Summer has come and passed, and the latest generation of Jokaites, having returned from stints across the seven seas, has successfully shown its pedigree by wowing corporate honchos across the world. Be it international I-banks, global marketing conglomerates, blue-chip consultancies or cutting-edge technology firms, the presence of just one of the lineage of Joka has been more than enough to turn the stingiest of scrooges into Vito Corleones. The race is on between the number of days gone by in the latest academic year and the number of pre-placement offers/interviews and so far, the latter is winning by a huge margin. Cheers to that.

As we, the batch of 46/16 completed a job well done and hummed June mein hum… on our respective ways back to our alma mater, there was that palpable feeling of regret as the realization that many familiar, admired and even revered faces would no longer be there to greet us, finally sunk in. But the wheel of time is a juggernaut that even Joka bows to, and we did concede that the time had come to form new bonds, to foster new friendships and to shape bright new sparks to meet the ever-rising expectations of that wily, demanding yet lovable genius- the omnipresent spirit of Joka.

It is to you, the chosen 300-odd who can proudly claim to hold admission offers from IIM-C for the 2010-12 academic session that I speak now- you’ve done your world proud, let that be a sign of what you achieve in ours. The shoes left for you to fill are gargantuan; we expect Bigfoot’s hindquarters to pale in comparison as you outgrow them. Joka will give you the world, use it well to build your own empires. As the day of your arrival to this venerated 135 acre campus draws nearer, it is with a song on my lips, with love in my heart, with arms wide open, with my mask firmly intact and on behalf of my brethren here at Joka that I greet you. Welcome to the kingdom of 7 lakes, to the land of magnificent managers. Hostels where the Malli Mastan Babu’s of the world began their journey to the seven summits await you, classrooms where the Indra Nooyis once sat beckon. The BC Roy Library, which a certain Ramachandra Guha once occupied in person and now continues to do so in the form of embellished letters on paperbacks, lays its infinite resources at your disposal. Even the rain gods seem to have conspired to offer showers of blessings when you arrive.

The moment is solemn and my attempts to pen it in mere words can best be described as futile. Let me then just repeat the simple yet memorable greeting that the flamboyant young man, now in a corner office in some corner of a foreign field, gave to us on our own momentous early days in Joka- “Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to IIM Calcutta.”

And the thumping shall remain loud and clear forever.

-MM

1. Ayush Kapoor Says:
   June 27th, 2010 at 11:39 pm

   thump..n thanks for the unique “Joka” welcome..though it is still June we have already been mesmerized and humbled by the spirit of Joka..hope we would be apt guardians of it in future