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THE ‘MUN’ING EXPEDITION 

It all began at the seminar. When a lanky teenager visited our school and made a model United

Nations conference seem like a gala five day fest, there were only two possible deductions –either

he is right, or it’s just a marketing scheme. I asked around, and everyone seemed pretty convinced.

‘Why?’ I asked. ‘Why not?’ they argued. Well, fair enough. 

Come August, I find out that I’m in the World Bank (WB), representing Indonesia, which was fine by

me because I had heard of it the topics given to me were pretty interesting. But being the last-

minute person I am, I just glanced through the study guide, which in retrospect, wasn’t the best

choice.

Day 1- Opening Ceremony at Sophia Bhabha Auditorium. I was going to carpool with six of my

friends for the whole MUN, and we basically spent the entire car ride getting lost in the labyrinth of

Mumbai lanes and hoping we don’t reach too late. Thankfully, we didn’t. The event was dazzling-

with Cyrus Broacha’s spontaneity and Leslie Lewis’s chords. Exhausted, yet very excited about thenext day, we headed home.

Day 2- The Conference at the World Trade Center. Nervousness sets in, and I curse my last-minute

ways. Outside the center, I talk to some of my fellow WB delegates, and find some comfort in the

thought that most were as tense as me. We are led to our room, and I strike up conversation with a

few delegates next to me- China, Germany and Finland, all younger than me and way more

confident. Actually, most of the participants in my committee were younger to me, an exception

being Hungary, whose designated place was next to me. Throughout, I pestered him with my doubts,

but he was friendly enough to explain. Model United Nations have a set procedure, very formal and

sequential. The topic in hand was the validity of a single global currency. As others gave their views, Ihuddled in a corner listening, making notes as I had no idea I didn’t prepare so well. Finally, I gave a

statement too, and was content with my miniscule contribution to the debate.

Day 3- The Conference. I had done some research, and was feeling some confidence bubble up. The

car ride marked a tradition of rapping to Punjabi songs while making debate notes, which is a better

combination than it sounds. Now, the delegate of Chile and me had teamed up the day before, and I

was glad to have someone along the same lines as me, but imagine my surprise as he comes out

with a bang- suggesting Optimum Currency Areas (OCAs), and takes the center stage. Feeling

somewhat betrayed, I slide towards the side-lines. I discover that some of the younger delegates

actually blindly agreed to whatever I said, which I could have taken advantage of, if I had a plan,which I didn’t. 

After spending almost twelve hours in the past days MUNing, the procedure grew on us, and we all

found ourselves calling each other ‘delegate’ and blasting off into debate- style arguments, which

led to a spin-off ‘CarMun’ in our ride back home, the details of which can’t be disclosed lest a

controversy is spurred, but it is sufficed to say it was as fun as it was taxing.

Day 4- Socials. Finally, a day off the stress and now slightly monotonous MUNing. The socials might

be the not-so-hidden reason as to why many signed up for IIMUN, and they can’t be blamed. First

up, we had a Showcase Committee with guest speakers like Vir Das, who was absolutely brilliant and

the highlight of the event. Next up was Comedy Night, with a bunch of comedians like Aakash

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Mehta, with sarcastic observations which cracked everyone up. Later, we had the Delegate

Ballroom, which wasn’t as fancy as it sounds, but a regular dancing gig. That too was a lot of fun. As

day ended, reality struck, and we headed into our last day at the MUN.

Day 5- The Conference. At last, the final day. I wanted to redeem myself and not let Chile steal the

show, so I dug up some information and just crashed it all over the resolution drafting committee he

was a part of. It is to be noted that another resolution was being made by China and Brazil, two

thirteen year olds with more talk than practicality, and were often the butt of many jokes. But it

cannot be denied that for their age, they were very smart and very quick. But I digress. So, I crept

into the resolution team, and demanded to be named co-author for my contributions, which they

agreed to. In the midst of this, WB went into a crisis situation, where terrorists had taken control of

Syria’s oil reserves. Now familiar with procedure and much more confident, I spoke more and was

more assertive. Once that was resolved, we began voting on the proposed resolutions. China’s draft

was voted out, and ours came up for discussion. Now, WB did not have any delegate of the USA,

which completely hampers its functioning, USA being a global superpower and all. So my Chair often

slipped into his role, which he did with amazing boldness and firmness. My Chair was a pretty great

Chair- he was approachable, patient and fair. But also, he had a sardonic, tongue-in-cheek humour,

which made committee sessions very entertaining. But I digress again. Anyway, so the ‘delegate of

USA’ lashed out on the OCAs idea and sung songs of the Dollar, which would have hampered the

resolution if it wasn’t the only one, so it all worked out pretty well. We convinced everyone to vote

for us, and they did. I too spoke up and defended my ‘team’. In the end, during the committee

awards, the Chair also gave me a special mention, saying if I had participated more I would have got

an award, which made me wish I had spoken up in the first two days. Oh, and we also had what we

call, ‘the motion to entertainment’, where the Chair basically punished the chatterboxes by making

them write funny poems and making them dance, and a lot more. I won’t go into the details, but myChair did go a little crazy, and fortunately for him no teacher was in our room that time, let’s leave it

at that.

And so my IIMUN experience came to an end. What began as an excuse to buy formal clothes and

travel daily to South Bombay, became so much more. New friends, more self-confidence and

unforgettable memories, IIMUN was something I will cherish forever.

SHAGUFTA KHAN

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