The famed institute greeted its new Post Graduate Programme (PGP) Batch 2025-26 not with PowerPoint presentations but with Odissi steps, Sarod strings and Pattachitra brushstrokes thanks to a unique tie up with SPIC MACAY.

Students switched classrooms for concert halls and textbooks for ragas over the July 25–27 period. The induction session was not just an orientation; it was a cultural immersion experience, with India's finest classical musicians offering a special window of opportunity for young management aspirants to stop, reflect and relate to the roots of Indian aesthetics and philosophy.

Every morning, workshops began with yoga breathing with Guru Khagen Kalita, Hindustani singing by Pt. Omkar Dadarkar, traditional Pattachitra painting by Kalpana Chitrakar and Odissi dance by Padma Shri recipient Sujata Mohapatra. These were not passive performances but active sessions where students draped sarees, painted mythological tales and learnt to be silent in their breath.

Day One was started by Joydeep Mukherjee's playing on unusual stringed instruments like the Sursingar and Mohan Veena, evoking a musing ambiance. Pt. Dadarkar's meditative but powerful voice led students into the melodic abysmal depths of the Gwalior and Kirana gharanas on Day Two.  The highlight was Sujata Mohapatra's odyssey of an Odissi recital that was a visual poetry in motion that enthralled numerous students.

One of the students said that they had come in anticipation of case studies and corporate lingo but found themselves presented with stories, quietness and soul. Another said that the yoga class brought her a sense of calm that she did not even know she needed prior to diving into the rigours of an IIM course.

IIM Shillong's SPIC MACAY Induction Series 2025–2026 gave students a memorable start to their two-year academic adventure by teaching them about the subtleties of Indian culture and encouraging a stronger sense of identification and belonging.