Factoids

One night, we were in NDDB quarters. Year 1981. Exam time. An unusual knock on my door. I never thought it could be a PRM student (of course, first batch). I opened the door to hear, “Sir, I am sorry to bother you in the night. Tomorrow we have a marketing exam.” Then he paused and continued, “Do you have a small suitcase to give?” I could not draw any connections. I was sure he was not mischievous. I enquired “What is the emergency? Only a suitcase will do? Should I accompany you to the railway station?” He quipped, “No, no, sir. I need the suitcase to carry my marketing teaching materials to the exam hall.” Since the boy was serious, I could not laugh. I gave him the suitcase and the next morning I met the marketing teacher and asked him “How do you know that I have suitcase convenient for carrying teaching materials of your marketing course?” He was surprised, and queried, “Why?” Then I told the story and enquired why students did not meet him. Then he politely told me, “Look, I have 3 small suitcases, and, you know, since I plan for 3 years ahead, all the three are filled with 3 different bunch of materials.” I said, “May God bless you!”

IRMA office shifted to the Diagnostic Laboratory complex of NDDB. IRMA was given a sixty acres campus. For the Bhoomi Pooja we all had to come via Khetiwadi. On 26th January, the same poojari who laid the stone and did pooja for Amul, NDDB, laid it for IRMA. The grand old man had to be physically carried to the spot. What I understood from what the poojari said was, “Let these stones build up strong buildings, buildings for living and working space for people.” Did poojari forget to say something? In a record time of 3 years everything went on well and new structures came up in the place of bushy, semi-marshy land and, probably, with it, new dreams of faculty, students, and all.

A day came when the CRM (initial name given to IRMA) cell was informed of a meeting with Dr. Kurien. The logo discussion started. The colour of the logo was to be discussed. Soon, Sreekant Sambrani, IRMA chief then, with a half-laugh on his face mentioned, “The colour could be green as it is the cow dung colour representing rural.” Dr. Kurien probably understood the subdued sarcasm and bluntly shot back, “I do not know why people laugh at it when they talk of cow dung. It is despicable. I would say that all our fertilizer factories are cow dung factories.” The audience kept quiet