The Spirit of Sirmaur

Embracing the Joka Spirit

“At Joka, we leave no one behind!!”. 

You read, hear, and feel this over and over at IIM Calcutta, my Alma Mater. There are posters that read the message. This message is printed on T-shirts. It’s even there on our website. Joka is truly a beautiful place with beautiful souls. Even if you did not feel a part of something larger, Joka has that effect on you. I am unsure if there is such a comradery in the other IIMs or other institutes. Unknown to yourself, you soon form a team and become something larger than yourself, and that team stays with you for life. I don’t know how this originated or how it became a binding force that united all Jokars. However much I wish to know this, I may never be able to find out, as those stories are truly lost. 

Journey to the West: Discovering Sirmaur

This is not a story of Joka, but the story of a place that’s 1795 km west of it. It’s the story of an exciting place called Sirmaur. For those who do not know, IIM Sirmaur is the focus of many exciting pieces of Trivia. For starters, it's the only IIM named after a district and not the town in which it is (Sirmaur is the name of the district- there is no town by that name). We might have had to be IIM Daula Kuan otherwise (and we could have joined the Trinity in the process - together, we may have been the ABCD). We also have a river very close to the campus. In our temporary campus, we have the mighty Yamuna. And in the permanent campus, we would have a seasonal river separating two halves of the campus. IIM Sirmaur is also blessed with scenic beauty, amazon forests, migratory birds, absolute calm, and no distractions for the foreseeable future. It’s also really really cold during the winters (at this moment, it’s about 5 degrees) and really hot during the summers (I have seen the thermometers hit 42 degrees from time to time). This ensures that we stay indoors and work on many exciting things. 

Perspective of the Placement Chair

Just over 7 months ago, I took over as the Placement chairperson of IIM Sirmaur. The position has given me a chance to get a bird’s eye view of the organisation and a unique opportunity to watch as a resilient culture takes shape. I thought I should write about that today. Some of you may think of this as bragging. And you may be right in feeling that way. But sometimes, we have to brag about these things. If we do not tell our story, who will? Also, I really don’t think the great work done by the students at Sirmaur should be left untold. They truly deserve to tell their story, and I don’t think it’s fair for them to lose out on something similar to what Joka has. So, here goes. 

IIM Sirmaur is a place filled with plenty of raw, creative energy. This energy often goes unchanneled, resulting in the output not showing up. Let me give you an example from today. Right before my eyes, I got to see a bunch of students call a vet and arrange for vaccination of the ten puppies recently born on our campus. They had managed to catch the puppies and hold them while the vet injected them, one after the other, with the DHCPP and ARV vaccines. They had found a way to find funds on their own - they appear to have secret benefactors and many others willing to contribute. While having coffee, I also observed that one of the girls got out of the mess with little bits of bread and eggs and fed the mother, who was still lactating. These sights are really reminiscent of the PetPals of IIM Calcutta, and something amazing is beginning here. 

Closer to base, in my placement committee, one of the students told me just the other day, “Sir, we may not be the first to finish, but we will definitely ensure that all our students are placed in good places". Another set of placecommers teamed up with the Industry Relations committee of IIM Sirmaur and planned a trip to Baddi, where they met with HR managers from nearly 25 organisations in a single day. They planned everything from logistics to food and appointments on their own. The Alumni Cell and the Entrepreneurship Cell are also beginning to work together with placement committee members, and slowly, they are learning that together, they can do more. 

It is interesting to note that all this is happening while other institutes nationwide appear on social media for all the wrong reasons. Just yesterday, there was a post on MBA Social that spoke about how dozens of students from another reputed B School had opted out of placements. Audio and video messages of infighting between clubs and committees are also surfacing. At IIM Sirmaur, the students have a much better sense of teamwork and are able to understand their place in an organization. They are self-starters; they think outside the box, and everyone who visits us, be it a guest lecturer, an entrepreneur, or a vendor, is impressed with the kind of ownership of the institute that the Sirmaurians feel. This year, the placement brochure was made almost completely internally. Some students have started their own newsletters to talk about what’s going on on campus - and they have been disciplined enough to keep writing for a few weeks in a row. 

These are signs of change - really good signs of change. Much like a gardener looking after a flower bed, our faculty, too, have transformed into beacons who take on a more mentor-like role than a teacher. We can now see students engage with faculty members in the mess and the canteen. One faculty colleague even complained that she meets, on average, ten students every time she steps out of her office and tries to get something done. This is surely the sign of a group of high-energy students wanting guidance in some form. PhD students attend courses that they are not ‘credited’ to attend, and they do so for the joy of learning. 

Let me assure you not all of these activities have to do with academics. When some of our students fell critically ill and needed surgery in Dehradun, our Infrastructure Chairperson traveled 50 km to meet the students and arrange for all the support the students needed. Students are now actively talking with local businesses to create win-win situations through live projects and hackathons.

Reflections on Change and Growth

Just this morning, a visiting faculty intercepted Dr. Ajay and me, quizzing us on what had changed on campus. It turns out she had taught here one year ago, and she was able to see a sea of change. She wanted to understand, from an HR perspective, how change was managed at IIM Sirmaur. We had a long chat until her class started. The conversation that helped us reflect on 2023 was to look back and see what distance we had come. The reflection left us filled with a profound sense of hope. 

While I absolutely love the Joka spirit, I’ve begun to fall in love with this place. Something about IIM Sirmaur inspires, empowers, and transforms. What could it be if not the Spirit of Sirmaur?  

Happy New Year!

Yours truly, 

Dr. Karthikeyan Balakumar