Teacher's Day+Ganesh Chaturthi

Lines written for my IIMA professors

It is such a pleasant fact that this year Teacher's Day co-incides with Ganesh Chaturthi

If we were to go by symbolism, there is so much of a congruence between the roles played by Lord Ganesh and that of a professor at IIMA

Ganesha's belly represents generosity and total acceptance.

Once admitted at IIMA, the professor generously distributes his/her years of knowledge to the students, yet completely accepts the students performance in the hyper competitive environment, which even leads to an erstwhile topper getting a C grade :)

Ganesha's upraised hand depicts protection.  It means, 'Fear not, I am with you', and his lowered hand, palm facing outwards means endless giving as well as an invitation to bow down.

Into the MBA course, there is a wife and a 1 year old kid, parents to take care of and EMIs as well :).

But the Professor and campus life completely shields the student from the complicated  world outside and lets them get soaked in the sea of knowledge without any fear.

He carries in his hands the 'Ankusa' (signifying awakening) and the 'Paasa' (signifying control). With awakening, a lot of energy is released, which without proper control, can go haywire.

The Professor ensures that hitherto unexplored areas of a student are awakened. I remember having hated Marketing as a subject in Term 1 and 2 because of my CA background and obsession with NPV/IRR.

Yet, the professor unleashed that sales instinct, simultaneously teaching us to apply that with caution as depicted in the case studies from the world over

Today I can sell my startup cajobportal.com to clients across the world with ease, thanks to the ACCV, DMCV, SBBM and NCB courses

Thanking you once again for the wonderful year at IIMA

Thanks & Regards

Anurag Singal