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Born on 6th Nov 1935 in Dharwar, Nagesh Raghunath
Rane was the eldest of 7 siblings. His father
was a policeman and Nagesh underwent hardship
and struggled with life-and-death questions at
an early age. As a child he was adventurous and
unconventional, his restless mind feeling stifled
by regular classes. However he matured into a
brilliant and hardworking boy, taught and studied
in Hubli at the same time and took a double post
graduation in Economics and English despite overpowering
financial problems that assailed his family. Soon
he realised that there was not much scope in a
small town like Dharwar and he scanned ads in
the newspapers for opportunities outside his hometown.
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was at such time that an inviting ad beckoned the trailblazer
to Calcutta. After a small stint in TOI, he moved to
India's commercial capital Mumbai. He taught as an English
Lecturer in HR College of Commerce & Economics for
about 7 years where apart from starting a course on
Effective Business Communication, he met and married
Leela, a lecturer in the English Department. In 1970,
IIM Ahmedabad appointed him as a part time lecturer
in the Written Analysis and Communication department
for their Business Writing Course. For 2 years he bided
time travelling between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. It is
during these trips that the idea of IMS germinated.
All through his teaching career, he had seen young
students confused and clueless about career avenues,
a small town education offered. All over India, there
were those who had the resources for an international
education but no awareness about courses available,
entrance requirements and whom to approach. India, he
realised had a huge talent pool going waste. In the
late 70s he released the first set of material of its
kind on attempting CAT and later went on to add GRE,
GMAT and TOEFL, which he painstakingly prepared himself.
These were the humble beginnings of IMS.
He was sure that teaching was his calling and genuinely
desired to mentor and motivate specially those who had
the potential for bright careers. What was unique about
Professor Rane was the time he gave each of these students
to selflessly guide them into the careers they were
cut out for. Being the visionary that he was, he had
his own meter for measuring commitment and he knew the
minute he met a student what he could develop into.
He spoke to them, delved into their dreams, hopes and
aspirations that they would've otherwise feared to voice
and supported them through the phase when dreams take
the shape of workable plans. He stayed with them helping
them through initial hurdles and difficulties even sponsoring
some of their business enterprises till they could sustain
themselves. He dealt with each of his students as he
would his own children and had a distinct way of interacting
with each of them. Students grew so fond of him that
they trusted him completely with their problems, personal,
family or career related. Students flocked around him
not merely for the obvious pedagogic inputs but more
for the life-transforming motivational mentoring that
he provided. He was able to touch the lives of everybody
who came in contact with him.
In the late 70s, working out of a table in his CA friend's
office, he started Institute of Management Studies (IMS)
to help students through the most difficult phase of
their transition from student to corporate life. Starting
with a first batch of 7 students, he grew the business
with his dedication - not only to the business but also
to his student's welfare and success. Professor Rane
was a man ahead of his times - he not only identified
MBA as an education opportunity well before the current
craze, but also identified key success factors in a
business, which dealt with young, highly intelligent
minds. One unique feature of his business model was
that he had very few professionally qualified full-time
teachers - almost all the instructors, test-makers,
counsellors were successful ex-students of IMS who out
their love for Mr. Rane and dedication to associate
with a man who had such a large influence on their lives
took time out of their busy schedules to help the future
generations of young minds in their quest for higher
education.
From a small table space in Tardeo catering to 7 students,
IMS outgrew city limits as an all-India correspondence
course and later to 53 centres across the length and
breadth of the country. The students who took up an
international education on his advice crossed national
borders as well. The fold has spread not only to the
top B-schools across the country but also wherever in
the corporate world they have made their presence felt,
they believe they owe a lot to the singularly inspiring
efforts of Professor Rane who they remember tenderly
even today. Professor Rane passed away on December 5
1994 of a heart attack but his charismatic personality
and generosity of spirit remain an evergreen nostalgia
etched in the hearts and minds of those who can by no
means forget his impact on their lives.
"The remarkable thing about Prof. Rane was that
he did not just talk inspirationally, he actually helped
so many people, including me, to work towards realising
our dreams. Every conversation we had with him proved
his phenomenal sincerity of intention and purpose, which
he never failed to fulfil." Says Sandeep Varma
ICOMO
Here's what Somak Ghosh, FMS 1993, now Director, Project
Finance and Infrastructure, Rabo India, has to say "
My association with IMS started in 1991 when I joined
the correspondence course of IMS. Right from the early
days I was attracted to Mr Rane (whom we all lovingly
referred to as Sir) philosophy of teaching as a vocation
and was motivated to come back and do my bit as an instructor
after completing my MBA course. Sir soon became a focal
point in my life and there are a number of reasons why
I believe that this association is one of the fondest
in my life and why nearly 10 years after his death I
hold him in the highest regard and esteem. To Sir, we
were all special, like his children and he shared our
dreams and fears, had a word of encouragement when we
faced problems and motivated us to give our best whether
in our personal or professional lives. Sir was someone
who was old enough in years and wisdom to be a father,
but young at heart to be a friend. During my association
with Sir I spent some of the best times in my life and
made friendships with people who I have a lot of regard
for - personally and professionally. For me personally,
I can never forget December 5, 1994 when I was woken
up at about 6 am with the terrible news of Sir's untimely
demise - December 5 also happens to be by birthday -
and till date on this day when I get up in the morning,
the first thought is that one of the people I was closest
to is no longer there to share this day with me. I will
always cherish memories of Sir and consider myself privileged
to have spent the time I did with him."
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