A (non violent) explosion of colors at IIM Raipur on Gandhi Jayanti....

Creativity and subtlety has no bounds; it just needs a medium to express itself. The students of IIM Raipur proved the truth in this saying on the morning of Gandhi Jayanti, when over 60 of them participated in the finger painting and sketching competition organized by Kartavya.

The event aimed at portrayal of CSR related themes by participants through finger paintings or sketches, while having fun at the same time. The paintings and sketches would be displayed around the campus to help create awareness about the issues. Needless to say, the event was a rip-roaring success with some beautiful pieces of art being created and everyone having a great time.

Students rose up early in the morning and turned up in droves to promote a good cause. All the colors of the rainbow were seen in the amazing finger paintings created by the students. More importantly, each and every painting carried a message which was conveyed brilliantly through the colors. Some students focused on global warming, others on population explosion; some thought that water crisis was most important, while others promoted the go-green initiative. Some students highlighted burning human trafficking. No matter what the topic was, the students participated enthusiastically and ensured that their art create awareness about the issue.

The pencil sketches were no less brilliant; these artists didn’t even need colors to convey the meaning behind the sketch, the sketch spoke for itself.  Some students adopted face painting as a medium to express their sensitivity.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Through their sensitivity towards social and environmental issues, students showed the life of b-school student is not just restricted to business.

All in all, it was a day to remember for everyone.

Contributed By: Neha Khapre, PGP 2012-14, she can be reached at pgp12084.neha@iimraipur.ac.in

A day with Angels on Earth - Experience of an IIM Raipur student

Gleaming eyes, captivating innocent smiles and warm hugs of the tiny tots imprisoned us, the moment we stepped into the realms of SOS Children camp. Being ideally located amidst the lush green environment of Raipur with sparkling clean premises makes the SOS Children camp a paradise on earth, a paradise in which the purest of the hearts resides. A very wise person once said that children are the greatest teachers, and one can learn a lot from them. We the members of "Kartavya" discovered the truth in those words, here in SOS Village on our visit during the occasion of Eid. Their courage and attitude towards life is something that all of us should emulate, the sacred grounds of SOS held a lot in store for us than what we anticipated.

The activities began by segregating the kids into three categories. The first group consisted of nursery and 1^st standard kids, and the activities planned for them were rhymes reciting, singing and drawing. Being flocked by little toddlers was a unique thrill, which made us oblige to any command of theirs readily, such as carrying them piggy backs and giving them pony rides etc., they clung on to us happily and wanted to be carried around everywhere. Listening to the little ones recite rhymes in their mesmerising voices made us wonder if we had discovered the sweetest of music in god’s creation. The decibels in the room rocketed sky high when the kids started singing movie songs and it got even higher when we danced to their tunes. The last activity was drawing, in which the little fingers wrapped around crayons and worked furiously on the charts for nearly 1.30 hours. The kids made us literally speechless by producing quality art in place of scribbles which we actually expected.

            The other two groups consisted of students from middle school and high school, and they were subjected to intense quizzing sessions of varying difficulty levels. The energy and enthusiasm of the children as they participated in the activities was truly inspiring. The children entertained us with special dance performances and Antakshari. Be it in the quiz competitions, the dancing and singing competitions, the puzzles or the drawing competitions - these kids excelled at everything. We felt very honoured and privileged to spend time with them and hear what they had to say. It was an incredible experience for all of us, and a rare chance to relive our childhood. The memories of this day will remain fresh and will be a one that we will cherish all through our lives.

IIM Raipur students take oath for ethical conduct and CSR initiatives

Life is something to be cherished with memories, sprinkled with joy and happiness. Unfortunately the key to this joy is something that remains a mystery for many. For joy is not attained by fulfilling one’s own desires, rather it is harvested in the pain of toiling to make others life comfortable. Connecting with people, empathizing and understanding their needs and serving as a tool in upbringing their life, leaves a person with content and deep satisfaction that could be obtained by no other means. Being the reason behind smiles of the unprivileged is the best form of worship as it makes a person realize the purpose of life.

                Having spoken of the joy in living a life with civic responsibilities, it’s high time to introspect where we stand in this regard.  Why start CSR in IIM Raipur when the domain of servicing the unprivileged is dominated by numerous NGOs and clubs? What contribution IIM Raipur is capable of making in the lives of the people we speak of? The students of IIM Raipur inherit the significant power of determining the course of the nation, a nation that is not governed by mere knowledge and skill, but by heart and soul. This makes the knowledge of our society a vital one to be ingrained by the graduates of this institution. IIM Raipur closes gap through the CSR club by giving birth to a new generation of managers trained in managerial skills and art of living with civic sense. Speaking of our contribution to the society, it is the intention that matters more than size and scale, just like the squirrel that helped Rama in laying bridge to lanka, by rolling over the mud and carrying the sand. CSR would serve as a mean to nurture the sense of social responsibility in the students and keep their spirits alive till they grow into full fledged players in philanthropy during later part of their life.

                Quite a lot of people wish things were better than what they are now, the members of CSR at IIM Raipur are the ones who don’t limit themselves to just wishing, but also get into action to materialize dreams for the welfare of the society. They believe in being the change they want to be, and not mere bystanders with dreams. After having events like spending a day at SOS village and coordinating at Paralympics games previous year, CSR club started the activities for academic year 2012-13 by taking an oath to pursue their work in ethical manner and work for sustainable development of the society. The moment witnessed around 160 bright minds of the nation joining the inferno in their heart, to give raise to a fire storm that would sweep the nation and bring about the most wanted change towards the formation of an ideal society (nation). The oath taken is as below: