Counting the age..

‘Count your age with friends but not with years’….this is an excerpt from a poem that used to feature on the b’day card presented to us by the school. (Nice poem..but I don’t remember the entire poem, will post it some other time).

I was reminded of the same for it was again my b’day time..16th dec. :)


And must say, it was a lovely day….thanks to sweet friends, whether here at XIMB or the old school & college friends. Right from the b’day cake (thanks to Sona & Arun), to the sweet phone calls and lovely cards & gifts..it was lots of fun.

The best part of the b’days possibly is….the calls of the old friends that remind you of those lovely days, those wonderful memories ….and of course, the new friends with whom you celebrate and share the present wonderful moments. (The calls of my friends were evenly spread frm 00:10 hrs to 23:21 hrs, and interestingly the last ones to call were my MBA friends, showcasing their expertise in the habit of ‘Somehow in Time’ :) )

It was a day well spent.…in the morning, went to the Lingaraj Temple to seek blessings of Lord Shiva and then loads of masti..dining out, gossiping, chatting n all. Though had an exam the other day.…and so, opening the books was a prerequisite..but that was after enough of hungama during the day time.

Well, counting age with number of friends would be a little exaggeration….but yeah had a nice feeling to have such a sweet mix of friends….someone right from Std. I….to someone from a diff. country…to the new friends, thanks to XIMB.

Hope to always cherish the existing bonds of friendship….and have an enlarged list of close friends on each 16th dec.!

Smiling flowers

Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into... how well said by Henry Beecher.






Come winter and our campus looks so beautiful....with flowers of all colours & varieties blooming all around. The sheer sight of this natural beauty is sure to bring a smile on the face. Flowers look so tender, so sweet....just lovely. It's like they are smiling at you and conveying the good wishes.





It's MDC or academic block side or the auditorium....they catch attention everywhere. With companies coming to campus for Xuberance 2006, this is like beautification of the campus for the guests.






Rightly said, flowers are the earth's way of smiling. :)








Photographs:
Courtesy-Shriharsh

Ye dosti hum nahi todenge!

Friendship is a bond that goes on..sharing those joys n sorrows, tears n smiles. But there r times, when some incident, some moment makes you realise the true value of this bond. And then, the joy, pleasure, satisfaction..possibly, is beyond words. It can be nething....like a call from a childhood friend on your b'day or a sweet mail from a lost friend or may be just a lovely conversation with a close friend you meet quite often.

So, these are a couple of thoughts for my sweet and lovely friends for they really mean a lot!

Pal

Someone who’s so near,

so close to your heart,

Someone whose smiles matter

& tears break your heart apart.

Someone,

for whom you’ll always wish the best,

just joys & smiles and leave all the rest.

For that someone is none,

but your very dear friend,

Who has been always there,

as an angel with a band!

Wishes, greetings and your prayer,

let your pal know how much you care.

I had penned these random thoughts stime back..haven't followed any order. So, no evaluation on that ground plz :) (Bhawnaoon ko samjho!)

Long time since I wrote something....and so, I'm posting this one half way through..do let me know if u've ne suggestions, insights, experiences....that would take the poem forward. :)

Meanwhile, you can have a look at this piece - 'O my dear friend!!!'

True celebration of eXcellence !!!

It was finally closure of Xpressions 2005 as SEC(Student Executive Council) presented to the batch the accounts…..true corporate style, isn’t it….presenting the financial statements before the stakeholders. And the results were really brilliant. :)

Xpressions 2005, with its theme ‘spirit of the elements’, has indeed been a wonderful event. 4 days, 30 events, 25 b-schools…..and the list goes on.

Hats off to the SEC and a few others who spared no efforts to make Xpressions what it came out to be. As Himanshu Nautiyal, General Secretary remarked, “It was my most challenging assignment in XIMB….a roller –coaster ride.” Indeed a job well done.

And now, preparations are galore for the bigger event, Xuberance 2006 (our campus placements), which is just round the corner.


Monday, 14th Nov., 05

Yummy evening!!!

As the title suggests, the day was special not just as it was Children’s Day( and reminded a few of us of those carefree days……wo kagaz ki kashti, wo barish ka pani)….but also, for it was time for a food festival.

