13/08/2026
*"Echoes of Onam: When the Campus Smelled of Jasmine, Sadya, and Pure Nostalgia"* To every alumnus reading this: Take a deep breath and close your eyes for a moment.
Do you remember the buzzing energy of August at Toc H? Do you remember the sudden, vibrant transformation of the management block as the festival season approached?
From 13th August to 19th August 2026, the Department of Management Studies (TIST MBA) once again hosts its legendary Onam Trade Fair—and while a new batch of budding leaders stepped into the spotlight, the corridors echoed with the unmistakable ghost of your laughter, your hustle, and your unforgettable memories. Remember the Rush?
Do you recall those frantic late-night group calls before Day 1?
The chaotic brainstorming sessions in the seminar hall to pick stall names.
Negotiating with local vendors for sarees, snacks, and handicrafts, convincing yourself you were already corporate moguls.
Setting up the stalls at the break of dawn—tape in hand, banner slightly crooked, but hearts full of unbridled excitement.
Walking through the trade fair this week felt like stepping back into a time machine. The campus was alive with the mesmerizing thrum of the Chenda Melam that vibrated right through your chest. The air was rich with the fragrance of fresh marigolds, sweet ada pradhaman, fried banana chips, and hot chai. Students dressed in pristine white Kasavu sarees and traditional mundu hurried past—some shouting out discounted prices to pull crowds to their game stalls, others managing cash boxes with the exact same nervous enthusiasm you once had.
*More Than Just a Trade Fair*
For outsiders, it was a 7-day campus exhibition. But for us—the Toc H MBA family—it was always where theory met the real world.
It was where we learned supply chain management while hauling stock from the main gate. It was where marketing concepts came alive through spontaneous sales pitches to engineering campus squad and visiting faculty. It was where leadership, conflict resolution, and financial budgeting weren't just textbook chapters, but survival skills for the week!
And above all, it was where lifelong bonds were forged over shared plates of sadhya and late-evening debriefs under the campus trees. *A Message to Our Dear Alumni 💛*
As the stalls are packed away and the final echoes of the Onam songs fade across the Arakkunnam hills, one truth remains: The Onam Trade Fair will always belong to you.
You laid the foundation. You set the benchmarks. Every stall erected this year carried a piece of the spirit, grit, and joy that your batches brought to these grounds.
We know life has taken you into corporate boardrooms, distant cities, and busy schedules. But as you scroll through the photos of this year's fair, we hope you feel that familiar tug at your heart. We hope you miss the frantic stall shifts, the tea breaks after a long sales day, and the irreplaceable warmth of Toc H.
You may have graduated from TIST, but your memories still walk these corridors.
Happy Onam to our incredible Alumni Family! Come visit us —your campus is always waiting to welcome you back home.
