The Photo Albums

Well I remember I had in earlier posts told that I would be uploading the photos of Farewell, the Trip and the Convocation......
After scanning have created yahoo albums out of them.....so here are the links......

The Farewell

The Darjeeling-Gangtok trip

The Convocation

Well these are the pics.....if the links do not work...leave a message.....
Enjoy the pics.....

Missin' Campus.....

Its tooo early to come back after my last post but what to do.....second day at home...and missing XIMB and campus life already..... :(
Lets see what happens over next few days.....

The Convocation.........

Finally I have made it back home.....after 2 years (to be precise 18 months) of MBA studies (better put in as hardcore fun - masti all the time - no matter how much the pressure was).

On 14th March 2005, came the day, for which I had waited so long......for the first time in my life I attended convocation ceremony (first time because here I am refering it as MY CONVOCATION CEREMONY - last year had attended seniors convo).

Mr. Jamshed Godrej, Chairman and MD, Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited was the Chief Guest for the ceremony.

The feeling of being the black gown and receiving the diploma cannot be described, it is one thing which everyone waits for. It marked the end of one phase of life and beginning of another new untravelled journey. I hope the journey on which I will set my foot on will be an exciting one.

Till that day many of us friends had stayed in hostel together and many of us by 14th March joined us back in campus. It was also the day on which we started bidding goodbye to all our friends hoping to meet them regularly in the course of our careers. The bonds established on campus will be long remembered and cherished. It was actually the first time when the feeling of leaving the campus actually set in.

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."

Now as for the snaps the link will be put up in few days as and when i get good pics.

Journey into Darjeeling and Sikkim......

Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.
--Babs Hoffman

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
--Augustine (354-430)

From 25th February to 5th March, 2005.......I was on a blogging holiday and enjoying myself out in the mighty Himalayas with my gang.......Lately it has been my longest stay away from Internet and I actually liked it......

People knowing me know how much I actually love to travel........its more like a passion and Himalayas have always given me a high........Most of my best trips have been into Himalayas........be it Kullu-Manali, Shimla, Mussouri or Darjeeling and Sikkim. This was my second trip into both places - Darjeeling and Gangtok (Sikkim). First time I went there I was a kid (as if I have grown up now - I am still a kid - this my friends tell me).

We were a gang of 11 people (my classmates at XIMB) who set out to experience the beauty of Darjeeling and Sikkim......The date of the journey was early morning hours of 25th February, 2005 when we set on the journey to Howrah on a train from where we had a connecting train to New Jalpaiguri. On 26th Feb, 2005 morning we reached New Jalpaiguri and after taking adequate rest and freshening up.....set on the road journey to Darjeeling. Also Narayan and Supriya joined us a bit late, courtesy their Japanese exam and the biggest hurdle they faced in joining us was catching the connecting train from Sialdah railway station after getting down at Howrah railway station. So biggest problem they faced was reaching Sialdah station on time for catching the train to New jalpaiguri, which they managed to and all that ends well makes the next part start well. It was around 3 hours drive to Darjeeling. The road and the toy train tracks run parallel all thoughout the journey. And we had chances to sing "Mere sapnon ki Rani kab aayegi tu" whenever we spotted a toy train. The scenic beauty is really amazing. One could easily see how the vegetation and flowers were changing as we were reaching higher altitudes. When we reached Darjeeling it was covered completely with mist (clouds) and was really cold. In Darjeeling we stayed at Sterling Resorts which is located in Ghoom, just next to the majestic Ghoom Monastery. Ghoom is around 8 kms away from Darjeeling (at 7000 feet).

On 26th February we reached Ghoom late than we had scheduled for and getting fresh over there took a bit too long. So there was no way we could do any sight-seeing over there that day. We were left with one option - roam around on Mall Road and do some shopping. So we spent the evening there having snacks and window shopping. Around 7 PM we tried to visit Nightingale Park, but we got delayed for it. The day finished off with dinner at Sterling Resort.

Now for some sightseeing, we were left with only one day, which according to actual plan we had reserved for Kalimpong, so the Kalimpong plan was chucked off (heard that its a real beautiful place, but its beauty is best experienced post April when it is filled with flowers).

