To Sir, With Love (On His Birthday)

It is Sumit’s birthday today. He is the Centre Manager of IMS Siliguri and also teaches Maths & DI. We gave him an awesome surprise party. I am extremely rapturous that it all happened as we had planned save few minute glitches here and there. But the celebration was a huge success – a Birthday Bash indeed and I am overjoyed. The aim was to completely take him by surprise and we managed to do that in grand style. The look on his face when he entered IMS was priceless. He just had no clue :)

Sumit when he entered. He was clueless and had no idea
A SUCCESSFUL SURPRISE :)

The event was conceptualized, planned and executed in just three days. The idea of a surprise party struck me on Saturday night. Despite knowing him for more than two years, I had not once wished him on his birthday. He is generally reserved when it comes to such stuff. So when I realized that it was his birthday on 4th, I decided to do something this time.

I discussed the idea with the students of my MBA batch on Sunday. As expected, all were excited. We tried talking about it in the class in hushed tones, but since he was sitting right outside, chances were high that we would be overheard. I suggested we talk about it somewhere out hence after the class we resumed our discussion outside IMS. However, if Sumit would come out and spot us all together, he would sense something was up. We had to make a move from there too. The best option seemed to be CCD. There we went and there started the real planning! What started as a small discussion took the shape of a proper event planning and management involving about score students.

Meeting at CCD each time would not be possible. It would be a costly affair too, I realized ;) So I decided to have the meetings at my place. It would be convenient for all. And we had elaborate meetings at my place for three days in a row. The students were so enthusiastic – it was so wonderful to see everyone so upbeat and charged up. There was a lot of detailing in everything possible.

I wanted to do something different, something big, involving the present batches and the ex-students. I tried and thought of all those small things that could go a long way in making him feel special. I wanted to connect with those ex-students who were close to him. I did not know them all, but created a secret Facebook group to reach out to them. I eventually managed to get in touch with a couple of them and they sent their best wishes which were shared through a presentation.

The card, I knew had to be something creative and hand-made. It would have been very easy to purchase a card and give it to him. But nothing beats a hand-made card. A personalized touch makes a big difference. So we finalized the idea of a custom-made card with the signatures of all the students. The card responsibility was given to Shinam and Ishita and they did a wonderful job of it. Just the selection of the hand-made paper had taken time. There was a good discussion on the colour. Shinam wanted pink and the boys were of the view that pink is a girly colour and thus he would not like it. But Shinam had set her mind on it. I let her go ahead as eventually she was the one who would be making it. And I was not wrong. What a lovely card it turned out to be! When we presented it to him, he said it was one of the best gifts he had ever received :) A readymade card would never have that effect.

Shinam & Ishita presenting the card to the "Birthday Boy" :)

Similarly venue and food also made for a great deal of discussion. I wanted the venue to be IMS itself as that was the place that connected the students to him. Plus IMS would have a homely feeling, a place which everyone knew and would thus be comfortable in. Our food menu changed so many times, it’s not funny. We deliberated on so many things, pizza from Dominos to start with. Here also we explored the option of Pizza Mania as well as large size pizzas on a sharing basis. But Dominos would never be in our budget so the idea was dropped. Next we thought of something in Chinese. But these did not seem to click. The last option was snacks and Mitra and Chinmoy Da also suggested we order snacks packet from somewhere. That would be within our budget and hassle free too – no tension to serve, no plates required. So we went ahead with it! I think the only thing where we had no problem was the cake. I had made up my mind that we would not compromise on the cake. We would order it from Victoria Junction. The cake was very yum and all appreciated it.

The Lip-smacking cake from Victoria Junction :)

The decorations were also very nice. That was something challenging. We had to get it all done when Sumit was away for lunch. We only had about 45 mins. Everyone pitched in to help. And the result was awesome. I especially loved the balloons. The idea was Natasha's. She said it looked very cute. At one point, we were thinking of getting gas balloons instead. I am so glad we went ahead with this. Not just the balloons; every thing looked good.

The most difficult and fatiguing part was planning the games. I was most worried about it. I knew that for the party to get going, we had to have quality games. I did have something in mind but the execution was a humongous task. The idea was to have games from AXN’s “Minute to Win It”. Games selection was the first challenge as there were hundreds to choose from. I selected some, mainly those for which we did not have to buy anything. After that there was great debate if those were doable or not. We had to try every game and ensure that it could be done. Some were difficult and needed modifications. We had suggestions from everyone and then tried all the options. Eventually we finalized the one that seemed to be the best. But what fun it was! Abhimanyu was a champion in most of the trials. Balancing the golf balls had become a child’s play for him. It was great fun to see the guys try all possible ways to attempt “Bite Me”. But all of it was worth it. The games were the highlight of the party. Everyone applauded out efforts and said that games were unusual and enjoyable.

