While the junta here at Planet-I is known to slog big time for academics all through the year, there are times when we party and celebrate like crazy. The greatest advantage of studying here at an IIM is that you get to meet and make friends with folks coming from different parts of the country. This ensures that we do not miss even a single festival from any part of the country, be it Onam, Pongal from the South, Durga Puja, Bihu from the East, Lohri, Diwali from the North or Navratri from the West. The Cultural Committee here does all the needful for us to have these festivals celebrated here on campus grandly.The month October is the biggest festive season in India. We have more than three festivals celebrated in different parts of the country. We had grand celebrations here in mid October when we celebrated Dusherra at campus. We bought a Putla of Ravan and in the evening had it burnt down to ashes, as is done popularly to celebrate the victory of good over evil. This was followed by a small show of fire crackers. Watch out this video on how it all unfolded.
Soon after Dusherra was Diwali. The mood at campus was dull and mundane as mid-terms were to commence from the very next day. But hang on, as the clock struck 6, the guys and gals at Planet-I were up to their best. People were dressed in their ethnic attires moving around in the campus preparing for the Lakshmi Puja. There were people decorating the Melting Point with Diyas, flaunting their talent with Rangali etc The Puja took place in one of the hostels after which it was the show of fire crackers. The show was absolutely spectacular lasting for more than an hour. As if this was not enough, we had a special dinner arranged for everybody. What a way to celebrate Diwali !!! It was like home away from home.
Right after the term 2 break, it was Pongal time in January. People call it by different names – Lohri, Sankaranti, Bihu etc but it pretty much is the same. It is the festival of Harvest. The mood at campus this time was bright and you could see people going to temples as early as 6 in the morning. We had a special lunch in the afternoon arranged for everybody. By the time it was evening, almost the entire campus was on the football ground. The cooks at Planet-I were at their best. We had pongal cooked and served to everyone around. You could see a bunch of people moving around with the sugarcane stick in their hands. Man, Don’t they all love them !!
Right after the cooking thing was done, we were up for the games. The Tug of war was a huge hit. The rules were slightly tweaked to accommodate girls in the team too. It was fun to watch the teams battle it out. We also had several other games like Matkaphod – Each person was blind folded and he had to break a pot into pieces.
It is amazing how the same festivals that we had been celebrating for the past several years seems so different (good different) when you are with a different set of people. These 2 years at this planet have been different in all aspects and have been the ones to cherish forever.
The Best of Planet-I 