The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) celebrated its Thirty-Ninth Foundation Day on October 29, 2012. This year, Dr Ramachandra Guha, Historian & Writer, was invited to deliver the Foundation Day Lecture.
The event began with an invocation by Poornaa V (PGP II), followed by the lighting of the lamp by the chief guest Dr Ramachandra Guha; member of the Board of Governors at IIMB Dr Mangala Rai; Director Professor Pankaj Chandra; Dean Academic Professor Devanath Tirupati and Dean Administration Professor S Raghunath.
Professor Pankaj Chandra, presenting the highlights of the Institute over the last six months, said that IIMB is striving towards excellence with a strong focus on Research, Entrepreneurship and Internationalization. Professor Chandra acknowledged the significant achievements by the faculty of IIMB. Commenting on the IIMB's commitment to society, he praised the work of EPGP students in successfully hosting 'Prayaas' for the third time. Introducing the chief guest, Professor Chandra said, "Dr Ramachandra Guha is a stalwart economist, historian and sociologist."
Delivering the Foundation Day Lecture on 'Life Outside and Beyond Work', Dr Guha said disciplined work and an inclination towards the arts enriches one's life. He urged students to "soak yourself in one or two interests that will make your life worth enjoying, as compared to any professional success."
Dr Guha hailed Kannada poet Shivaram Karanth as a 'Great Indian' after Rabindranath Tagore. He said, "It might not be possible in the present era to master everything one pursues like Karanth did or Tagore achieved. We could try to develop a curiosity for knowing more in our respective fields of interest." He described how Karanth revived Yakshagana and also contributed immensely to environmental movements, particularly in the Western Ghats.
A cricket enthusiast, Dr Guha described his life in cricket idioms and connected to the students. Dr Guha also spoke of his interest in classical music and the diverse experiences in his career path. A scholar who has researched extensively in sociology, economics, environment and cricket, he encouraged students to cultivate multiple interests.
Responding to a number of questions in the Q&A session following the Lecture, Dr Guha commented on the waning interest in history saying that the number of people looking at history as a career option had gone down, but people's interest in history had gone up. He said the textbooks at the state-level could do much better with the history syllabus. Referring to movement supporting the Jan Lokpal Bill, he said Anna Hazare and his team largely appeared to depend on the media to act as the catalyst. Dr Guha opined that the Media is good at focusing on problems, but not in solving them.
Dr Mangala Rai, senior Member of Board of Governors of IIMB and President, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences chaired the event. He said, "A good mind and hard work will never lead to failure in any field". He thanked Dr Guha for an enlightening and stimulating speech.
The Distinguished Alumni Awards 2012 were presented on the occasion of the 39th Foundation Day.
This year, the Distinguished Alumni Awards were presented to Shashi Sinha (PGP '81) and Rajiv Maliwal (PGP '85).
Click here to read more on Distinguished Alumni Awards (DAA) 2012
Professor Devanath Tirupati, Dean Academic, delivered the vote of thanks.
Click here to view images of Thirty-Ninth Foundation Day Lecture
About Dr Ramachandra Guha
Dr Ramachandra Guha is a historian and writer based in Bengaluru. He has taught at the Universities of Yale and Stanford, held the Arne Naess Chair at the University of Oslo, and has been the Indo-American Community Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley. In the academic year 2011-12 he served as the Philippe Roman Professor of History and International Affairs at the London School of Economics.
Guha's books include a pioneering environmental history, The Unquiet Woods and an award-winning social history of cricket, A Corner of a Foreign Field. His book India after Gandhi was chosen as a book of the year by leading publications in India and abroad.
Ramachandra Guha's awards include the Leopold-Hidy Prize of the American Society of Environmental History, the Daily Telegraph/Cricket Society Prize, the Malcolm Adideshiah Award for excellence in social science research, the Ramnath Goenka Prize for excellence in journalism, the Sahitya Akademi Award, and the R K Narayan Prize.
In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third largest civilian honour.