So, on 27th February we started of for Ganga Maya and Rock Garden as the destinations to cover for that day and along with it other destinations to cover were Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) and the highest Zoo in the world located in Darjeeling. The day started of pretty early around 4 am when we decided to go to Tiger Hill (at 8482 feet) to see the Sun rise and also the amazing peaks of Mt. Everest and Mt. Kanchenjunga, but mist/clouds did not give us the chance to have that experience. The temperature at Tiger Hill was really low at 2 to 3 degree centigrade. After coming back Sathya treated us to tasty omellettes cooked by him. Then, we started of for Ganga Maya and while on route stopped at a Tea Garden (Orange Tea Estate). The complete slope covered with Tea Gardens look so beautiful.......only eyes can experience. After a short break at the tea estate we continued with our journey to Ganga Maya. Ganga Maya, is basically is a park set around a mountain river flowing, passing through rocks and small waterfalls. It looks really beautiful. A massive photo clicking exercise was carried out over there. We spent around one hour over there. We did not want to leave the place so early, but then time constraints. The next stop was at Rock Garden, which was again set around a mountain river on a slope, and it too had many small waterfalls. This garden is completely built on a slope of a mountain, thus implying a lot of climbing up. This place provided an excellent view of the valley around the place. After enjoying the time over there we moved back to Darjeeling to visit HMI and the Zoo. The Zoo had various mountain animals like - Red Panda, Black Bear, Siberian Tiger and many others. After the zoo we entered HMI, which had on display various mountaineering equipments, news paper articles about conquest of Mt. Everest, and a real good 3-D model of the Himalayan Mountain peaks and Himalayas in Sikkim. It also had articles on Yeti. After these places, we had our lunch in truly Tibetan format. For some it tasted bland, but still some of us liked it. At the end some of us ordered, Lemon Ginger Tea with extra Honey and it was really good. Then the rest of the evening was spent shopping around on the Mall Road. On Mall Road there is an eating joint - The Glenary's below which there is a bar - The Buzz and there at The Buzz we enjoyed a local band playing some real great music. So, this day can be said to be a good start to the journey.

On 28th Feb we were scheduled to leave for Gangtok, so just before starting of for the journey we visited the Ghoom Monastery - which was setup in 1850 AD. (its actual name being - Yiga Chholing Monastery). After visiting the monastery we started of for Gangtok and had breakfast on the way. The road from Darjeeling to Gangtok is full of beautiful scenery all around. My phone camera kept clicking all around at will. Our friend for the whole Sikkim trip - river Teesta, caught up with us in a majestic manner. Its first glimpse was its merger with another major river of Sikkim - Rangit. The waters of both the rivers are so different - The color of Teesta is Light Green while that of Rangit is in the darker shades of blue. From there Teesta never left us. It was our friend, it was our guide, it was our "guiding river". Wherever in Sikkim we went, we had it with us all along. We also saw the area from where rafting on Teesta starts and also saw how wild Teesta can get. We missed our chance to experience river rafting over Teesta.

After a magnificent journey of around 4 hours we reached Gangtok and reached our Hotel - Hotel Norphill, located on MG Road and just next to Glenary's and Buzz and also an wine, beer and other alcohol drinks shop. So the location was kind of a boon for some. That day after freshening up and some rest we went for lunch at "The Oriental" - the food there was really yummy. Then all of us went to have a try on getting a ride on ropeway but we were late for it and so came back to MG Road and went to the footpath market for some shopping and bought some real beautiful paintings and some chimes. That was all for 28th February. The weather at Gangtok as we had earlier been told was much more comfortable than that of Darjeeling (Darjeeling is at around 1500 feet height more than that of Gangtok). After a nice dinner at The Buzz we had a nice sleep for the night as for next day we were scheduled for a nice long trip to Changu (Tsomgo) Lake.

