Indian Institute of Management Calcutta on September 19 felicitated its alumnus Malli Mastan Babu for breaking the “fastest to seven summits” world record.

A pass-out of IIT Kharagpur (1998) and IIM Calcutta (2004), Malli quit the corporate world to fulfil his childhood dream, inspired by Lt M Uday Bhaskar Rao who lost his life in the 1985 Indian Army Everest Expedition. Between January and July, the 32-year-old scaled the tallest peak in each of the seven continents in a world record time of 172 days.

He also became the first Indian to climb the tallest peaks in each of the continents, as well as to scale Mt Vinson-Massif, the highest point of Antarctica. Interestingly, he scaled each summit in seven different months and on seven different days of the week. With several records under his belt he is now all set to scale the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, the highest peak in Australasia, before officially applying to the Guinness Book of Records.

Malli has been felicitated at many functions in the US. He was given the Outstanding Youth of the Year award by Senator John Kerry in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney concert hall. He was conferred the title “Pride of India” by Indian American Friendship Council at Dallas on August 27.

“I feel extremely happy that one of our former students has achieved such a feat. It is a pleasure to see people do out-of-the-ordinary things, so Malli is special,” said Anindya Sen, dean (Programme Initiative), IIM Calcutta. The director of IIM Calcutta presented Malli with a plaque and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to help him in the expedition.

In 2003, Malli founded the Adventure Club in IIM Calcutta to encourage students to take up sports like trekking, rock climbing, rafting and paragliding.

“Adventure sports are a framework for learning leadership skills. It is about risk, challenge and discovery. The same structure can be extended to the corporate world where one has to take risks, face challenges in the form of exploiting opportunities and discover new ways of harbouring growth. Thus, participating in adventure sports help in strengthening character and in improving crisis management skills,” said Malli.

Armed with the lessons he learnt while attempting the daring feat, Malli has given a number of motivational talks for The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE), HCL, Indotronix and Brahma Kumari Ashram Scouts. He plans to devote some time after his next expedition to catching up on some much needed rest and writing a book about his expeditions. He also wishes to organise leadership expeditions and treks to mountains for students and corporates.

“Malli has set an example by taking the path less-trodden and giving up the comforts of a cushy life to pursue his dreams. He is a role model for students to achieve their own dreams in life,” remarked Abhishek Saha, a second-year student at IIM Calcutta.

Chandreyee Chatterjee

happenings here ’n’ there

Views in print

A dance event at RG Kar Medical College’s fest Sabdik, held in September. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Dedar Khobor, a monthly Bengali newspaper by schoolchildren, was launched in the city on September 24 to commemorate Girl Child Day.

The paper is the brainchild of NGO Prayasam, with support from Unicef. Students of about 60 schools in North 24-Parganas have been approached by the NGO to contribute articles in the newspaper. “They have the right to voice their views about the policies formulated for them,” said Sulagna Roy, education officer, Unicef.

The children are free to report on events, while the editorial section will be written by a teenager. “Social inclusion is very important. Let us make sure to involve the children,” said Unicef official Francesco d’Ovidio. Dedar Khobor will come out for three consecutive months before seeking corporate sponsorship.

Events galore

Lady Brabourne College hosted a series of intra-college competitions from September 18 to 20, including debate, recitation, painting and singing.

The motion for the debate was “Is media today crossing its limits and encroaching on the privacy of individuals?” The theme for the painting event was “Baishe Srabon”. The results for all the contests were announced on September 20.

Godhuli Goswami,
3rd yr English (hons), Lady Brabourne College

Corporate tips

Globsyn Business School conducted its Management Development Programme at Hyatt Regency hotel on September 14 and 15. The programme included discussions on team building, issues in financial management, strategic brand management and the impact of IT on business process management.

Democracy talk

A two-day national seminar on democracy was organised at Loreto College in September. The students interacted with scholars from across India who attended the meet.

Chit Chat

The Heritage School hosted a Mohan Veena recital by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, organised by SpicMacay, on campus on September 21. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

Fresh batch

The Calcutta chapter of AIESEC, an international organisation of students and young executives, organised a leadership training seminar for new recruits in September. Day One had innovative “ice-breaker” games which helped the participants get to know each other better. Then they were introduced to the Calcutta executive body of AIESEC. The youngsters discussed current issues and learnt about AIESEC’s history. Next was a talk on the organisation’s exchange programme and the role of the members. The team building activities cemented trust and confidence in the new-found friends.

On Day Two, a presentation of the three sectors of AIESEC by their respective vice-presidents provided further insight into the organisation’s working. In the evening, parents of the participants were made aware of their wards’ involvement with AIESEC. All the action was followed by a new recruits’ meet where they were allocated to various departments of the body.

Many of the new AIESEC members from 15 cities of the country attended the national leadership development seminar in Mangalore later in September.

Stuti Agarwal,
1st yr political science (hons), St Xavier’s College

Against addiction

A seminar on substance abuse for students of classes XI and XII was held at Birla High School (Girls) before it closed for the Pujas. Ranjana Roy, the school counsellor, explained the causes and effects of substance abuse. This was followed by a talk by Satyajit Ash, who told the students about the various types of drugs and their harmful effects, on the user and his or her family.

We were told that one out of every five people are susceptible to alcohol addiction. Peer pressure, we learnt, is one of the main reasons for the habit. A member of Alanon, an organisation that supports families of alcoholics, shared her experience of having had to look after alcoholic family members. The students were moved by other real-life tales of courage against adversities and the will to give up the addiction.

Neha Dugar,
Class XII, Birla High School (Girls)