The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) celebrated its Thirty-Ninth Foundation Day on October 29, 2012. This year, Dr Ramachandra Guha, Historian & Writer, was invited to deliver the Foundation Day Lecture.
The event began with an invocation by Poornaa V (PGP II), followed by the lighting of the lamp by the chief guest Dr Ramachandra Guha; member of the Board of Governors at IIMB Dr Mangala Rai; Director Professor Pankaj Chandra; Dean Academic Professor Devanath Tirupati and Dean Administration Professor S Raghunath.
Professor Pankaj Chandra, presenting the highlights of the Institute over the last six months, said that IIMB is striving towards excellence with a strong focus on Research, Entrepreneurship and Internationalization. Professor Chandra acknowledged the significant achievements by the faculty of IIMB. Commenting on the IIMB's commitment to society, he praised the work of EPGP students in successfully hosting 'Prayaas' for the third time. Introducing the chief guest, Professor Chandra said, "Dr Ramachandra Guha is a stalwart economist, historian and sociologist."
Delivering the Foundation Day Lecture on 'Life Outside and Beyond Work', Dr Guha said disciplined work and an inclination towards the arts enriches one's life. He urged students to "soak yourself in one or two interests that will make your life worth enjoying, as compared to any professional success."
Dr Guha hailed Kannada poet Shivaram Karanth as a 'Great Indian' after Rabindranath Tagore. He said, "It might not be possible in the present era to master everything one pursues like Karanth did or Tagore achieved. We could try to develop a curiosity for knowing more in our respective fields of interest." He described how Karanth revived Yakshagana and also contributed immensely to environmental movements, particularly in the Western Ghats.
A cricket enthusiast, Dr Guha described his life in cricket idioms and connected to the students. Dr Guha also spoke of his interest in classical music and the diverse experiences in his career path. A scholar who has researched extensively in sociology, economics, environment and cricket, he encouraged students to cultivate multiple interests.
Responding to a number of questions in the Q&A session following the Lecture, Dr Guha commented on the waning interest in history saying that the number of people looking at history as a career option had gone down, but people's interest in history had gone up. He said the textbooks at the state-level could do much better with the history syllabus. Referring to movement supporting the Jan Lokpal Bill, he said Anna Hazare and his team largely appeared to depend on the media to act as the catalyst. Dr Guha opined that the Media is good at focusing on problems, but not in solving them.
Dr Mangala Rai, senior Member of Board of Governors of IIMB and President, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences chaired the event. He said, "A good mind and hard work will never lead to failure in any field". He thanked Dr Guha for an enlightening and stimulating speech.
The Distinguished Alumni Awards 2012 were presented on the occasion of the 39th Foundation Day.
This year, the Distinguished Alumni Awards were presented to Shashi Sinha (PGP '81) and Rajiv Maliwal (PGP '85).
Click here to read more on Distinguished Alumni Awards (DAA) 2012
Professor Devanath Tirupati, Dean Academic, delivered the vote of thanks.
Click here to view images of Thirty-Ninth Foundation Day Lecture
About Dr Ramachandra Guha
Dr Ramachandra Guha is a historian and writer based in Bengaluru. He has taught at the Universities of Yale and Stanford, held the Arne Naess Chair at the University of Oslo, and has been the Indo-American Community Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley. In the academic year 2011-12 he served as the Philippe Roman Professor of History and International Affairs at the London School of Economics.
Guha's books include a pioneering environmental history, The Unquiet Woods and an award-winning social history of cricket, A Corner of a Foreign Field. His book India after Gandhi was chosen as a book of the year by leading publications in India and abroad.
Ramachandra Guha's awards include the Leopold-Hidy Prize of the American Society of Environmental History, the Daily Telegraph/Cricket Society Prize, the Malcolm Adideshiah Award for excellence in social science research, the Ramnath Goenka Prize for excellence in journalism, the Sahitya Akademi Award, and the R K Narayan Prize.
In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third largest civilian honour.