IRIS is over :-(

IRIS, the annual management fest of IIM Indore... just got over. And boo hoo!

IRIS is a 4 day extravaganza held on the vast 193 acre campus of IIM Indore. It has a gamut of events covering a wide range of academic and non-academic interests for students from the top 30 B-schools in the country. From B-plan contests to gaming competitions, from Stock Market simulations to gaming competitions, we have it all. The culmination of the event is marked by a live concert in the institute main lawns.

But the crowning glory of this event, the flagship event (2 among 3) is Ashwamedha. Ashwamedha is our search for India's best upcoming manager. A continuous string of events, held over 2 days, are used to test the contestants on various aspects of an ideal manager's skill-set. From team skills, to intelligence, analytical ability, operations, finance, marketing; all are tested by innovative games and contests. We start with over 1500 participants from across the country. 2 online elimination rounds bring them down to the top 30, who are invited to the campus during IRIS.

This year, I was a part of the Ashwamedha Core team. That is how I realized the Ashwamedha philosophy. It's not just an event, not just a competition. It's an institution. Sounds like a lecture in OB? Well it did initially. But it makes a lot more sense after hearing the participants talk once the event is over.

Every year, it is out endeavor to make the event unique. Every year, the entire event is overhauled and new games are developed to be part of Ashwamedha. It was the same this year too. The first day put the 30 participants through a variety of innovative and interesting games testing various skills a manager should possess. After a grueling 15 hours on the trot, the participants were truly exhausted. But that was just half the journey.

At the end of Day 1, 6 top participants qualify for the next day. There would be no sleep that night for the chosen 6!

The 6 are then put through even more rigorous events and competitions. Out of the 6, the final is chosen after an open interview in front of a panel of 4 judges and an intimidating audience of 400 people!

But what was most interesting and educating was the entire experience. For me, Ashwamedha has transcended from an event, into an experience. The uniqueness of Ashwamedha lies not just in the fact that it is rigorous and trying, but that fact that it attempts to rise above the mundane and commonplace skills, and really tests tour mettle, your attitude, your very constitution. And not just for the participants, but also for the organizers. I can attest to that after sleeping about 6 hours in 3 days, and still appearing fresh and happy at the end!

So I hail Ashwamedha - 'Ekameva Jayate'!!!