Any respite from mess food is a welcome change, and here it was the yummy Rajasthani Food Festival. For most people, the dishes (Baati, Choorma, Kair-Saangri ki sabzi) were new….and so were the ways of trying those new dishes. Whether to eat Baati alone or mix it with daal, or add choorma too….were questions puzzling a few people.

All in all, people appreciated the food…..wishing we have more of such food fests!

And for me, it was not just good food, but also the pleasure of organizing something nicely, with the help of Sovit and Abhijeet.

IRIS 2005

B-school annual fests are in full swing....ours (Xpressions 2005) over pretty early.

Here's the fest of IIM-I - IRIS 2005 from November 10-13....with lots of competitions..do check out.

Viral Marketing & Blogging

First gyaan related post on my blog..thanks to "Bloggers Park contest, IRIS, IIM Indore"

Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that encourages & facilitates people to pass along a marketing message i.e. existing customers rope in new customers by themselves. Now that sounds interesting, isn’t it? Just as a virus keeps multiplying itself, so is a message via viral marketing. It is alike word-of-mouth marketing where marketer does not play an active role i.e. he can sit back and watch people going ga-ga about his product.

There can be different strategies in viral marketing….the most talked about is the Hotmail one for Hotmail just rocked the business arena by its marketing strategy. There are certain important aspects in case of viral marketing which link it very well to blogging, another upcoming, rather growing feature.

Blogging, for most people, is sheer fun…..a way to reach out people, make new friends, discuss life and other things. There are also blogs that cater to specific interests, specific needs of people….thus bringing like-minded people together. And then, there are a few blogs that make money too….a way of selling professional services, like G. Kennedi selling astrology services or Dr. Anirudh Malpani talking about the IVF treatment on his famous blog. Whatever it is, blogging is done out of desire and willingness and so is for people who keep track of different blogs.

And so, if there’s recommendation of some book, movie or some product on a blog, it’s an effortless transfer of the opinion to other blog readers. This is key to viral marketing…..a medium that is easy to transfer and replicate. As the recommendation comes from a friend or acquaintance or some fellow blogger, the incentive to believe on it and go ahead is definitely more than merely by watching an advertisement on TV or a print ad.

By the sheer popularity of some blogs, they have the potential of reaching out the message to the masses…….just look at the way IIPM story went after it was discussed by Rashmi Bansal on her blog. And so, the message would reach to lots of people on their own, with marketer being a mere spectator. It’s because of the reach of the blogs that spam blogging is a growing feature these days unless one has a check on the people putting comments.

Viral marketing is about using existing communication networks. Each of us has a social network, the size might vary. Amongst our network, we share opinions, ideas, information etc. And as a blogger, I would like my social network to be aware of my blog. And yeah, blogging does help in enlarging that social network. So, putting up a message on a blog means reaching out to the blogger’s social network and making not just the presence felt but rather creating an impact.

And it’s indeed innovative, and interesting the way IIM-I guys are doing it. By having a competition for bloggers, and that too not restricted to the B-school students, you make sure that the news of IRIS goes far and wide, that means tremendous visibility and yeah….sponsors too, would have a reason to smile. :)

So, viral marketing is about using others’ networks and exploiting common behaviours. The blogger junta across has something in common. So, using viral marketing through blogging is something that has a huge potential. With so many newspapers, magazines featuring about blogging, it’s surely making an impact. Now, it’s about the marketers to make use of this new channel to reach out to the customer and attain viral sales..sales growing by leaps and bounds. :)

Festival of lights..

The much awaited festival of lights, Diwali, is here. Lights, sweets, crackers, greetings….that’s what the festival is all about. What was different this time was this was my first Diwali away from home.

So, the only respite was calling up home, talking about the celebration there…calling up the relatives and all. And during these calls I’m told of how beautifully my city has been illuminated....Jaipur to dulhan ki tarah saja hai…..It’s for the first time I’ve seen such decoration in last so many years, it’s just lovely.. And then I’ve to plead….no piece of such news please, I’m already missing home!

But yeah, Diwali in Jaipur is big…five days’ festival, the markets, buildings all illuminated, lots of crackers, huge hungama. Little wonders, the preparations had begun when I was at home two weeks back.

