Student’s Corner

The student corner is an exclusive section of Lsquare that brings to you the literary creation, pen-craft, creative content contributed by students.

A Cultural Confluence

The end of 2021 graced the IIMB campus with festivities and warmth. The IIMB family came together to celebrate the vibrant culture and delicacies of Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana through regional dinners. With majority of the student community on campus, the dinners brought together students from all over the country to witness and experience the regional cultures with extraordinary cultural performances and carefully assorted menus.

Then came the time for singing carols, packing last-minute presents, and decorating the campus like a Christmas tree. A time for family and special friends, to sing the jingles and rejoice, and that’s what happened at IIMB, our home away from home. The campus wasn’t just graced by one Santa, but numerous Secret Santas who brought with them gifts for their fellow mates. Christmas gave us a moment to stop, to rejoice and reflect upon the heart-warming journey at IIMB.

These celebrations are a symbol of the diversity that is united by the stone walls of IIMB. Time flies when you’re going through an MBA, and moments like this, are what stay with us for lifetimes.

A warm and Happy New Year, to the entire IIMB family!

– Sarthak Chincholikar
PGP 2021-23


An introduction to the notions of equality

The most common notion of equality is equality of opportunity. It is broadly a political or socio-political idea that is antithetical to any form of hierarchies in society, economic or otherwise. The obvious implicit assumption is that society inherently has hierarchies, superior or inferior class, based on birth, social positions, politics, economic factors, etc. Equality of opportunity seeks to destroy all such hierarchies by some form of the process where everyone has equal access to opportunities, or everyone has the equal right to compete irrespective of their background on equal terms. This is broadly defined under the umbrella of formal equality of opportunity. While all may seem good, it was realized later that this form of equality in absolute terms may not be sufficient to move towards a more inclusive or egalitarian society. For ex- In India, a person is not allowed to vote unless he/she/they cross 18 years of age or the legal age of marriage for women at 21. The implicit assumption in either of the cases is a person below 18 years of age or a girl below 21 years of age is not mature enough to take decisions on their own related to those matters respectively. But if we are putting criteria based on age, isn’t this a form of discrimination. We could see many intellectuals (political or otherwise) arguing how it was not a good step to set the bar at 21 in the latter case. Nonetheless, one may argue that this is not discrimination as the criteria don’t exclude any class, gender, religion, caste, creed, etc. and every one of them would theoretically attain the minimum age bar at some point in time, it does provide an equal opportunity to everyone. So, we can clearly see that this is not enough as it leaves a space for controversies or arguments which hold merit. Merit itself is a complex term. Contrary to popular belief, merit is not inherent. A person’s background, his/her socio-economic, socio-political background has a lot of roles to play in the development of merit. A good example will be the entrance test for the prestigious B- schools in India. While students studying at premier B schools may consider themselves the best to learn the business (based on the different rounds of stringent criteria of admission), the inclusion of the VARC section (in English) is inherently discriminatory to a plethora of students who did not have access to good English medium education. A boy/girl born in a well-off family has greater or easier access to resources that helps them shape their knowledge, exposure, and many more things which broadly come under the umbrella of merit. Clearly, special measures are required to ensure equal opportunities for everyone to create a level playing field in society. In this scheme of things, equality of opportunities is defined as substantive equality of opportunity. Reservations in India, at least in theory, would be one good example.

– Harsh Vardhan
PGP 2021-23


CRADLE

Look at him turning around, the wonder of human life! As I stooped down to clasp his beautiful face in my warm hands, his pupils kept rolling over mine.

A pen, a piece of paper, a flower, or even a petal, takes him miles and miles away, to the land of awe. As I spoke, recounting my day, I could see the tiniest quiver of his lips, imitating mine!

 It was a water bottle yesterday – his toy! It all started as he kept fiddling the bottle lid and a while later, my beloved, discovered how to open it. I am certain I haven’t had a happier moment in my life! He can’t walk yet, but I am still walking the journey he has set me on. It’s a new cruise, new shores, and even new waters…. As I reached out and slowly took back the water bottle, I couldn’t escape the magic of that toothless smile of innocence, lost in oblivion with eyes brimming with curiosity……

My six-year-old came running down the stairs to take her dear water bottle, from her grandfather’s tight clutch. He was still dazzled at how the lid opened and kept fiddling with it even when my daughter slowly took it away! I wonder if he knew who she was or even me for that matter. As I cuddled my daughter with a close tight hug, I saw that same smile adorning her dainty little face as she heartily sipped from her bottle.

– Namita S
PGP 2020-22


Year-end was LIT indeed!

