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.