The gloomy weather could do little to dampen the spirits of the crowd that had gathered in front of the auditorium to celebrate the 63^rd Independence Day of our country.  The flag was hoisted by our Director Dr. Shekhar Chaudhuri, followed by the National anthem being sung proudly.

This was followed by the Director’s address. He began by paying tribute to the freedom fighters and  martyrs had who had fought with unswerving conviction and great courage  for our freedom. He followed it up by explaining how  institutions like ours play a large a role in shaping the future of the nation, and detailed the steps that the institute has taken to further its pursuance of its vision and mission.

Our Dean, Prof. Saibal Chattopadhyay inspired the gathering with his moving speech, calling people to fight the problems that surround us today. “Come, let us work for a more balanced, equitable society. Let the fruits of development reach the deprived and the minorities. Come, let us unite in this mission” were his closing lines.

We also had motivating speeches by the PGP Chairman – Prof. Prashant Mishra, Student  Affairs Committee Chairman, Prof. Manish Thakur and the IIM C Employees Union President.

Finally the Student Council President, Mr. Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh gave a short address urging us to introspect on what we have given back to the country. “The government spends a colossal amount of money on education institutions like ours. This money has a huge opportunity cost – it could be spent on drought relief or rural health care- with immediate benefits, saving the lives of thousands. As students of a premier government institute, we need to justify this expenditure. How much have we given back? This is an opportunity for us to think, to introspect and make the choices that shall enable us to one day, on another Independence day decades hence, stand tall and hold our heads high, proud and content that we have done more than what was expected of us”

The speech was followed by performances by JBS-BaroC (The Music Band of IIM Calcutta), the Dramatics Cell and the Choreography club. JBS started their show with “Praan” – with lyrics from Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Gitanjali’. This was followed by ‘Yeh Jo Desh Hai Tera’ – from Swades. This song, with its powerful lyrics, and sung in Tejveer’s resounding voice, struck a chord with every person present in the auditorium. The final song performed was Vande Mataram – A mix of JBS’s self composition on Desh Raag, along with Rehman’s ‘Vande Mataram Revival’. The hair-raising performance was definitely one of JBS’s best.  Bhuvan Prasad Atluri (Violin), Paul Savio (Keyboard) and Sarang Shahane (Jal Tarang) deserve a special mention for their efforts.

The dramatics cell performed a short play titled ‘Ali never cries’, that held the audience spell-bound for close to 45 minutes. Aayush Srivatsava conceptualized the storyline around last year’s Mumbai terrorist attacks. The main character Ali ,played by Naresh Krishnaswamy, took the audience deep inside the mind of a terrorist. A scene of Shalimar gardens in Kashmir with snow-fall was brilliantly set up. The Dram Cell, known for the perfection and quality of every play it performs, not only lived up to all the expectations, but also raised its reputation a notch higher. The enraptured crowd gave a standing ovation for this performance.

Finally, the choreography club performed a robust and energetic dance for ‘Vande Mataram’. That concluded the official Independence Day celebrations at IIM Calcutta.

But the questions raised, and the thoughts sown, will remain with us and fuel our actions for years to come.

For Jokatimes

Guhan M

1. SpellCheck Says:
   August 19th, 2009 at 8:30 am

   The director’s name is spelt `Shekhar Chaudhuri’.

2. Indra dhanu Says:
   September 16th, 2009 at 3:14 am

   Can we have some videos of the performances on you tube..
   if they are already there
   then can we have some links

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   June 1st, 2010 at 6:00 am

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