After assignments and various other commitments had kept us awake for the better part of last night, the day started pretty early for most of us. Dragging your reluctant bodies out of the coziness of your sheets becomes far more easier when it is for a social cause, as evident from events today. Roughly 30 of the 48 enrolled were up, about and done with an early breakfast by 0600 hours, a time at which nary a soul stirs on any other day. From that point on, the day took two distinct routes for us, to converge at a well-deserved celebration in the evening. Let’s Do It, Delhi – We Came, We Saw, We Cleaned
20-odd students decided to spend their Saturday morning practising something recently discussed in class – Social Responsibility. Armed with our indomitable spirit to make a difference, we landed at the Red Fort, to do our small bit to clean the city. The clean-up started with the lanes of Chandni Chowk. Not an eye flinched as former executives from sophisticated backgrounds rummaged around and picked garbage from around the shops. Some curious onlookers were bewildered - IIM Lucknow students in Delhi! picking trash! Is this a unique Prof. B punishment for not submitting your assignments in time?
Chandni Chowk done, it was the turn of the Red Fort lawns. Over 2 hours of back-bending, finger-numbing, sweatwork later, Red Fort was clean enough to be rechristened the White Fort (copyright violation alert!).
Everyone, though, was left with the thought that this is only the beginning, and we have miles to go before we sweep... er, sleep.
Sustainable Transport Rally – 9 kms of ‘no big deal’
A handful of souls were representing the batch at a bicycle rally near Jantar Mantar, organized to mark the celebration of World Environment Day, ahead of the Commonwealth Games to be held in a little while. Our method of transport was bicycles, in line with the preferred transport of the majority populace (a few drove electric cars). There were some initial apprehensions about how bodies accustomed to years of settling into comfortable bucket-seats of their cars would react on being subjected to a 9 km journey on no more than a triangular piece of hard foam. As it turned out, though, we don’t give the human body enough credit where it is due, as everyone reached the end-camp comfortably.
Catching up on some well-deserved shut-eye, we reconvened to lend energy and enthusiasm to the Leadership Talk session w/ Mr. Ashis Sanyal, Director e-Governance and Sr. Director, Ministry of Communications and Technology, who shared his vision of how India will succeed despite its inefficient bureaucracy.
Finally, the day ended with a party, courtesy new daddies GJ and Mehul. Anand's partyhouse, fitted with a refrigerator, was selected to play host as music blared, drinks flowed and pizzas were more talked-over than eaten, all amidst the familiar background of a mini-storm and the now-off-now-on electricity-supply.
Day's done, though, and the next week beckons with more assignments and projects. Noses back into the grindstone, guys!
