the teacherstudent relationship has changed over the years they are today more buddies than otherwise manaswini bhalla 29 assistant professor indian institute of managementbangalore iimb ijoined iimb when i was 27 i graduated in economics from lady shri ram college completed postgraduation in the same subject from delhi school of economics followed by a phd in economics from the pennsylvania state university us i did not know the advantages of teaching before joining the profession it was my love for reading that inspired me to choose this profession i dont like highpressure jobs as time for other activities like reading and painting are very important to me i like the lifestyle of a teacher since you are in total control of your time besides since it is a seasonal vocation theres enough time for you to do your own research too when i started teaching it was difficult to imagine myself on the other side of the table i teach the epgp course and the students are very intelligent they give back a lot the biggest challenge however is to retain the attention of students and to make the topics interesting so you have to be constantly on your toes and keep yourself updated all the timesidharth chauhan 27 faculty national law school of india university nlsiu iam an alumnus of nlsiu i served as a law clerk to the chief justice of india at the supreme court for two years followed by a masters degree in law at the university of pennsylvania us here at nlsiu ill be teaching courses in the areas of political theory statutory interpretation and the indian judicial system the decision to teach fulltime at my alma mater was a natural one since my studentyears were not only funfilled but also entailed exposure to diverse cultural backgrounds among my peers it was in this campus that i confronted and overcame my prejudices and preconceptions through interactions with my professors and peers when you stay at home you do not realise the diversity our country has now that i am back in a different capacity i look forward to playing a positive role in creating the transformative experience that students undergo at this institution as an alumnus i understand their life their vocabulary and localised terms i am also trying to change a few things that i as a student wanted to change instead of the traditional lectures i am trying to bring in more discussion i keep giving students openended questions hypothetical situations and involve them in discussions we are a month into the first trimester of the academic year and the students have been making some very sharp interventions their inquisitiveness and responsiveness is enough of a reason for me to look forward to each class praveen kumar 29 assistant professor material engineering indian institute of science iisc i did my btech in mechanical engineering from iit kanpur in 1993 and masters from the us on material science followed by a