But here, in Bhubaneswar, Diwali is just like any other festival. Y’day when I went to Ram Mandir to wish Bhagwan ji and seek his blessings, there was hardly any indication of a festival looking at the markets. The temple, though, was illuminated. As against it, the festive season can be felt here during the Durga Puja.

Neways, we had a Puja in the campus in the evening. The diyas were lit and then it was time for a lot of fire-crackers. It was good sound and light…and yeah, there were some innovative ways of bursting fire-crackers, like a couple of rockets were turned towards the grass instead of following the mundane way of sending up in the sky. Budding managers, u see…something special has to be done!

All in all, it was good celebration.

It’s Block Fest!!!

October 29

Today was Block Fest as a precursor to the festival season, remember Diwali is just days away….and also a celebration before the hectic placement season begins. The placement fever has already started building with ranking sheets out….companies, their status, job profile, package and the points go on.

Block Fest is a time when all four blocks of guys hostel, RMH (girls hostel), RM hostel try to prove their supremacy. The ways are many – decorating the hostel in beautiful ways, then dance & music, serving judges on their visit etc. etc. RMH was nicely decorated, especially the entrance….with beautiful ground paintings (mandanas), I was actually reminded of Diwali decoration at home. The theme was kept as ‘Fusion’, possibly that was our way of justifying the use of bandhej duppattas for the decoration ;) And then, all of us were ready to rock the stage. To welcome the judges (‘maska lagane ke liye’- as Samiran said), we had a yummy chocolate cake.

Finally, the fun started. Everyone on the roof top (one of the rare opportunities of using the roof) dancing in full swing with loud music on, having cold drinks, snacks and beer (most important for many people)……it’s a rare sight, almost an yearly affair. Some rockets & crackers intermittently were like a welcome note for the Diwali. As the night progressed, enthusiasm level reached heights….as was evident from the changed dancing styles of some blocks.

But not just the fun, we also fetched second prize for second time in the row. RM hostel once again fetched the bigger prize.

The celebration will possibly continue till 5:00 a.m. or so and till then, sleeping possibly is a far dream……but considering the SAPM class at 9, I guess I will have to make an attempt! Had we made the SAPM faculty also one of the judges for the Block Fest, the entire issue of this untimely class could have been resolved…..but alas, such a creative idea has come pretty late!

Xpressions..the grand show

October 6
The Final Day..

The 4-day extravaganza, Xpressions came to an end today with a concluding performance by Indian Ocean. Of all their compositions, ‘Bande’, ‘Kandisa’, ‘Maa Rewa’ were the special hits.

Xpressions definitely was a huge success this time and the efforts of all, especially the SEC bore fruit. The event began on 3rd Oct. but the fervour had started much before with pre-Xpressions events. After a number of competitions running all over the week, the In-house cultural function on 2nd was a huge success. The function began with a brilliant performance by X-Stage - "The Ghosts of the Marvin Grange’ and then there were some songs and dances. The entire event came out so well that one of the faculty members, sharing the opinion of many others, had a belief that we don’t seem to have enough work load….we(the students) could devote so much time for the preparation for the evening and come up with such a wonderful performance! Well Sir, we have lots of work….but then Xpressions happens just once in a year and that is the time to move a little away from books and give space to hobbies and passions. (I also happened to be a part of X-Stage and also performed a dance and sang a song. Don’t think I know all that….but that was my way of relieving pressure after the deadly 4th term. So, just went ahead….for I love dancing and thought of trying out drama for the first time in life, singing was just for fun).

The main event, Xpressions kicked off on 3rd with the Conclave. The conclave had some luminaries sharing their views on ‘FDI in India’. In the evening, we had a ballet troupe's performance which was everything else but ‘ballet’. Then, there were a number of competitions on the following days which invited participation from all key B-schools.

And finally, it’s time to wind up the event. G-Sec, Himanshu’s plan of getting more and more students involved with Xpressions came into action with a number of new competitions and the overall arrangements. Xpressions this year, surely, has been a true celebration of excellence.

Congrats to one and all for such a great show. Hip..hip..hurray!!!

October 5
The Rocking Night!!!

On third day of Xpressions, we today had an amazing rock competition – Decibelz. The day with the theme ‘fire’ just became too exciting and enjoyable. With 6 teams from XLRI, Darjeeling, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, it was a tough competition and that meant a treat for the music lovers. :) Mr. Atul from Silk Route was our honorable judge.