Ishita playing "Don't Blow The Joker" - She was the final winner also :) 

Rameez trying to get his shot right while playing "Home Golf"

I am glad that the event today was a huge success. But I am also missing a lot of things. The main event was fun, no doubt. But the meetings were equally delightful. More maybe! These meetings were definitely the high point of the event. Right now my room looks so empty. For three days there was so much activity happening right here. To add to it, Nupur too had come to stay for those three days. She did come at a time when I was most busy and had not time to talk or discuss anything else. So all we mulled over was THE PARTY. Thus basically the discussion for the party extended even after the students had left, till about 2 at night.

The empty MAZAA bottle reminds me of the lightening speed at which the bottle was opened and its content was gulped down by all. Actually I have to thank Sandeep for this. I don’t drink other cold drinks but Mazaa used to be a favourite, especially during college time. Yashi and I were gripped by ‘Mazaa Mania’ and we used to savor it daily during the exam preparations. (Reminiscing those days when we used to study in the college library for almost eight to ten hours daily. They were such memorable times. I should write about them too, sometime soon). Coming back to the topic, despite loving it so much I had completely forgotten about it. But yesterday when I saw the bottle and Sandeep’s fervor to gulp it down entirely bottle, I was reminded of it again. The sheets of paper lying everywhere – in the drawers, on the table, inside my bag, on the carpet – ring a bell suggesting the amount of planning we had been doing to make the event a grand success, which we eventually did. The golf balls remind me of the time and energy spent in preparing for the games. The time spent in planning the surprise was definitely memorable! Everyone involved with it would definitely agree with me. 

Finally, I would say that this was all possible because of the students. Had they not been so enthusiastic and supportive the event would never have shaped up like this. And yes a special thanks to the people who helped me organize and coordinate the entire event. We have a box full of memories that will be cherished always :)

A group snap, Finally :)

Dreams are realized :)

I do not want to lose the momentum that I have got after a long time. Also I’m not going to spend ages thinking about the topic. Actually that used to happen when I used to write selectively. But now that I have decided to write frequently, this should not be a problem. So here comes the next one. 

I want to talk about the phenomenal results that we’ve had at IMS this year. To begin with, here is the news. Neha has converted IIM-B and IIM-L. She was my student and it is so satisfying to know that one of your students has realised her dreams and got admission in one of the most prestigious and sought after B schools in India. Then there is Vidushi who has converted IIM-L and Saurav who has made it to XLRI. These two were in other batches so I don’t know them as such, but it still does feel good that we’ve had such good results. More than that, it is a reassurance that students from small towns too can make it. I never had a doubt about this; it’s for most of the aspirants here who are perpetually cynical and harbour such thoughts. So Kudos to IMS Siliguri and Kudos to Sumit!! :) 

I am reminded of something. I’ve seen the mad rush of people wanting a share of the limelight when the results are out. Everyone remotely associated with the candidate claims that he/she had a hand in contributing to the candidate’s success in one way or the other. Top on the list are the various coaching institutes that come out with data a propos their success rates, each vouching that it has had the BEST results. They were and are NUMERO UNO. Next are the neighbours and relatives who can’t stop talking about how they always knew that he/she had that spark and would definitely make a mark one day. Then friends! The list goes on... 

Now, I do not want to sound like any one of them ;) The reason why I want awareness about this is that it should help in changing the mindset of the people here – parents, teachers and aspirants alike. I always keep telling my students that it is a lot about the ATTITUDE. That’s the first thing they need to have – a POSITIVE ATTITUDE. It is, in fact, a pre-requisite. Students here, on the contrary, have various misconceptions.

• It is not possible for students from a small town like Siliguri to make it to IIMs. Forget about getting there it is not for us to think about it too
• We have never had IIM calls so far. If the previous batches have not been able to do it, then how can we? What is so special about us?
• The commerce students feel that CAT is not their cup of tea. It is a thing for the engineers only. We don’t stand a chance. The worst part here is that they are supported by their teachers. In fact I know of some colleges where the teachers tell the students that they will never be able to do it and hence drop it. How pathetic is that!

There has been a change in the last two years, no doubt. But that is just in a few students. I hope this changes. I do seriously hope that candidates realize that IIMs are within their reach but only if they have that ATTITUDE and that desperation. I hope this invigorates my current batch students and fills them with lots of positive energy :)

So dream on guys! It could just be you next year :)