In a LinkedIn post, Bombay Shaving Company CEO Shantanu Deshpande shared what he called a scary reason behind IIM Calcutta’s decision to move its alumni reunion from the original 25-year mark to 15 years. Deshpande shared a conversation he had with a friend who was part of a recent 15-year reunion at the institution.
According to Deshpande, the friend who attended the reunion asked professors why the reunion was moved forward. While one reason was related to the timing of mid-life crises, it was the other reason that really pushed him back. “One reason was that at 15Y, people were at mid life crises so always good to get together. But, the other reason scared me to no end. Increasingly, larger percentage of batches were expiring (passing away) by the time 25 years passed. They were just no more. So they advanced it by a decade,” the CEO posted.
The reason for IIM Calcutta advancing its 25 year reunion to 15 year reunion. 😱 pic.twitter.com/EbbuMwyH0b
— Davinder Singh Muthuselvan (@madras_aale) April 27, 2025
Deshpande acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding why this was happening, pointing to various potential factors. “Covid or vaccines or lifestyle or something else. God alone knows.” Regardless of the cause, he emphasised on a universal truth and wrote, “Never know when it’s your time.” Despande urged people to “eat well, exercise consistently, sleep well, be happy while you’re on this planet”.
According to a report by The New Indian Express, senior consultant in cardiology at Delhi’s PSRI Hospital Dr Ravi Prakash highlighted a concerning trend from the data collected from hospitals across India between 2020 and 2023. The data shows that nearly 50% of heart attack patients are now under the age of 40. The alarming rise in cardiac arrests among younger individuals has set off serious concerns among doctors and researchers nationwide.
Experts point to a range of contributing factors, including sedentary lifestyles, chronic stress, unhealthy diets, smoking, alcohol consumption and even genetic predispositions. The report further mentioned about a five-year study conducted by Aakash Healthcare in Delhi revealed that heart attack cases have more than doubled since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.