Completing countless assignments and projects, brainstorming on competitive case studies, and gearing up for the exams, that’s the usual routine of students at any management institute. But all of this was put on halt for one of the first major festivals of the academic year in the IIM Shillong campus this past week, the annual Janmashtami celebrations.
The campus was set abuzz with the preparations a week before the actual festival, from decorating the matkis to setting up the venue for the event. Like every year, the most awaited event on Janmashtami was the Dahi Handi competition, followed by a rough game of Kabaddi! Right in the centre of the hostel buildings, the volleyball court was the perfect spot for the event. Like the Pied Piper’s flute, even the tightest of sleepers were lured out of their beds at 9 AM to the sound of the speakers blaring ‘Govinda Aala Re’.
The air was electric as male participants from PGP 17 and 18 entered the arena, ready to compete against each other to see who could build the human pyramid together and break the matkis full of coloured water first. Being one of the most gender-diverse B-schools in India, how could the girls of IIM Shillong be left behind? Not just the participants, even the onlookers had a gala time with the freshly prepared snacks, beverages and gulaal colours.
Soon after, it was kabaddi time, which saw players from both batches, seasoned and unseasoned taking on each other. As no celebration in IIM Shillong is complete without the rain, the sky parted just as the final game concluded and drenched the players as well as the audience.
Trisha Waghela, PGP 2018