LitFest is an annual festival organized by the Literature Club of IIM Bangalore. The fifth edition of the same was held from 24th to 26th December 2021. We went with the theme “Unboxing Stories” to engage with the Christmas vibe. The festival started with a speaker session where the audience got to know more about the role of publishers from Ms. Chiki Sarkar. She is the founder and publisher at Juggernaut Books and ex-publisher at Penguin India. Our very own Prof. Ganesh Prabhu moderated the session and facilitated the interaction about her entrepreneurial journey and experiences. We also had a series of interesting events that witnessed participation from institutions across the country. The events were organized on D2C, an online platform. The variety of events satisfied the interests of diverse literature enthusiasts. Budding writers got a chance to pen down an alternate ending to a popular story of their choice by signing for the ‘Multiverse’ event. ‘Humor Tales’ was an event where participants showcased their funny side to create comedy prose. ‘LitQuiz’, the most awaited event of LitFest, tested the literary acumen to the fullest. ‘Gram-marly’ was an appealing addition this year which called out the performers to recite their original content and gain likes on Instagram.

The festival concluded with another speaker session which proved to be the highlight of the season. Ms. Nayanika Mahtani, an acclaimed author and screenwriter, is our very own alumnus of IIM Bangalore. She worked as an investment banker at ANZ Grindlays and JP Morgan post her MBA. She eventually transitioned into an author of bestselling books across genres ranging from historical fiction to multi-generational family sagas. She has co-written the screenplay and story of the popular film ‘Shakuntala Devi’. We look forward to her projects in the pipeline. It was inspiring to listen to her speak and motivate us all. The organizing team put their heart and soul into making this memorable and we sincerely hope that the next version only gets better.

– Bageshree Barure
PGP 2020-22


Reign of Dogma

Landing on my warm fluffy little bed,

I was particularly sleepy.

A nightmare filled the expanse of my head.

This one, especially creepy.

Standing on a thoroughfare beside a stream;

In a sort of European Town.

A dream that would make children scream,

And turn adults to a frown.

Folks strutting about, usual enough.

But for an aberrant detail.

People around seemed oddly gruff;

And had pets that wagged their tail.

Dogs and cats and iguanas and all, held with leash and collar.

A single exception was not in sight; pets of every colour.

If that was all, no logic would fail,

No mindlessness grown rank.

Yet feats so queer and outlandish prevailed

As if a part of a prank.

Men rolled before hounds and bowed before cats

And twittered like fowls on trees.

Women poured crisp wine down iguanas’ throats,

While buzzing alongside bees.

A town crier echoed and called for listen;

Holding parchment with terms.

All had gathered to limits of vision:

Humans, beasts, even germs.

“Hear ye hear ye” the town crier spoke “Lord Dogma’s decree :

People of all pets, now and henceforth shall be judged equally.”

“Well that’s swell and dandy” non-dog owners yelled,

“We know it for a farce.

Canine lord Dogma forever promises

But to us is only harsh.”

Quarrel broke out with rancid remarks;

Most ungentlemanly.

Midst distasteful taunts and mongrel barks,

Someone had spotted me.

“Why here’s a lad without a pet,

Give him a dog or two”

“Felines wouldn’t interest you son?”

“Nay lizards are best for you.”

The heinous hoard avalanched briskly.

I darted for dear life.

Ignorant fools pursued rather swiftly; 

It was a bitter strife.

Leaping to, I found my feet, and discerned the ceiling fan.

No buffoons, baboons or rats around; I employed a nimble scan.

Chortling relief I pondered it all; Could pets really matter?

Still, hard to negate, our world like theirs’ is so oft ruled by Dogma.

– Abhinav D R P
PGP 2021-23


TEDx IIM Bangalore: Not Business As Usual

An independently organized TED event, TEDx IIM Bangalore was conducted by the Forum for Industrial Interaction (FII) on 23rd December 2021. The event showcased speakers from various walks of life, who shared deep insights on the theme of the event “Not business as usual”. The event theme was inspired by the new normal for the business environment. The paradigm shift that many businesses and associated lives have faced over the last 2 years.

The event kickstarted with a talk by Mr Prakash Belawadi, renowned Actor and Director. He spoke on the topic Not now, Not here. This was followed by a talk by Arjun Majumdar, Entrepreneur and trekker on 3 unusual lessons on entrepreneurship. He spoke about monetizing secondary ideas around the business a key takeaway for many. The third speaker in line was Mr Gaurav Goel and IIT Delhi and IIMC Alumnus, Founder and CEO of Samagra, a mission-driven governance consulting firm. He spoke on Transforming governance. Mr Ramesh Swamy was the next speaker in line. He is a founding trustee and director of SGBS Unnati Foundation. He spoke on employing and empowering the underprivileged youth of India. He spoke about the need for inclusive business models to skill, retrain and equip the youth with the ability to self-learn. The event ended with a talk, by the last speaker for the day Professor Rajkumar Pant, on handling anxiety due to uncertainty beautifully capturing the theme of the event.

To navigate the new world successfully we all need new perspectives. Events like these will help the audience build the same and embrace the new normal.

– Kaustubh Shenai
PGP 2021-23

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