Now 1st March 2005, after getting up and having nice warm water bath and breakfast at the hotel itself we started of for Changu Lake located at 12400 Feet while Gangtok is at around 5480 feet. This would be our first tryst with snow on this journey. It is around 40 kms from Gangtok and lies on the route to Nathu La pass - the Old Silk Route Path which is again in the process of being revived back. Nathu La pass has been closed down for a month due to heavy snowfall, thus, no Nathu La for me yet again on my second trip here, still I was able to manage to reach Changu Lake, which I had missed the first time. In middle we stopped for tea. The place where we stopped, it was dicovered that a peg of rum or vodka costed a mere Rs. 20/-, it was more like a daily drink than a slightly expensive drink in the plains. So yet again, some enjoyed the warm drink. Also, it has to be mentioned that the tea was really tasty, among the best we had on the trip. Then back on the road, we again stopped after some time for taking some pics in the excellent backdrop of snow and mountains partially covered by it. The scenery all around the place was too beautiful. The scene directly from movies. Luckily Sikkim is now opening its doors for movie shooting though slowly. After reaching Changu lake, we had to hire boots, so as too play on the snow and also to reach the other side of the lake we had to travel on Yaks. The lake looks so peaceful and was completely frozen. There at Changu we spent our time sliding on snow, playing around there. Many amongst us lost their snow virginity to Changu lake (I had lost it to Manali). on route to Changu lake we passed through - Tashi View Point, Hanuman Tok and Ganesh Tok, but there was no point stopping there because of the mist which had been with us throughout the trip destroying all our chances to have a glimpse of Mighty Mt. Kanchenjunga. On our return from Changu lake we again stopped at the spot where we had tea while going up. This time we had Momos and again lots of tea and by evening reached the hotel. Then we spent our time in the evening visiting the ropeway and getting a beautiful view of the Gangtok City and then roamed around on the MG Road. That night we had dinner at Parivar- a veg restaurant out there. The food was again good, loved the butter naans there.

The next day - 2nd of March 2005, we had plans to go to Yumthang Valley (North Sikkim) at a height of 12000 feet and at a distance of 145 kms from Gangtok and involves an overnight stay at Lachung (at 8800 feet and 116 kms from Gangtok). So the journey started around 11:00 am. Till La Chung it was supposed to be a long journey of around 6 and a half hours with breaks. There are too many waterfalls on the route and many even cross the road, directly in front of you. The area is also a landslide zone. Enroute you have a stop at "Seven Sisters Waterfall" which is a vertical cliff (excellent for attempting suicide) through which a stream is flowing (actually falling straight down). It is called Seven Sisters because there are supposed to be seven falls for one stream on this cliff, while onlyfour are clearly visible. Again Teesta was our friend and guiding river. We were non stop going upstream to the point where the mighty river of Sikkim the Teesta is born. Teesta is born in a small village of Chungthang. Here the two mountain rivers - Lachung and Lachen (named after the main villages they flow through) merge to form Teesta. The river flows with extreme force and speed. As one army personnel told us, one just has to fall into the river and there is a very rare chance that he will survive. Chungthang is also an important point because it is one place which is gateway to two main destinations of North Sikkim - Yumthang Valley and Gurudongmar lake (Largest and highest lake in Sikkim and is also considered sacred). Both places are on seperate routes and the road divides for these places at this small village of Chungthang. The villages in Sikkim have been the most picturesque. The scenic beauty surrounding them cannot be described using photos or videos, only eyes can truly appreciate them. We had a Tea break at Chungthang and then moved forward to Lachung for overnight stay before moving onto Yumthang Valley the next morning. Here in Lachung we stayed at Sela Inn. A really comfortable place to stay at. Nice beautiful rooms with wooden flooring. The dinner was also tasty, similar to house made food. After dinner most of us had a taste of "Changu" pronounced as "Chhang". Its a local drink made of millet and tastes quite similar to Port Wine. It is served in a wooden bowl covered with Changu upto the brim in hard form (millet) on which warm water is poured. This mixture has to be sucked using a straw made of bamboo after two minutes of pouring water. The drink was really amazing. At night we went for a walk up to the point from where we could see river Lachung in full glory at night time. The roar of the river had filled up the place.

