Physician, heal thyself!

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) is the 'go to place' for managerial wisdom. For more than half a century, this institute has been nurturing managerial talent through its flagship programme 'PGP' and various executive programmes. Founded by Vikram Sarabhai, the IIMA brand was bolstered by doyens like Ravi J.Mathai, Kamla Chaudhry and S.K.Bhattacharya. In its formative years, IIMA had technical collaboration with Harvard Business School, the Mecca of management.

One expects that an institute with such an enviable pedigree will not be found wanting when a decision is called for. The art of management can be summarised as decision-making and decision-implementation. IIMA is now avalanched not by an intractable problem but by a mundane issue that affects the safety of its residents.

The excellence of the professors and students in the Vastrapur campus is matched by the beauty and functionality of its architecture. This frontal elegance was the handiwork of a world-renowned architect, Louis Kahn. The exposed red bricks are at once a statement of fashion and function. The dormitories, library and other buildings, unfortunately, were not built strong enough to withstand the massive tremor that struck Gujarat in the year 2001.

The buildings developed cracks in various places; repairs were carried out in patches hoping that the famed architect's  masterpiece would not undergo any further strain. But the damage was regressive and in the recent past, the red bricks were coming apart. Being overly possessive about its architecture, the institute 'restored' the library and one dormitory by retaining the exterior and partially modifying the interior. The architect in charge of restoration gave a clean chit to its safety post-restoration (was it not to be expected?) An independent architect differed and warned about the buildings' inability to weather further shocks.

Any institution facing this literal existential crisis would have decided to reconstruct the dorms to ensure total safety of the students. But not IIMA, the institution that teaches the best of problem-solving strategies and tactics. It dithered like Arjuna in Kurukshetra. Unfortunately, there was no Krishna around to advise IIMA, "You are not the decaying body (building); you are the undying atman (managerial skills that you teach)"

Now the institute has started quivering. Earlier, it took the right decision to rebuild the dorms. All hell broke loose; Louis Kahn's family and assorted busybodies are warning against any damage to the original structure. Heritage / legacy is to be protected as long as it is economically viable and does not pose safety hazards. Heritage vs Safety ought to have been a no-brainer. Sadly, Homer has nodded and fallen a prey to indecision.