IIT-IIM Alumni Association, Kuwait, celebrated their annual picnic in a grand whizzo style on a fabulous Friday of 8th February, 2019 at AIRTEC Desert Camp in Wafra, sponsored by AIRTEC, attended by a large gathering of enthusiastic members and their families along with their invited guests. Mother Nature, as always been the case with the picnic events of the Association over past four years, was absolutely hotsy-totsy. The alumni of IIT-IIM and their loved ones basked in a daylong apricity, absorbing an entire annual dose of free vitamin D. It was a perfect blend of equilibrium between the chilly Northern Kisses and brightly warm Eye of Heaven, fully ratifying the decision of the Core Team in picking this flawless fantastic Friday for the event. The picnickers took off to Wafra desert camp, defenestrating their holiday morning dysania and for once, choosing to throw their addiction of digital social media to mongrels, transforming themselves into real ravishing fluttering social butterflies dressed in an array of rainbow colors.

The members of IIT-IIM Alumni Association, Kuwait, an association of the elite educational institutes of world repute, coming from all generations, young and old, men and women along with their progeny of young girls and boys joined the great day to grant themselves a perfect holiday in the open, They drenched themselves in the glorious sunshine while seamlessly blending to socialize and having fun and indulging in a right blend of mental, physical games and sporting activities.

The Picnic began with all the members registering themselves and greeting others along with their schatzi. Breakfast was arranged at the venue enabling families to come early and maximize their presence at the event. After attaining the needed quorum, the Annual General Body meeting began with IIT-IIM Alumni Association President, Mr. Peeyush Jain welcoming all those present at the venue and giving an insight of the Association. The Treasurer, Mr. Suresh Choksi provided the Statements of Accounts, which was duly approved amid thunderous applause. The General Secretary, Mr. Bhushan Joshi, presented an elaborate account of all the exciting events and programs conducted by the Association in the past one year. He thanked all the hardworking core committee members and promised that with the active support of the members we can scale up the level and quality while increasing the number of exciting events. He introduced the new Core Committee member, Mr. Anis Saif to the members, who thanked the Core Committee and members for giving him an opportunity to serve the Alumni in this new responsible position. M/s AIRTEC not only offered their venue but also provided unstinted full logistic and utilities support for the event. The President, Mr. Peeyush Jain, once again, appealed to the younger members to join the Core Committee and support the activities of the Association by volunteering.

The old and young members displayed their yesteryears vintage skills of modern day Kite flying. It was refreshing to see the Girls of Houses of all ages too took up kite flying with avid new found enthusiasm living up to the current social trend we are into everything. Children enjoyed the sporting facilities available at the camp in their own carefree mood, away from parents. Professional event manager Ms. Rachana managed the entire show with professional perfection and interesting games involving everyone present. Recondite clue based quiz with good sprinkling of technical questions, women and men games, couple games, and some other innovative games for kids, women and men were arranged to keep the enthusiasm soaring high throughout the picnic session. The Core Committee organized the Games as per the well-planned schedule with excitingly large number of prizes open for participants. In between the games, there was ample time to all the members to meet and greet, mingle socially with each other and make great new friends. Several new members and guests also socialized with great interest to acquaint themselves and to be a part of this friendly elite get-together. Tree swingers for a change resorted to net swinging thoroughly enjoying and gamboling on it while reproving their unwavering faith in Darwinist instincts. The game that took everyone into the mood was mock election campaign with 6 candidates running for elections.

The organizers of the event never let during the entire duration, never let the Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, level go up and the hypothalamus the control center in the brain supervising the gut famish feedback loop was kept on idling mode with delicious breakfast, sumptuous lunch and high tea from M/s Winners Restaurant, Mahboula. All dishes appealed and captivated the taste buds of the everyone. The variety and range of the food satisfied all types of needs – Veg, Non-Veg and other special category.

The members settled for a grand finale of a game of Tambola or lotto with an interesting zany twist. Besides, there were a lot of spot prizes sponsored by AK Modern and the Association. On the sidelines away from the hustle bustle of DJ and the sound system, the men also played tug of war. In addition to the above, there were other events like football, and kids enjoyed trampoline. All the winners were congratulated and the senior members present, distributed the prizes to them. All the members present went home tickling pink with at least one gift reserved for each family including the single members.

IIT-IIM Alumni Association, Kuwait is growing day by day with the full commitment and dedication of all the members and the Core Committee. This event was a great success as large numbers of members attended, displaying abundance of energy and enthusiasm. Finally, the event ended with a group photo session. Many smiling faces returning with several gifts from the venue reflected the happiness and satisfaction among the members thanks to the excellent work by Mr. Ashish Jain who took the responsibility of arranging gifts. Bal Mukund was instrumental in coordinating all the planning for games. Truly, it was a bonzer of an event, promptly acknowledged through the incessant WhatsApp congratulatory messages by the members.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) are globally renowned premier Indian institutions of higher education in the fields of Engineering Technology and Management. The association can be reached at [email protected] or the official website www.iitiimkuwait.com