The next morning on 3rd March 2005 at 6 am we were woken up with a bed tea and warm water to freshen up. BUT, I decided to go out and what I see was truly amazing, and since I did not want the other gangsters to miss out on the first sunrise viewing on this trip. So woke others up and along with Shikha, video taped the whole sunrise - those beautiful golden peaks all around us with the river Lachung flowing through the place. After getting ready we all left for Yumthang around 8 am. It was one hour journey along the river Lachung. It was a steep climb straight into the heights, and halfway we met snow on both sides of the road. At many points we had thick and huge walls of snow on both sides of the road. There were turns where the road had been washed out and it was extremely rough. At such points we had to reverse the car and rush it forward full speed. There were many beautiful spots all along the way. At Yumthang valley, we had snow covered mountains all around us, river Lachung flowing through the valley. The valley during this time is covered with thick snow and in summer months will be covered with flowers, and in both cases looks truly beautiful. For the first time on the trip we were experiencing clear weather. The white peaks meeting the blue sky with river flowing in between looked like an artists imagination and work on the canvas. It seemed as if god had used earth as his canvas. We even made XIMB on snow using ourselves as well as pebbles. I have visited many places in Himalayas but none as beautiful as Yumthang Valley. Around 11 am we had to leave the place and after reaching Lachung we had our lunch there. Sheila aunty made amazing momos for lunch. They were tooo tasty. By night we reached back to Gangtok and had our dinner at The Oriental and then saw Sania Mirza's match in Dubai Open on TV where she had lost and then went off to sleep.

On 4th March 2005, in the morning we did some local shopping and then around 11:30 am we left to see Ranka Monastery and Rumtek monastery (24 Kms from Gangtok). While Ranka monastery is a new monastery, and has been beautifully built on a completely different architecture from Rumtek Monastery. Rumtek monastery will give u a straight feel of history when one enters its walls. Its really a huge monastery. Rumtek monastery is important because it is the World Dharma Chakra Centre and also because it is the seat of his holiness - The Gyalwa Karmapa who is head of Kagyupa order of Tibetan Budhism. The monastery was built in 1730. The campus also includes - The Golden Stupa and Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Budhist Studies.

After coming back to Gangtok we had lunch at The Parivar and then went on to get ready to leave for New Jalpaiguri to catch the train back to Bhubaneswar. We left Gangtok around 6 pm. The complete journey in Tata Sumo (all front facing seats) was great. Their was occassional rains in the path, it was completely dark and the whole route was full of sharp curves and the driver was taking the curves at speeds of 50 to 60 kmph. Some of the gangsters had started praying for safe journey. The driver had not slept since 4 am so that was another cause of worry for those praying. He drove extremely well, even though there was steep fall on one side and trucks coming from front. The journey till New Jalpaiguri was of 4 hours and after reaching there we found out our train was delayed by an hour. Finally on 5th night (actually 6th morning) we reached XIMB. We entered the campus at 3 am on 6th March 2005. Thus, ending our trip to Darjeeling and Gangtok.

Though we could not see Kanchenjunga on this trip, but am sure the next time the gangsters go for their respective honeymoon to Sikkim they will surely get a glimpse of mighty Mt. Kanchenjunga, some things after all should be kept for first time. Yeah we all decided that our honeymoon is going to be in Sikkim, lets see what happens.

Ok now you would be wondering who the gangsters were. They are:
Shikha, Sonal, Hima, Supriya, Sanket, Kartik, Venky, Narayan, Sathya, Sachin and myself (Gaurav).

The person who was the most happy after finding out that he could get pegs at Rs. 20/- in Sikkim was Narayan.

As we gained in heights PQ levels of Sonal also gained heights.

Sathya papa revealed his true form in dumbcharades on the return journey in train.

Shikha was a typical Shikha falling here falling there.

About me.....he he.......only others can tell......

so u can very well imagine how good the trip was.

About the pics......
Some of them have been uploaded so CLICK HERE

Back from Trip

Well returned from the trip to Darjeeling and Gangtok just about an hour back and here I am posting my arrival back.........
So my blog here I am........
I will do a detailed posting on the trip sometime later.......
abhi need to take rest......

ON A BLOGGING HOLIDAY

Well currently going on a blogging holiday for around 10 days......

It was indeed an eventful week......
I can finally say that on 22nd February I gave my last ever exam in XIMB......and now no more projects or assignments or quizzes.....

Unofficially......my MBA is complete.....it will be complete only when I get the diploma on 14th March, 2005.......

So decided to take a break with my gang out here......so we going to Darjeeling and Gangtok.....
We are about to leave in 1 hour 15 mins (4:30 am) from now to the station - the train is at 5:20 am.....

So since I will be out this while I will not be blogginf till I return on late night 5th March.....

These indeed have been best two years of my life.......not just because I did MBA.....but because I think I might have changed a lot while residing here........this is for others to find out......

