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Post Event Report The Celebrations for 25th Anniversary of The Marketing Fair got off to a grand start on December 27. The highlight of the Celebration was the presence of three former Marketing Association of XLRI [MAXI] Secretaries - representing different eras of The Fair's evolution - who were pivotal in bringing the Fair to what it is today. The 25th edition was inaugurated by a traditional lighting of the Lamp by the MAXI Secretaries and Dr. Sharad Sarin, the pioneer of this concept. Dr. Sarin then took a trip down memory lane recalling how the Fair evolved over the years, the Herculean challenges that came in its path and how the odds were overcome. It was a poignant moment when he quoted that "The Fair would have died a natural death after its first edition, had it not been for the determination of the 1979 to 81 batch." [The then Secretary of MAXI, Ajay Uppal, was also present.] He recalled how the then MAXI Secretary Ramesh had shown tremendous enthusiasm on carrying forward the concept for the second time. But, sadly, within a fortnight, Ramesh had had a fit of jaundice and on his return to his home town Vijayawada, as a rude shock to XLRI, expired. That was when the batch, to give him a fitting tribute, took it upon itself to organize the Fair again, turning it into a grand success, leading the way for the 22 other Fairs that followed. That was when Ajay took over as MAXI Secretary. Ajay Uppal, who is now a senior executive with Birla Tires, gave an inspirational talk that was garnished with a liberal dose of humour. The crowd enjoyed every moment of his superb speech, as he shared his experiences in the industry over the years. The experiences shed light on the challenges that await the managers-to-be in the years ahead. The 1983 MAXI Secretary, P. N. Subramanium [who is now a successful entrepreneur and Head of Third Eye] then posed a query to Dr. Sarin, on which no thought had been given over the years. The question was simple. "Why did you [XLRI and Dr. Sarin] not patent this concept on its conception?" This was his style of honouring Dr. Sarin, as the Fair is now being conducted every year across premier B Schools in the Country. The 1993 MAXI Secretary, C. V. L. Srinivas [who is to take over now, as Managing Director, Maximize India, come January 2, 2004] then recalled how the Fair had evolved in the ten years since Subramanium's time. That was when Satellite TV had entered India and the Fair, keeping up with the latest trends, had done a psychographic study of STAR TV's viewership, receiving rich accolades. Dr. E. M. Rao, Dean [Academics], XLRI, renowned author and Professor of Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, then shared his views, quoting instances from his long innings in the corporate world prior to joining XLRI. The Celebration also saw Dr. Sharad Sarin, the pioneer of the Marketing Fair, unveil the next logical step of the Fair - A Marketing Lab. Having thought about it for the past few years, he dedicated the concept today, coinciding with the 25th Fair, making a clarion call to the current batch to give it shape and design it. Mohit Sud, the present Secretary of MAXI played a perfect host on the occasion. The Fair took place on Sunday, December 28, with a proud City [the citizens of which have made the past 24 Fairs grand success stories] descending on Campus to be part of the celebration. The Fair was in top form, as usual, with over 4000 citizens participating with the usual enthusiasm right from 11 am to the close at 7 O' clock this evening. Long queues patiently waited before each stall to take part in the games, taking the chilling Jamshedpur weather on their stride. The companies that participated in The Fair this year were industry majors, Colgate Palmolive, Franklin Templeton Investments, ITC, Nestle, Titan and UTI Bank. Two more MAXI Secretaries, Sanjeev Kapoor [1998] and Daljit Singh [2002] joined the Celebrations on Sunday. Click here to read The Curtain Raiser Report on the same. Contributed by - |
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