Also gracing the function were the Vice – chancellor of Bharathidasan University, Dr. C.Thangamuthu, Director General of BIM Dr. N.Jayashankaran, and Director of BIM Prof. M.Shankaran. The students of the 20th and 21st batch had come down in huge numbers from different parts of the country, some of them even with their parents to receive their degrees and awards.

The convocation hall was a sight to be seen with students of the 20th and 21st batches dressed elegantly in their ceremonial gowns and those of the 22nd and 23rd batches dressed to kill in their power suits and sarees. The proceedings started at 3 p.m. as per the schedule once the dignitaries were seated on the stage with a prayer song invoking the blessings of the almighty. The chief guest then announced the convocation ceremony open. Prof M. Sankaran, director of BIM then welcomed the gathering, which consisted of BHEL executives, media, students and parents. In his welcome speech, Prof M. Sankaran welcomed Dr Krishnaraj Vanavarayar and congratulated all the students who were going to graduate on this auspicious day and wished them the very best for their future.

Dr C Thangamuthu, Vice Chancellor of Bharathidasan University then addressed the gathering. He was all praise for the success stories that BIM has been producing since its inception. He was pleased to acknowledge the fact that BIM was consistently ranking in the top 20 B schools in the country and more importantly it was the 2nd best management institute in the entire country under the university system as governed by U.G.C and A.I.C.T.E. He also pointed out the fact that management education being a specialty field, the pay scale for the professors and the lecturers in the field should match the industry standards to attract the best of teaching talent. He congratulated the students of the 20th and 21st batch for the laurels they had brought to BIM and wished them good luck for their future.

Director General of Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Dr N Jayasankaran was the next dignitary to address the gathering. He thanked the chief guest Dr Vanavarayar for accepting the invitation and gracing the occasion. He congratulated the graduating batch of students. On this auspicious day he also instituted a gold medal award in the memory of his late father for the most meritorious student of each batch. He presented a cheque of Rs. 1.25 lacs for the same cause to the chief guest who is also a member of the board of governors of BIM Trichy.

19th November was more than just another day for some 185 BIM graduates. It was their convocation day, the 20th convocation of BIM. Their day promised to be more memorable with the day’s chief guest Dr.B.K.Krishnaraj Vanavarayar. Life is one long journey with many dreams, out of which some materialize and some don’t. But at the end of one dream, begins another and this goes on endlessly, thus started the inspiring speech of the chief guest. He congratulated all the graduating students on the successful completion of their course and wished them the best for all their future endeavors. He urged all the students to their alma mater, not only in monetary terms but in whatever little way possible. He urged the graduating batch to continue in the right path of life however difficult it may be. He also stressed upon the fact that the present batches of BIM should learn from their seniors and follow their footsteps for a successful future ahead. As a befitting message of the day he said, “India is blessed with everything. The only thing it lacks is Leadership. There is a leader in every one of you. I call upon to know him and help India emerge as a super power in the 21st century. ” In the end he thanked BIM for inviting him here on this great day.

Prof S Sundar, PGP Chairman BIM, then announced the names of all the 20th batch graduating students who were present for the ceremony. The students were called and presented the degrees by the chief guest. Gold medal and a cash award were given to the 1st rank holder. BIM 21 was then awarded with their degrees. Anand Venkatraman got the gold medal for obtaining the 1st rank in the 21st batch. Students of BIM 22, one of the current batches at BIM were also given cash prizes for their excellent performance in their first year. Chitra Dey got the prize for the being the most meritorious student in BIM 22. Cash award was given to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th rank holders of all the 3 batches.

With this the prize distribution ceremony came to an end, and the chief guest announced the convocation closed.

Dr David Jawahar, a senior faculty member at BIM Trichy proposed the vote of thanks. He thanked the chief guest for gracing this auspicious occasion and making it an event to remember. He thanked the Vice- Chancellor of Bharathidasan University Dr C Thangamuthu for his presence and words of wisdom. He thanked Director General of BIM, Dr N Jayasankaran for his words of encouragement and the gold medal award instituted by him. He then thanked the executives from BHEL and the press and the media for being present on that great day. He also thanked the Director Prof M. Sankaran, the faculty members and the staff of BIM for all their efforts in making it a success story. Finally he thanked all the students of the four batches of BIM without whose efforts and presence then would have been incomplete.

The event came to an end with the recitation of the National Anthem, followed by a high tea for all those who were present at the gathering. All one could see then was smiling and laughing faces of students who had graduated; proud smiles on the faces of the parents who were there to applaud their wards, a spark of aspiration and vision in the eyes of the next batches waiting to graduate from the esteemed institution.