Now is the time to enjoy the best time with closest friends out here.....

Will be back with a post about the trip and more.......

Till then cya,
have fun.......
Gaurav.....

------- Blog: I'll Be Back......

AMAZIN' JUNIORS..........

WE CAME, WE SAW, WE CONQUERED AND NOW WE HAVE TO SAY ADIEU

How does the time fly by.......one will never ever realize........seemed like it was yesterday.....dat we entered the land.....which we wud soon in a months time call our home......and now the time has come that we have to leave the place.....the place which we call our home.......the place where we have spent two of the most wonderful years in our lives till date.......this is the place where I have made friends for life......

Yesterday, on 19th February, 2005........we were given farewell by our juniors.....

It started of with presentation of lovely gifts for all of us........
And these gifts consisted of and address book consisting of contact info of our seniors, our batchmates and our juniors, then there was also a beautiful piece of local art speciality and then a diary aptly named "FOOTPRINTS". FOOTPRINTS consisted of messages from some faculty members and then along with the names of all my batchmates it had their pic and half page writeup on them........

Then there were short speeches by faculty members and some of my classmates.........

There were also Titles given - there were various titles selected for which voting was carried out and PGP-2s voted for their classmates.......
I too got one of these and the title which is received is "KIDDO OF 2003-05"
The other titles which were given were like: Winning Smile, Official 'vella', 'faff' king/queen, Ultimate Ruler of AOE, Jim Carrey of the Batch and many more........

All this was followed by dinner and then dance party......

I will have to admit that juniors really put up an amazing show.....they really outdid us compared to what we had done last year........I am lucky to have juniors like these......I hope that they do really well in their future and set standards for their juniors the way we had......and then hope that the standards be broken........it feels great......

Will always miss XIMB and XIMB will always remain close to my heart.......its the best thing which has happened to me till date and maybe for a long time coming........

Some snapshots from the evening.......
(Thumbnails can be clicked for a full size view)

Jumpin' of the Audi stage after presentation of Momentoes......

Group snap in full flow......people we will miss.....

Yet another group snap......looks so gud....

Lookin' upwards.......

Aimin' higher n higher.......

The gangsters......

Yet another failed attempt on killing me...... ;-)

FINALE

I think too many posts coming on one single day........
But can't help it..........

Today is the last day of classes here at XIMB.......
My last class is at 3:45 PM..........and maybe last presentation might also happen then....
BUT what takes the cake is........we also had our last quiz on campus.......
and at an hour...when we all should have been sleeping......at 7AM.......
what a time to give a quiz at.....
So, slowly the life is grounding to a halt at XIMB.......
Now, tonight juniors are giving us a farewell party......looking forward to it.......
Its gonna be fun......

These years at XIMB have been till date the best years of my life........and these r not gonna be back.....anymore......

A BRAND NEW LOOK

Well my blog is now sporting a brand new look........

All this courtesy a frnd who actually made me change the look of the blog.......and best part was she helped me in giving it this new look...........

Loads of thanks to her........

So how is the new look compared to the older one........waitin for ur comments.........

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

SNAPSHOTS FROM CAMPUS........

As I had mentioned a few posts back...that there will be some images from the campus coming up soon.....so here they are.....

The campus lately had been full of flowers....looking extremely beautiful......So what we did was simple......capture the nature's beauty molded with man made beauty (our campus) and couple it with us beautiful people......and overall we get beautiful pics.....[So much for the sake of beauty in this post ;-) ]

So here goes the picture story yet again........ [The thumbnails can be clicked for full size view]

That is we all clicking a snap at X-Cafe.....the location of numerous lunches and dinners we had when we didn't feel like having it in mess....well u can guess the ration between eating here and at mess......
[L to R] [Sanket, Gaurav, Hima, Kartik, Chandu]


This is taken at the Director's Lawn.....it is situated, between the acad block and the Director's house.......
[L to R] [Gaurav(me), Sanket, Hima, Kartik, Chandu]


This pic....well from distance the building behind - Fortune Towers - looks as a part of our campus....well it ain't.....when I first entered the campus...I was after seeing it...like....wow, this is part of our campus.....Also can be seen the Christmas Tree in front of the Director's house....
[Gaurav (me) and Sanket]


