council and IIM Shillong, the center works towards formulating policies for the north eastern states of India. The program further concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Prof. SN Bhattacharya on behalf of the institute.

8 8

SYMPHONY 2020

PGPEX-MBEE 8th Batch Inauguration IIM

Shillong

inaugurated

Graduate

The Chief Guest for the event, Shri. Jayajyoti

Program for Executives with a focus on Managing

Sengupta, Head APJ, India & Middle East, Board

Business in Emerging Economies (PGPEx-MBEE) on

Member of Cognizant Asia Pacific Geographies,

22nd January, 2020.The eighth edition of Post

Singapore, started with a quote by Dr. APJ Abdul

Graduate Program for Executives started with an

Kalam, ‘Dream is not what you see in your sleep,

Invocation

dream is something which doesn’t let you sleep’.

program overview by the Chairperson of PGPEx-

He delivered a well-received speech on hyper

MBEE, Prof. Rohit Joshi. The current batch has an

individualization of businesses, increasing advent

average work experience of 6.5 years and a rich

of hybridization of skills and the impact of

academic and gender diversity.

technology and digitization in today’s world. “The

The focus of the program is on the emerging

world has changed and what has changed is also

economies of the world primarily China, Indonesia

driven by the full advent of new form of

and Bangladesh. The mission of the MBEE program

business,” he remarked while also touching upon

is to enable the students to have an edge in

the sea change that companies and platforms

managing

emerging

such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, NetFlix and

economies with superior education and enriching

Google, otherwise known as the FAANG Network

cross culture experience. Highlighting the funnel

have brought to human lives.

approach introduced in the course that starts with

Talking about how businesses are transforming

a bird’s eye view and converges into a worm’s eye

and sustainable development is fast becoming a

view,

board room topic, Shri Sengupta encouraged the

Prof.

transnational

ensuring

holistic

the

Post

Mukhopadhyay

business

development

and

the

participants, Pro foshi added that the core courses

new

participants

for

the

journey

ahead

focus is on analytics, data design and operations

returning to the next course of formal education,

research while the advanced courses pan on value

while remaining sensitive to the subject of

chain management, growth strategy, innovation

sustainability in all spheres. “It is only when we

and business leadership. The elective courses will

put all the three things together, that is learning,

ensure the application of the knowledge acquired

technology and sustainability, will we be able to

in the core and advanced courses to precision.

make the limited human being limitless.” he

Prof. D. P. Goyal, Director of IIM Shillong while

concluded. The event concluded with oath taking

welcoming the new batch emphasized, “There is

by the 27 new entrants and presentation of

the need to transform you, the already experienced

memento by Prof. D. P. Goyal to the Chief Guest.

managers into value based and responsible leaders through a learner centric and diversified pedagogy, and your transitioning journey commences from here on.”

8 9

SYMPHONY 2020

NURTURING MINDS Nurturing Minds is a unique initiative by the students of IIM Shillong; it is backed by the inspiration to carry forward Dr. Kalam’s teachings and spread his word. The initiative is an attempt to give back to the society, help the community and keep the spirit of ‘igniting minds’ alive. It aims at teaching and touching lives of young, underprivileged students, to facilitate etter learning, foster self-confidence and improve academic performances. The volunteers use innovative teaching aids and eveloped infrastructure facilities of the college to connect with the locals and assist the young minds to think effectually and mentor them to perform better. Through nurturing minds, we aim at not only illuminating lives but also enlightening and keeping the spark alive. Nurturing Minds, which began with a mission to teach underprivileged school children of Shillong, has blossomed and flowered into a movement that has galvanized the entire IIM Shillong community. Through this venture, the student volunteers of IIM Shillong teach about 60 students of seven schools on every weekend. The initiative that started on October 15, 2015, the birth anniversary of late Dr Kalam, with a handful of students and three schools, has managed to facilitate learning and reach out to several children. About six schools from Shillong and one school from Puriang, are associated with the program, wherein classes are conducted through innovative visual aids and ingenious teaching methods.