As the competition began, the first two teams fell short of enthusing the audience. But then came the much awaited XLRI’s ‘Bodhi Tree’ and set the stage on fire. With their original compositions, real good music, they won a lot of appreciation. One of their compositions ‘Too many potatoes’(inspired by the plethora of potatoes served in their mess) won the Best Composition prize…..hats off to their mess ;) But well, even our mess rules in this aspect, just that they have a special affinity for both potatoes and paneer……little wonder, when I & Anny were enjoying her birthday dinner at Silver Streak Restaurant today, my first concern was, “Anny, order anything which has no potatoes!!”

After Bodhi Tree, presented the Darjeeling Band and they were superb. The crowd just loved the performances.

The program came to an end with special performance by the judge. The first and second prizes were won by Darjeeling Band and XL’s Bodhi Tree (they were known as ‘Bodhi Saplings’ till last year, guess what the tree would grow into next year :) ), respectively.

Xpressions - the momentum is building up!

Just two days to go and here comes our annual fest, Xpressions 2005. So much planning and preparations has been on for those 4 days…..for they encompass a host of things – the grand conclave, a performance by Indian Ocean and by a band from Kolkata, a no. of exciting games, various competitions and what not.

But what is really amazing is the fervor and enthusiasm during the pre-Xpressions events. The entire campus seems to be involved in one or the other activity. Antakshri, Dumb Charades, playing cards(X-taash), Treasure Hunt….each evening we’re having some competition which goes on post midnight. And then there are things like X-Stage practice, Kurukshetra dry-run, Skill City testing as a preparation for further events. So, everyone is just busy forming some team and playing…..and yeah, expressing oneself in competitions like Sixth Sense (face painting competition), Zeus v/s Venus (personality cum talent competition). The G-Sec's idea of making Xpressions an event of all, involving greater participation, seems to come true to a large extent.

For me, it’s being a time to keep running around from one practice to another – the inaugural dance (Ganesh Vandana) to X-Stage to Choreography (theme based dance competition). With 4 classes in week, it seems I’m enjoying a long break after the hectic 4th term……but it’s just a break from studies, believe me, these preparations involve a lot of time and are really taxing. But yeah, it’s a lot of fun too….dancing, more so. Today, amidst the dance practice, Shilpa suddenly asked where are we going out for dinner after our performance and all of us couldn’t help smiling. :)

I'm just waiting for 2nd & 3rd oct. for these performances......and hoping that all goes well.

I should catch some sleep now before the birds start the morning song.....neways, we've a practice session of Choreography at 11o' clock in the morning. :)

Wonderful day!

A lovely weather…the sky filled with clouds…drizzles pouring all through the day… cool and gentle breeze making all trees dance…and on top of it, Sunday with no classes…a great combination indeed! And this is what the day was all about.

As I got up, I was wished ‘Good Morning’ by lovely zephyr and the sky seemed all clear from my window…..I was amazed to be awake before the sunrise. But as I rubbed my eyes and looked at the watch…oops, it was 10:45 a.m. and the sun was actually on a Sunday leave …..thanks to the continual rains. Well, I just rushed up and got ready..didn’t want to miss the breakfast.

After that, thought of studying a bit…..thanks to last night’s plan. So, bit of studies..lunch..studies and then started the real fun of the day. We decided to watch the movie ‘Choclate’ in the evening show. Three of us, I, Anand and Sona were waiting for Arun to come from his SCM class but luckily or not so, it dragged on a bit too long. And when he came, as we and some others were all set to leave for the theatre, started the RAIN…..and the plan got washed away!

But well, we were in a full mood to enjoy the evening. So, got some snacks from X-Café, got drenched while coming to the hostel and sat in Anand’s room to watch a nice movie. But what’s the fun in sitting in a room in such a wonderful weather, when the drizzle makes you smile and the breeze attempts to take you along? That’s exactly what I tried to explain all and succeeded. :)

So, what next?? We made a move to the Badminton Court. It was great fun, really enjoyed playing after so long…..but yeah, with realization of learning ‘how to handle smashes’, ‘how not to miss the cock when it goes all above my head ’ etc. etc. Learning, anyways, is a continuous process….hope I will be a better player before I leave this place.