Here we are sitting right in front of the Director's house, where Christmas Tree along with many Rose flowers can be seen......beautifully maintained.....
[L to R] [Gaurav (me), Kartik, Shikha, Sanket and Hima


This is the backyard of Director's House.....many fruit trees here....
[L to R] [Hima, Sanket, Shikha, Gaurav (me) and Chandu]


This is the lawn in the acad bloc.....
[L to R] [Hima, Sanket, Kartik and urs truly]


A mini jungle in campus....
[Hima, Shikha, myself, Kartik]


This is the lawn next to the Auditorium.....
[L to R] [Hima, u kno who, Kartik, Shikha]


Flowers in Front of Audi...."Ek phool, do maali"
[urs truly and Kartik]


These are the windows on top of the entrance door for our hostel....one can feel amazing wind blowing here during the evenin and whole night.....
[L to R] [Hima, Urs Truly (sitting), Shikha and Sanket]


Dats my room....where I have spent past one year...inherited from Jayanta who was my next door neighbour last year....
[L to R] [Sanket, myself and Hima]


Urs Truly.......

Well, that was one part of picture story.......this part was brought to you using a Canon PowerShot A75, thus images loaded easily......waiting for the next lot of pictures to come and then they will have to be scanned......and put up.....

Last seven days officially left in campus.......trying to make the most of it.....

Trying to plan a picture story on my stay here.....lets see if it can work......

MAXINATIONS 2005 - EVENT WITH A DIFFERENCE

Who would have thought that Maxinations an event which is fought for by all the hostel blocks on campus with full energy and capacity........might end up just differently........

ALL BLOCKS WINNING THE TROPHY

Generally Maxinations has created a lot of rivalry between the students themselves of competing blocks. The event is being held at a time when we have just around 2 weeks in campus, and we would have loved to leave the campus with friendships still intact as it was before and not pulled down due to the extreme love for respective blocks (the love for respective blocks still remains intact, but first and foremost we are XIMBIANS)

This time around also, the level of competition was heating up and the spirit with which the whole event should have been played with was no where to be seen. All the blocks in running were fighting for each and every point and all were ready to do just anything for them. Even small small things would be put up before the team conducting the event so that penalty can be put on the block targetted.

A lot many things happened, it reached a point where Students Council got involved. It was here after a lot of discussions, it was decided that MAXINATIONS - 2005 will continue, but with a change.......

The change being that, games will be played in the spirit in which games should be played, without any points and just for the heck of having great fun........and fun - that day was one of the best days out here.....everyone had great time.......

In the end, it was a great end, with the trophy being shared by all the blocks......all rivalries came to end and everyone was happy with the way it all went.

Kudos to the MAXIM team which conducted this event in the manner in which the Spirits soared among the XIMBIANS

Listening to: Send me an Angel by Scorpions
Reading: Planning to start "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown
Blogging Holiday: From 25th Feb 2005 till 5th March 2005 - off to Gangtok trip with the XIMB gangsters.......

BTW had read "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown in January after placements.......and would love to recommend it to everyone who have not read this book. Extremely fast paced......well scripted with a tight plot, with many sound facts......

PASSING THOUGHTS

One of the quotes from Spiderman.....just ringed again in my brain......
"With great powers come great responsibilities....."

And lastly.......for having fun......all time masti....competition should be eliminated.......

Competition element removed from Maxinations - it rocks......
Kudos to people behind this decision of making it competition free.....

MAXINATIONS 2005

Well its turned on and its getting hotter and hotter as the time passes by..........



well well........don't get any ideas......have tried to keep the blog as clean as possible......

So now u will ask What the hell is this MAXINATIONS?
Well here at XIMB we have 6 different blocks - In Boy's Hostel - 4 blocks - A, B, C and D (my block)
Then, RMH which is the Girl's Hostel and den RM Hoste (Rural Management)......

So in Maxinations there are a series of events - Block Intro, Quizzes, Crosswords, Mock Press, Presentations and various other games......

Here all the block fight it out...giving it their best shot......so as to win as many events as possible and try and emere as the winners.

The basic funda is that you are given a product.......like we were given an Island last year and this year an Alien.
What each block has to do is to come out with a marketing strategy which involves giving your product the name, slogan, logo and the marketing agency......The biggest and the most important factor you have to try and do is to generate the maximum brand recall for your product. This is the most difficult part.