The objective of the program is to encourage learning and help nurture creativity amongst the students, just as Dr. Kalam had envisioned.The program recognises that children are future thought builders of this country. Being cognizant of the same, there are programs designed to hone their communication skills and to introduce and acquaint them to the limitless possibilities of the outside world through the infinite world of mathematics. The idea is to facilitate unburdened and joyous learning. The initiative apart from teaching students has also helped school children in ideating practical and feasible science projects, and the volunteers are also working towards helping schools associated with the program better manage their day to day operations and become administratively sound. The future goals of the program would be to extend its compass, reach out to more schools and children, help them grow more holistically, and work in tandem with the school authorities to create a conducive learning environment. The program is geared towards bringing a sustainable and enduring change, one that ensures that students of Shillong are better equipped to achieve their dreams, just as Kalam Sir intended of doing.

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STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENTS

SHUBHI JALANI

SYMPHONY 2020

20TH EDITION OF ADITYA BIRLA GROUP SCHOLARSHIPS

The Aditya Birla Group scholarship is offered to the top students from leading IITs, IIMs and NLUs of the country in the quest of recognizing the leaders of tomorrow, today. What distinguishes this scholarship from many others is that it not only recognizes mere academic excellence but also the values that make up a person.Â 36 participants were shortlisted from IIM Shillong. Two participants, Shubhi Jalani and Vasundhara Singh moved on to the final interview round held at Mumbai. The interviews involved understanding how well the particpants knew themselves and the reasons for the varied choices made in life. Shubhi Jalani was selected as the scholar for the year from IIM Shillong. Shubhi is inclined towards social work. Her interests include spirituality and a passion for making a difference through improving healthcare in the country. Her unconventional degree in International Relations from JNU coupled with my years of volunteering and the impact of the NGO that she helped found, singled her out. She was the only non-engineering participant in the management category to have received the scholarship.

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ARUMUGA VINAYAGAM, G VIDYA, JANANI RC & PRANISHAA R PRAKASH

SYMPHONY 2020

YES BANK FUTURE READY SCHOLARSHIP

TATA STEEL-A-THON

Arumuga Vinayagam S was the only participant from IIM Shillong (PGP18) to be awarded the YES Bank Future Ready Scholarship for this year. The scholarship was awarded after a through scrutiny of thousands of profiles selected from top B-schools and engineering schools across the country. The second round consists of a perfectly curated aptitude and competency assessment post which a telephonic interview with the senior leadership decided the top 30 in the country. The perks include a mentorship from Yes Bank’s top management, a PPI opportunity and scholarship money. Arumuga had the opportunity of working with Yes Bank on some of the live projects related to sustainability as a part of the program.

Team ‘Steal the Steel’ from IIM Shillong consisting of Arumuga Vinayagam, G Vidya, Janani RC and Pranishaa R Prakash from PGP 18 were declared the Second Runnersup at the Grand Finale of Tata Steela-thon held at Kolkata. The team worked on the case study ‘Embracing Digital in Communication’ and the team provided a 360-degree solution keeping in mind the different stakeholders of Tata Steel. Having emerged as campus winners, the team developed a website and created a video of their solution that had a huge impact. The team also had the opportunity of interacting with a mentor assigned from the specific division who gave valuable insights that helped the team develop the idea further and make it more concrete. -

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INDRASIS ROY, SABYASACHI DASGUPTA, SUBHABRATA MUKHERJEE & SUBHRAJYOTI SAHA

SYMPHONY 2020

AAKASH SAXENA, ANURAG SUGANDHI AND JYOTISMAN SHARMA

MAHINDRA WAR ROOM SEASON 11 The 11th season of Mahindra War Room had the following teams emerging as campus winners – Team 'Brave New World', Team 'El Diablo' and Team 'Praetorians'. The national finalists, Team Praetorians, comprised of Indrasis Roy, Sabyasachi Dasgupta, Subhabrata Mukherjee, and Subhrajyoti Saha. The team had the power of consulting, strategy, marketing and logistics. The work done previously by some of the team members in engineering electronics and combination in automotive sector was a thing to consider while selecting and solving the case. Previously, the team had also been part of a change in the energy sector that had proved to be quite successful for them.

