A Celebration With a Difference

When the Dean of ISBR (Indian School of Business & Research), Electronics city Bangalore, Dr C. Manohar invited me to their 26th Foundation day celebrations, I readily accepted. It is always a pleasure to be in the midst of those engaged in learning. You get to listen to some eminent speakers and pick up some insights,  here and there. The invitation had indicated that there would be some felicitation of teachers as part of the celebrations. However, what happened live during the function was way beyond expectations and took my breath away. The chief guest of the function was the minister of Higher education, government of Karnataka, Mr Basavaraj Rayareddy.

 In his address the minister said that he was happy to be part of the foundation day celebrations of a reputed business school. He reminded the audience that economics and management education is not new to India and that  we have imparted, Kautilya’s Arthasasthra ( Science of wealth) in the ancient university of Thakshasila, to students from all over the world,
  

The striking feature of the function  was that the Gurus or teachers who were honoured were not only from ISBR or from the discipline of management alone, but  included personalities from other institutions; from all walks of life and from all regions of the State of Karnataka. The awards were wide ranging and touched all aspects of education right from founding/ fostering of education to its administration and actual roll out on the field. The award categories included Edu Poshaka, Edu Ratna, Sarthaka Jeevana award, institutional award, Motivational Guru, Acharya Purusha award, Teacher Extraordinaire, Uthkrushta Pradhyapaka and best teacher awards.

Some of the awardees were Shri K.C.Ramamurthy , President CMR Group and MP Rajya Sabha, Dr Vishweswar Bhat, Founder editor Vishwavani, Shri Premraj Jain, Adarsh Group of institutions, Dr Abdul Qadeer, Founder secretary Shaheen Group of institutions Bidar, Mr Balachandran Natarajan President of NHRD Bangalore Chapter,  Mridanga Vidwan Shri C, Cheluvaraj, Dr Anantharaman Professor ISBR, Dr MIM. Nehruzi , Chairman Gems Business school, Dr Sr Elizabeth C. S, principal Jyothi Nivas college, Dr B.G. Sathyaprasad ,Director, GT Institute of management, Dr T.V.Raju of RV Institute of Management , Dr RavindranathNayak, Director school of Business, Manipal university  Prof  V. Sashikala Principal,  RJS Institute of management, Dr K. Gupta, founder, KSG Centre for L&D, Prof ShivrajGoudapanour, Karnataka college Bidar, Mrs Ratna Cheramma  Coorg School, prof Sharmila Mallick Chouddhuri, Royal Concorde international school.

It was heartening to see a galaxy of talent in the field of education on one stage representing various age groups,stages of teaching (Professional,  degree, undergraduate and schools), and urban- rural areas. So much so a Mridangam vidwan (teacher of music) rubbed shoulders with teachers of management and those teaching in schools. They represented various geographical areas of the state-  Bangalore, Bidar. Manipal , Coorg and Mysore. The glow and excitement on the faces of the awardees was for all to see! This was certainly a wonderful and novel way to celebrate the foundation day.

The speeches, were apt and befitting the occasion. The address by Dr Vishweswar Bhat, Founder editor Vishwavani, while humourous and entertaining, underscored the importance of monitoring the quality of higher education in the state. He complemented the minister Mr Basavaraj Rayareddy for speaking out strongly on the performance of vice chancellors. He hoped that this will be followed by some tough action on the ground for enhancing the quality of higher education in the state.

In fact, all the speakers who spoke opined that the appointment of Mr Rayareddy is the best thing that could have happened to Karnataka. They felt that he had a progressive outlook and that they expect a lot to be achieved during his tenure.

 While many may consider it normal to praise the chief guest, it was obvious to anyone in the audience that Mr Rayareddy was clearly different from the general crop of VIPs or politicians. Normally, the chief guest of a function in our country tends to leave soon after giving his speech. It was refreshing to see the presence of  the minister right from the beginning till the end of the function. He participated enthusiastically in the process of honouring the awardees.

The young and dynamic MD of ISBR Mr Manish Kothari, in a presentation shared the following top 10 rules for success articulated by Jack Ma, the founder of  the Chinese E commerce company,Alibaba.  

1. Get used to rejection
2.  Keep your dreams alive
3. Focus on culture
4. Ignore the jibe “Little man!”
5. Get inspired
6. Stay focused
7. Have a good name
8. Customers are # 1
9. Don’t complain. Look for opportunities
10. Have a passion
11. (   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e_mqibZc-Q  ) .This presentation by Mr Kothari was like the icing on the cake - of a unique, well organized function.

 As I  thanked and took leave of  the dean Dr C Manohar; I had the satisfaction of having  enjoyed every moment spent at the campus, right from the warm traditional welcome at the entrance, to the unique and lively function and a sumptuous quality lunch at the end.

 Yes, this was truly a foundation day celebration with a difference- A  celebration of education and learning with the entire learning fraternity!