Pragati fever

Pragati fever had gripped us for 2 long months and there were moments when I thought I wouldn’t survive it. The Annual B-fest of my college- Amrita School of Business was one of the few things that I had always looked forward to because it was totally run by the first year students and it’s with great pride I say that my batch has done a splendid job, to say the least.

The initial days were lazy and relaxed when all forums were not sure what they wanted to do and the committees had no work. It took immense efforts from the Core Committee to get things in line. From the Forums side, the persuasive VP Forums, Ravi, was the one sitting by us and pestering us to get him the games ready and give him updates now and then. Had he not done that, I can tell you for sure, Pragati 2008 would have had much less standard. Then there was our dear President, Ragavendra, who came up with many a little pep talk when things were slow. His talks always resulted in a spur of actions and things would take shape quickly. Our VP, Public Relations, Lakshmi made a fantastic job of getting us sponsorships from the corporate world. The total came to a whooping Rupees 1,10,000, excluding the registration charges of the visiting colleges. VP Finance, the one we would normally associate with diplomatic talks and miserly ways and tension ridden face, was just the opposite. Shalini’s trademarks during the 2 months, like always, were her never vanishing smile, patience and easy talk. VP Colleges, Sangeetha, fondly called Sangy, was hard pushed and had reduced to half her size by the time it was Pragati eve. She got the best colleges around to ASB so the players and the standard of games matched. Her decisions have indeed paid off well. VP committees, Sethu worked really hard with his boys. The committees were the ones that deserve most praise. Had it not been for the Decoration committee, Amrita School of Business would not have looked this grand and royal. Had it not been for the Food Committee, that extended lunch hours and dinner hours so it could take care of the needs of participants playing games at different times, many of us would have missed our meals. Had it not been for the Accomodation Committee, there would have been total chaos when the guests arrived. The committee was perfect in allocating people and rooms for each visiting college. Had it not been for the Hospitality Committee, the event simply would have gone without making a mark. The Technical Support Committee helped immensely with anything that came their way. They were the ones responsible for the smooth run of every game without any glitches. VP Forums, Ravi Kumar, had this to say about Avinash, a member of the Technical Committee, “He’s been my backbone of support”. Shona, of the Finance Forum said Avinash was a hard worker and was very helpful and always provided support on time.

The games per se were a hit and the much awaited Chain Reaction conducted by Alumni Sandeep and Anand, from the Relations Forum platform, was an instant hit among the players and the audience alike. Special thanks to both of them for travelling all the way to Coimbatore and hosting the legendary game at Pragati 2008.

Visiting schools gifted their respective Hospitality members with chocolates and other gifts. Anitha even received a testimonial from Bangalore Management Academy. Deepthi was thanked by Dhruva College with a huge cuddly teddy bear for her hospitality. These are only a couple of the 118 students who added class and royalty to Pragati 2008.


The beauty of the whole event lies in a simple fact. Each of us had the perfect role designed for us and none of us could have suited any of these roles better.

To conduct an event on such a scale, one would think there would have been many hurdles and squabbles between the students in getting limelight or praise for their bit of work. But at Amrita School of Business, things are certainly different. Nobody stakes claim for praise. If the event is successful and has received much acclaim for its magnificence and perfection in its details, every student in the batch of 118 will hold the other 117 responsible for it. So do I. The whole event fell in place like a perfect jigsaw puzzle and at the centre of it was the Core Committee.

Kudos ASB-ians!

PS: Sincere apologies to anybody whose name I’ve left out. I mean to thank and congratulate each and everybody in the batch, for the success of Pragati 2008.