AMAZON ACE Team Hashtag, comprising IIM Shillong PGP 2017 participants Aakash Saxena, Anurag Sugandhi and Jyotisman Kashyap Sharma were declared the runners-up for the Amazon Ace case study competition. The team’s approach was not to directly go into a solution for the given problem, rather to try and analyse all the factors that lead to the problem and then work on both proactive and reactive measures that can be taken to tackle it. They used machine learning and Six Sigma tools to solve the case.

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ANSHU PRIYADARSHI AND LAKSHYA KUKREJA AAKASH SAXENA, ANURAG SUGANDHI AND JYOTISMAN SHARMA

SYMPHONY 2020

HINDU BUSINESS LINE'S BLOC CASE STUDY CHALLENGE PGP 17 participants Anshu Priyadarshi and Lakshya Kukreja were the thirdrunners up in The Hindu Business Line's BLoC Case Study Challenge. The participants recommended solutions for 7Weaves, which works with weavers in Assam, by highlighting how the business can stay sustainable while increasing profit shares for the company and artisans.

RELIANCE TUP 4.0 Clearing the zonal face off rounds, Team Hashtag emerged as national finalists for The Ultimate Pitch 4.0 hosted by Reliance. The team comprised of Aakash Saxena, Anurag Sugandhi and Jyotisman Kashyap Sharma. They created a sustainable yet scalable idea that could provide employment to many in the form of a Bamboo Cycle. Impressing the grand jury with their idea they won the Special Award.

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RAGHAV AGARWAL & AMIT KUMAR DAS

SYMPHONY 2020

ICICI BANK BEAT THE CURVE

PGP17 participants Raghav Agarwal and 'Amit Kumar Das emerged as National Winners, among over 1100 of India's brightest students from 23 B-schools, in ICICI Bank's marquee campus case study competition – Beat the Curve. The team visited villages and learned about the banking problems faced by them. A defined change was brought about through this competition. The team underwent a rural immersion program and realised issues at the ground level. This helped them work out how best to integrate their solutions to help rural areas prosper.

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GARIMA SINGH NAHAR

SYMPHONY 2020

ALL RUSSIAN YOUTH FAR EAST EDUCATIONAL FORUM It has been an event of extreme pride and honour for the college that one of its students, Garima Singh Nahar, represented India as a part of 4member delegation in All Russian Youth Far East Educational Forum â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vostokâ&#x20AC;? in Vladivostok organized towards development of far east region of Russia. This 9-day long forum witnessed 550 Russian & fifty foreign attendees, including many Government officials, students, businessmen, and potential investors, who presented their ideas & propositions including their individual projects towards a developed Far East Russia.

Being a proud student of Indian Institute of Management, Shillong, known for its prime focus on integrated Sustainability Movement, Garima utilized this platform to present a business project on Sustainable Infrastructure Alternatives and proposed the same as an exemplary initiative towards global environment sustainability recognizing the scale of upcoming infrastructure in the region. This project was subsequently selected as one of the top 20 projects where she also got the opportunity of presenting a pitch deck to Russian Government, Investors and other Dignitaries.

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ANANTH ACHARYA

SYMPHONY 2020

21ST EDITION OF ADITYA BIRLA GROUP SCHOLARSHIPS The twenty-first edition of the Aditya Birla Group Scholarships took place in 2019, with twenty participants from IIM Shillong shortlisted for the first round of the process. Three of the twenty were selected for the interviews held in Mumbai in September 2019. Ananth Acharya, Isha Piplani, and Pratyush Joshi faced a highly esteemed panel of judges at the interview stage, consisting of Ms. Kaku Nakhate, the President and Country Head (India) of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Mr. Rajat Gupta, a Director at McKinsey & Company, Inc.; Mr. Prashant Sarin, a Partner at Bain & Company, India Pvt Ltd, and Ms. Zohra Baig, a Senior Manager at the Aditya Birla Group. They were asked questions ranging from their childhood dreams to their interests and hobbies and what they saw themselves doing in the future. Ananth Acharya was selected as the scholar from IIM Shillong for the year. The participants also had the opportunity to interact with the judges for the engineering and law scholarships – Mr. Dipak Misra (Retd. Chief Justice of India), Mr. Anoop Mohta (Retd. Justice, Bombay High Court and Senior Advocate, Supreme Court), Dr. Menaka Guruswamy (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India), Ms. Zarin Daruwala (CEO, Standard Chartered Bank), Prof. GD Yadav (Vice Chancellor, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai), and Dr. Arnab Bhattacharya (Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research). This being the 21st edition, the group had also organised an alumni meet of all the previous scholars, including our very own Shubhi Jalani (PGP’18) and Anusha Ramachandran (PGP’17), among other previous scholars including current IAS officers and senior engineers and partners at multinational companies and firms.

