8 Things To Do At The Alumni Weekend

The Ashoka Alumni Weekend, an event where alumni from Ashoka’s undergraduate, YIF, MLS programmes will come together to party and network, is taking place on campus this weekend (from 1st to 3rd June). Here are some of the events being organized to make this Weekender fun and rewarding for alumni from the undergraduate and fellowship programmes alike.

1. Gala Night

Do you miss parties at Ashoka already? The Weekender can take care of that. There will be a prom night taking place on Saturday (2nd June) where alumni from the fellowship and undergraduate programmes can ask each other out for a dance.

2. Talks by our Alumni

We all know that Ashokans like to give gyaan. At the Alumni Weekend, you can enjoy a variety of talks from the YIF alumni community, ranging from ‘Careers in Government’ to ‘Sex and Related Anxieties’. Here are posters for all 20 talks that are scheduled to be delivered during the weekend.

3. The First Ashoka Film Festival

There will be 9 films in total that will be screened during the Weekender, but the highlights will be two National Award Winning Films from our Alumni themselves. These films are Unreserved by Samarth Mahajan (YIF ’17) and Maacher Jhol — The Fish curry by Abhishek Verma (YIF ‘18).

From the undergraduate alumni, a film made by Gia Singh Arora from the founding undergraduate batch called Nani Ka Ghar Nani Ke Bina will also be screened.

Do make sure to get some popcorn along.

4. Food Arrangements

Have you always wanted to know what ICS chefs can do at full potential? The Alumni Association has made arrangements for ICS to cook especially delicious food for the Weekender. There will also be additional food stalls during the day to keep you full and ready to party and network.

5. Lassi

It seems that the Alumni Association is also very aware of the kinds of drinks that Ashokans prefer. Lassi (which is not really lassi, we’ve been told) will be omnipresent during the Weekender.

6. Relaxed Rules

The Alumni Committee has also miraculously managed to get the administration to calm down about rules regarding free movement across hostels and pool timings. As a result, there will be free movement throughout the Weekender. You can also jump into the pool at 3am if that’s what you feel like doing after having all that lassi.

7. Cultural Performances

In your time at Ashoka, music, art and dance were a part of regular life. You can relive the spirit of performance with open mic nights, Ashokapellas and two special events — a recital by Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan of Delhi Gharana, and a performance by our very own Abhilasha Sinha and her band ‘No Honey’.

8. Vision 2030 with Founders

A crucial part of the Alumni Weekend will be to bring the alumni community together and ideate about the future of Ashoka. You can look forward to sessions with Mr. Vineet Gupta, Mr. Pramath Raj Sinha, Mr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Mr. Sanjeev Bikchandani and Mr. Sankar Krishnan. They will be talking about their ideas and listening to yours regarding the future of the university.

From what we’ve been told till now, the Ashoka Alumni Weekend seems like it’s going to be a blast. It is maybe not the best idea to miss out on this chance to bond with the larger Ashoka community.