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Feature

Grand IBA Graduation Festival 2006

Samira Munir

Let it be creativity, excellence, emotions, endeavor, feat, excitement or madness; wrap them up; all in one box; you get a slight glimpse into the IBA graduation ceremony 2006 that was held from 17 th of this month. Accuse me of bragging, but I can't help but say, that Graduation ceremonies in IBA are one of its kinds. And this year's Ceremony arranged for BBA 10th and MBA 38th batch was no different.

A three day long event, that captivates each and every person related to IBA, let it be the students of the non graduating batches, or the faculty, or the staff members, Graduation Ceremony is a time of festivity in IBA. Visit IBA event one week before the main event, you will sense the vibe everywhere.

What is most special about this event is that, every year this Grand ceremony is organized by the current students of IBA and every thing you see has a personal touch to it. It is the responsibility of the most senior batch , to organize the event, which includes arranging the sponsors, the venues, the food, the gifts, the Graduation OST (written and created every year by our own students) and the list goes on. This year BBA 11 th batch and MBA 39th were the organizing batches. But the other batches also rolled up their sleeves, to create an evening of grandeur.

The graduation festival kicks off with the in house cultural event (organized by all the students), followed by a grand Convocation the next morning, and dinner on the same day. This is followed by a 12 hours of boys night out, in our IBA hostel on that very night and it polishes off with the concert ( where renowned bands are brought in to perform) on the third day. But this year, due to the unfortunate events following the blockades, the cultural event was the last one to take place, on the 19 th.

But, from my perspective, the most awaited of all this events is the cultural evening, because it is the most fun-filled and the most interactive. IBA is a small community with only about 200 students graduating each year. As such it's no surprise that almost everyone knows everyone. And there is a feeling of belonging that is shared by all. This emotion is reflected in the time, energy and effort the current batches put into organizing this event.

The main part of the cultural evening, is the decoration and this year 11th batch, brought whole new meaning to it. We the juniors were worried, as to how they are going to pull it off, with the blockade and all, but they did not just pull it off, they were phenomenal! The whole theme of the event was the graduating batches. It was all about the graduating batches.

As I stepped into the familiar adorned corridor on the evening of the cultural event, collages of pictures of some familiar faces of 10th batch and MBA 39 th batch students, on large canvases, welcomed me. A walk through memory lane- that's what I'd like to call it; reminding you of your times you spend in IBA. At least I felt that way; I wonder what the graduating batch went through, when they walked through the corridor, because I had goose bumps and I am only in the 2 nd year!

The show started off with an out of the world Laser Show. The whole auditorium fell into a deep trance, as the laser waves and the music swept us all into a new dimension. Next in line was the Graduation theme song and video "Ahoban". As we sang along with the song, the melancholy of the music and words gripped us all;

"Shopner angina chere
shopner digonte
Shunno chokhe khuje phiri
Amar chaya ke"

After that each of the current batches brought on their brilliant performances. The 1st round of the evening ended amidst strong emotions, amazing dance numbers, stomach-aching laughter, well-written plays and heart touching videos.

The 2nd round was the concert, performed by our in-house band "Khichuri". As the night began to roll students from all batches danced to the beats, while some of them decided just to sit it out and enjoy the scene and music. As the frenzy began to climb, some of the students joined the band members on stage and jumped to the rhythm. Finally and gradually the night came to an end, when all the students bade their final goodbyes to the remaining few graduates.

Three days of fun, three days of reminiscence, three days of pure and heart touching reunion all culminated into these last moments of goodbye. It also reminded us of how much proud we are of our graduates and how much we love IBA.