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YOGESH VERMA AMAN AGRAWAL & SHISHIR GUPTA

SYMPHONY 2020

PEPSICO DARE TO DO MORE 2019 (WINNING ENTRY)

PEPSICO DARE TO DO MORE 2019 (NATIONAL RUNNERS UP)

PepsiCo Dare to Do More (DTDM) is a 5-stage challenge wherein the main objective of the challenge was to change the pace of sustainability for the FMCG business. The challenge required us, students, to come up with an idea to help PepsiCo be “Faster, Stronger, Better” with your big idea that accelerated the company’s efforts in sustainability. Students could choose from water, agriculture, or waste management to formulate their ideas. Yogesh worked on an idea related to Water Stewardship, and he had the opportunity to present his plan in front of the PepsiCo senior leadership team. He was declared the first runner-up from over 12000 participants across the entire country.

Ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things through hard work, a vision to succeed, patience, and an unstoppable passion for the job. These are the four things that helped Aman Agrawal and Shishir Gupta in their journey from 12000+ registrations to being the 2nd Nationals Runners-Up of PepsiCo Dare To Do More 2019. Being the students of IIM Shillong, which is famous for its sustainability practices, they always wanted to help nature by their work and created their sustainable solution on how to minimize the use of plastics on the whole value chain of the products.

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SIDDHANT, AAKASH & RISHAB ABHISHEK GAUTAM

TATA POWERQUEST A team comprising of Siddhant Samal, Aakash Reyon Tirkey, and Rishabh Singh were declared the national winners of Tata PowerQuest. Tata PowerQuest is an annual BSchool competition organized by Tata Power. The case study competition required the participants to propose a marketing campaign for the new businesses of Tata Power. The competition had two rounds. In the first round, the participants had to send their detailed plan of action in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. Top 5 submissions made it to the next round that was the final round. The final round was held in the Tata Power corporate office in Mumbai where participants presented their solutions to the various business heads of Tata Power.

SYMPHONY 2020

BLOCKCHAIN COUNCIL STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Abhishek Gautam was declared the winner of Blockchain Council Student Scholarship Program. The challenge involved a 1000+ word article submission on Blockchain technology. Since the topic was quite broad, he chose to summarize all the developments since the inception of Blockchain, how the technology works, and current application along with its scope in the future. He appeared for a telephonic round interview, post-selection through the 1st round of article shortlisting. The telephonic round was a 10 min conversation focused mostly on the CV, educational background, and how this scholarship could benefit him in his current curriculum. -

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SIMRAN MIGLANI, ADITYA MALHOTRA, RISHI AHUJA, JANANI RC AKASH DWIVEDI, KANIKA GAUR AND VINTI SINGLA

MAHINDRA WAR ROOM SEASON 12 Team Upper Cut comprising of Simran Miglani, Aditya Malhotra, Rishi Ahuja, Janani RC finished as the second runners-up in the 12th season of Mahindra War Room. The competition throws in a total of 4 rounds, with higher level management evaluating at every successive round and The Grand Finale being graced and judged by the jury comprising Mahindra top management. The team developed a strong business proposal to a real- life problem at Mahindra Group.

