I was roaming around the IIM Ahmedabad campus this afternoon with a friend of mine and we were discussing the architecture of the place - wonderfully thought-out and carefully crafted buildings which lend the institute its whole 'culture'. I was told by him that they roped in the world-famous architect Louis Kahn, who was a Prof. of architecture in UPenn (in the late 50s) to design the buildings along with NID, Ahmedabad.
The institute was a brain-child of some of the most respected brains of India, including Vikram Sarabhai - the man who spearheaded India's space missions, among many other things. Infact, the IIMA library is named after him.
I was browsing through the gallery to find out interesting tit-bits about the institute and I came across a very fascinating fact. Here I share it:
"The picture above is of 'Retreat', Vikram Sarabhai's residence in Shahibaug, which would house a fledging institution's office for more than a year beginning in June, 1961, until a proper campus for IIMA took shape. "The institute started functioning... under the auspices of a registered society and the general direction of a Board of Governors. It then had no buildings, no furniture, and only a skeletal staff and faculty. The vision of its early leaders was perhaps the only sustaining factor." (IIM Ahmedabad, The first Decade, 1973)"It is just so fascinating! It just reminded me of the situation now, with respect to the new IITs and the comments from Jimmy on that. So! So! So!
- Are these IITs going to recreate what IIMA did?
- Are these IITs a brainchild of the best brains in the country?
- Is the vision of the early leaders of the institutes enough to sustain them?
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PS: I was browsing the website of Indian School of Business, Hyderabad - another premium B-school in India. I quote "The foundation stone was laid in 1999 and the Post Graduate Programme was launched in 2001".
PS2: I am not sure if the title of the post is grammatically correct, but seems to convey the point.
2 comments:
At the risk of coming across as a pessimist, I would confess to honestly feeling like answering the question you've raised with a simple "NO".
a) IIMA was not a knee jerk (or a jerk's) reaction to votebank politics..IIMA had a vision behind itself, being the brainchild of visionaries..
b) I would like to constantly remind myself of what Narayan Murthy always keeps saying...that our country has very few role models these days...He is himself one, but his modesty comes in between his admitting and acknowledging it..
c) Politicians like Murali Manohar Joshi who came up with the brilliant idea of all donations being made to the IITs be routed through the government...and politicians like Arjun Singh..As long as we have unconscionable characters (creatures really!) such as these, there is very little hope left.
But, at the end of all this, I ll tell you that clinging onto objectivity is quite important..and I ll take that famous escape route..
I am skeptical about the new IITs coming anywhere close to the old IITs, forget doing an IIMA!
What a contrasting post!! But rest assured that the new IITs are not doing an IIMA.
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