Second IIMB campus stuck in 'planning stage'

The proposed second campus of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) at Anekal is stuck in the planning stage, institute director Pankaj Chandra said.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of IIMB’s 39th Foundation Day lecture on Monday, Chandra said, “These things take time. Construction has not begun yet. We are chalking out the best methods to go about it.”

The State government had last year leased out 110 acres to the institute to expand its campus at Anekal on the outskirts of the City.

IIMB officials said the delay was because those at the helm were still considering logistical issues if the campus were to be split into two.

“It does not make much sense to have a part of the campus in the City and the other outside it. Talks are going on as to how to solve these issues. There is, however, no problem in funding,” an official said.

Guha’s advice

Earlier, speaking about ‘Life outside and beyond work’, historian Ramachandra Guha said inter-disciplinary work and an inclination towards arts enriched one’s life. One may not be an expert in all areas of interest, but that should not deter anyone from having multiple interests, he said.

Guha also spoke of his interest in classical music and the diverse experiences in his career path.

A scholar who has researched extensively in sociology, economics, environment and cricket, he advised the young minds to hone their skills in as many disciplines as possible.

The historian hailed litterateur and poet Shivaram Karanth as one of the greatest minds in the country after Rabindranath Tagore.

“It might not be possible in the present era to master everything one pursues like Karanth did or Tagore achieved. We could try to develop a curiosity for knowing more in our respective fields of interest,” he said.

He went on to describe how Karanth revived Yakshagana and also strongly took part in environmental activism.

Textbook revamp

On the declining number of people pursuing academics in history, Guha said the interest in the subject had definitely increased, but the number of people looking at it as a career option had gone down. He said the State textbooks could do much better in the history syllabus.

“The NCERT textbooks are really good. State boards could adopt the method. Also, there needs to be brainstorming involving all stakeholders to decide what could be a good enough syllabus,” he said. Guha observed that the failure of Lokpal activism by Anna Hazare and his team was that they depended on the media to act as a catalyst in resolving the issue.

“Media successfully focuses on a problem, but does not solve it,” he said.