Friday, January 02, 2009

AMAZE: The world shows up!

It was celebration with a cause at the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) when its annual management and cultural fest, Amaze, came to life on the 12th, 13th and 14th of November. With ‘One Earth, Let’s Heal It’ as the theme, it was only befitting that participants from 18 countries had turned up to make it a mega success. On the evening of 11th, the Indian Handicrafts Emporium venue came alive in a plethora of colours, floral decorations, heritage structures – even a spectacularly illuminated Taj Mahal replica – to welcome guests from across the globe.

The first event at the Festival was ‘Crushed Ice’, the icebreaker round. Eminent personalities including Anil Rajput (Head, Corporate Affairs, ITC), Mukesh Tyagi (MD, Punj Lloyd), Dipinder Hooda (Member of Parliament), Sandeep Hooda, Anil Kaul (Director, Marketing, Ambuja Cement), Naresh Dayal (Secretary, Union Health Ministry), and Pratima Dayal (Chief Economist, ADB) among others graced the occasion. After Prof Arindam Chaudhuri, (Honorary Dean, IIPM) inaugurated the event, the crowd pulled out all stops when it came to enjoying themselves!

Real action commenced at IIPM’s international campus with ‘Clash of the Titans’ – the Global Debate Challenge prelims. The winner won a trip to London. In the Business Plan event, the budding business barons were judged by Pankaj Parnami (Founder Director, KPO consultants) and Prof Sumanta Sharma.....Continue