SYMPHONY 2020

RELIANCE TUP 5.0 A team comprising of Akash Dwivedi, Kanika Gaur and Vinti Singla were able to secure a position among the National Finalists of Reliance TUP 5.0. The Competition has a total of 4 rounds where 2875 teams across 72 different B-schools participated, and Team Innovvators were able to secure a position among the top 14 teams with their sustainable, innovative, affordable and promising solution to address an existing real-world problem. The journey started with an innovative idea of using a local product to offer Clean drinking water in a competition revolving around “It’s Time to go Beyond”. The final round was a two days event held in Reliance Corporate Park, Mumbai where all 14 teams got an opportunity to present their ideas with their product prototypes to a panel of CXOs. -

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SHAMANTH MK & KOMALANGI SRIVASTAVA

SYMPHONY 2020

TITAN ELEVATE 6.0

Shamanth M K and Komalangi Srivastava of PGP '19 reached the semi-finals of Titan Elevate 6.0, which saw over 5000 plus registrants and over 500 submissions to the theme of Digital Disruption. Post the first-round screening, half a dozen teams from each top B-School were shortlisted to present their idea to the Titan Panel. The winner of the Campus round from each institute competed with each other on the National level at Titan Corporate office in Bangalore. 12 teams took part in the semi finals and 6 made it to the finals.

The 12 teams from various top B Schools got the opportunity to interact with the Chief Digital Officer and Titan who drove the discussion to bring out as many innovating avenues as possible. Titans imminent problems were discussed and possible futuristic solutions were discussed. The semi final round was a 20minute detailed pitch of how each one's idea could make a difference. The final round witnessed all the CxOs of Titan being impressed by the ideas that came out from Elevate 6.0

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AKASH VERMA & AKSHAY DESAI RUSHABH MENON & SABREESH S

SYMPHONY 2020

TATA CRUCIBLE CAMPUS QUIZ 2019

TATA CRUCIBLE CAMPUS QUIZ 2020

The team of Rushabh Menon and Sabreesh S representing IIM Shillong emerged 5th nationally in the Tata Crucible Business Quiz from among 10000 teams. Their journey started at the Shillong qualifiers where they held off competition from teams from Shillong to Silchar to emerge victors. The next challenge was at the Kolkata regional finals, with teams across the eastern region and questions across the spectrum of business. They finished runners up at this stage, and moved onto the national finals at Mumbai. The finals held at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was one of a kind, with teams across the nation competing for the grand prize, with the team finally finishing fifth.

A team comprising of Akash Verma and Akshay Desai won the regional finals of Tata Crucible Campus Quiz 2020 held at Guwahati. Close to 200 people were part of the Guwahati round. The final anchored by favourite quizmaster Pickbrain saw questions that were well researched from both the north east and the east at large. That stumped the teams a little as they were used to a more global business quiz. The quiz focused on all aspects of business and the basic concepts of management. The IIM Shillong team started well and maintained very good pace not letting any of the teams to overtake them.

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AKASH GUPTA & B S S PRAMOD AKASH VERMA, AKSHAY DESAI & RUSHABH MENON

FUTURE GENERALI INDIA LIFE INSURANCE - GET SET GO. Akash Gupta and B S S Pramod were declared the national winners of the annual corporate competition by Future Generali India Life Insurance - Get Set Go. The competition saw registrations from over 4000 students. The team had to come up with a marketing strategy for the company using 7Ps in a PowerPoint presentations. They presented their strategy to the top management of the company. At the final round, there were only 3 teams and the round happened via video conference. The students were given Pre-Placement Offers for Summer Internships for winning the competition.

SYMPHONY 2020

SBI NUMERO YONO QUIZ A team from IIM Shillong consisting of Akash Verma, Akshay Desai, and Rushabh Menon were declared the first runners-up in the regional round of SBI Numero Yono Quiz conducted in Guwahati. The quiz, organized by the State Bank of India, saw participation from nearly 600 students from Guwahati and other cities. 8 teams made it to the Guwahati finals after a grueling preliminary round. The finals saw participants facing a barrage of questions from myriad topics, ranging from current affairs to cinema to sports. The team from IIM Shillong finished as the first runners-up in a very closely fought contest. -

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IRIDESCENT & STEVERINO

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CLASS O IRIDE

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F 2019 SCENT

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CLASS O STEVE

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OF 2020 RINO

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ZEITGEIST|IIM SHILLONG

IIM Shillong, Mayurbhanj Complex, Nongthymmai, Shillong- 793014 Ph- 0364 230 8000 Website- iimshillong.ac.in

AUGUST

2020