After an hour or so, we were all tired and the mice had started banging my stomach telling that it was dinner time. So, we thought of obliging Barista & Silver Streak Restaurant (these two happen to be clubbed together here) tonight. It was first time that I visited the newly opened Barista. It’s a nice place..small but decent. On the screen was coming KBC-2 featuring Ajay Devgan and Kajol. So, had a good time pass before our food was served.

The menu was dominated by ‘prawn’, ‘lamb’ and I and Arun wondered if we are at the right place (we happen to be vegetarian). Luckily, got some choices and we just wanted to order something and stop looking at that great menu. But then, the food was really yummy…had good food after long, thanks to our mess (I wonder if the mess will ever come out of the ‘mess’) and the amazing schedules of last term that made sure that we’re cut off from the outside world.

Coming to Barista and not having a coffee doesn’t sound good, isn’t it. So, we ordered the Barista special coffee, which again was good….just that my stomach felt that it was an overdose! Meanwhile, the electricity had gone off and we got a candle….so, we actually enjoyed the candle coffee. I’m sure Barista people would like to sell this concept considering Sona’s love for the candle even when the electricity came back. Well, we were really enjoying it and were the only customers left when we realized that we’ll have to come back to campus as Barista doesn’t offer an overnight stay facility. So, after appreciating their service and food in the feedback form and promising to visit them again, we said them Good Bye.

And then, began the long walk…for at 10:40 p.m., there was no auto available on that road....but it was fun considering the gentle wind. At last, an auto appeared from nowhere and we grabbed it to drop us to our abode, XIMB.

All in all, it was a wonderful day; we all enjoyed it a lot. It’s just a matter of couple of months when we’ll move out of this place and yeah..would really miss these days. Just as the seniors keep saying, ‘Have fun and enjoi..for these days are never gonna come again.’

Seriously, ‘kal yaad aayenge ye pal…’

Beautiful performance..

It’s been long since I was planning to start my blog….the concept certainly enthuses me. And now, when I’ve been enjoying reading others’ blogs so much, there dawned my moral obligation to give an opportunity to others to read and enjoy my blog ;)

Well, as the end terms just got over for us, it seems life has come back and loads of masti and time pass activities are on.

In this effort to enjoy and have fun, on Thursday, I went out with Anny (one of my very good friends at XIMB) to Rabindra Mandap for watching Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Awards. It was the second day and three performances were scheduled – tabla, Kathak dance and sarangi. I and Anny being dance lovers, we of course, had gone there to see Kathak. And as we reached, the dance was just about to start (Good application of Just In Time, isn’t it….seems I’m learning something at this b-school :-P).

Mrs. Uma Dogra, the Kathak dancer was welcomed to the stage with a good round of applause. She first addressed the audience, thanking and greeting everyone and she referred to her guruji, his teachings & blessings quite often.

This is something I’ve felt many a times that the ‘guru-shishya parampara’ of ancient times is still very much there in the streams of classical dance and music. (I still remember the college days…..when our Kathak dance teacher used to arrive in college, his disciples would come, touch his feet and wish ‘Guruji Pranam’. It definitely seemed a little peculiar to me & others who haven’t been exposed to this stream, and to whom ‘Pranam’ is a greeting for close relatives only.)

After a bit of introduction, when Mrs. Dogra started performing, it was simply amazing. The coordination, laya and taal was simply too good. She would perform something and then the musicians would try to match it with tabla, sarangi and then they would play something and she would replicate the same sound with ‘ghungroos’. It was like some practice session going on where she was coming up with her innovative ‘bandish’. And in this entire process, one could see the enjoyment, the satisfaction and the glow on her face. Her dancing style was that of Jaipur Gharana, which she talked of a couple of times….and it reminded of home, sweet home, the pink city :)

She ended her performance with a couple of thumri. The audience was spellbound at certain moments looking at the perfection, the consistency in her moments. Finally, the entire team (vocalist and instrumentalists) was introduced. Her beautiful performance was indeed a team work. During the entire show, her humbleness, simplicity, smile was something that really impressed.

The dance was a treat to the eyes and I and Anny were happy as we left Rabindra Mandap for it was indeed a good investment of time.