The sleep for most of us goes for a toss........

Currently our block is holding the Trophy for Maxinations 2004. It was one helluva close fight last year and it was a lot of fun.....
Also, right now our block is leading in this years Maxinations.......hopin that we make it second time in a row......fingers are crossed....a lot many events left to go....anything and everything can happen........

Overall it is a lot more fun.....if it is played in right spirit after all at the end of Maxinations....spirits will be flowing and spirits will be soaring.......hope u understand that ;)

dats all for now.....will update more later.......

P.S.: 100 Gmail invites up for grabs......if u want leave a message in comments.....

XIMB GD/PI CALLS

Well this is just to tell the prospective candidates that XIMB GD/PI calls are out and can be seen at: http://www.ximb.ac.in/start/

All the best....

LAST MONTH ON CAMPUS........

Time currently: 12:02 AM
Date: 1st February, 2005

Today the last month of stay on campus begins. Officially the term is ending on 26th February, 2005. Describing how one might be feeling while leaving this place, where we have spent 2 of the best years of our lives is not actually possible. Made some really great friends.......personally I might have also changed a lot. Well this my friends in Delhi will be able to tell better.

I am sure, the time spent here - especially since it was my first experience with hostel life - will always linger on in both my mind and heart. I am looking forward to our Darjeeling - Gangtok trip eagerly.....it will be great to have some real great time with the closest friends which I have here.

Well I think letting this post to be short is better than trying to put the feelings in words...coz I cannot do justice to them....

To end the post: One of the songs I like:
Group: Queen
Song: We are the Champions....

I've paid my dues -
Time after time -
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime -
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But I've come through

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'cause we are the champions - of the world -

I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls -
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it -
I thank you all -

But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise -
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race -
And I ain't gonna lose -

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'cause we are the champions - of the world -

BIT/BIS @ DELHI UNIVERSITY NETWORK

BIT/BIS NETWORK

Well this post is basically for all the Bachelor of Information Technology and Bachelor of Information Science grads of Delhi University. Well the website - a brand new one at that and completely refurnished is going to be launched on February 1st, 2005. This website for which the link can be found at the top of the post is a result of an Alumni Meet of BIT/BIS of all colleges which was held in New Delhi at India Habitat Centre on (i think) 9th January, 2005.

The discussion on next alumni meet is already starting up at BIT/BIS Yahoogroup. So if you are not a member send in your request with some details like name, batch and college to the yahoogroup.

The website currently is in test phase and the chat and message board links are operational. Also, the clubs are being formed to handle the alumni meets and interaction at various locations.

I hope to see the BIT/BIS community starting to move on again........

OFFER LETTER

Today Finally i got my offer letter from TVS Electronics where I am placed as a Management Trainee for a period of One Year.
So now it is confirmed that joining is on 1st June, 2005 at Chennai.

As I once said "Studies and Work take people places"
[I hope I am the only one who coined this phrase]

So from Delhi to Bhubaneswar for studies. From there to Chennai for work.....
At this rate Antarctica is not far away ;-)

This was an offer letter, I have accepted it and returned a copy of it duly signed.
Detailed joining instructions are still awaited.
A detailed medical test also needs to be carried out.

Thats all for now.

LIFE MOVES ON.........

LIFE MOVES ON

Alright I also admit this post is coming in way toooooooo late.......
It should have been here atleast 2 weeks ago.
I cannot also say that I was busy - I am a vella (totally or almost free - without much workload).

Anyways, since delay has been here, the post will include details on following fronts:
- Placements @ XIM-B
- Life @ XIM-B
- Looking forward to..........

PLACEMENTS @ XIM-B

Well Xuberance 2005 (Campus Placements at XIMB) - the event we PGPM Class of 2005 was looking forward to, finally happened and was a short lived event. It was over within a day with amazing results. Everyone was happy.
Placements are the most important phase of MBA for any student pursuing this course. The placements showed big time improvement compared to last year both in salaries as well as quality.
Some HARD FACTS:
- We termed the placements as a problem of plenty: 1.75 offers per student
- 113 students participated in the placement process of a batch of 116
- 59 companies participated, out of which 14 had to return empty handed
- Average salary: Rs. 5.24 Lakhs and Median Salary: Rs. 5.08 Lakhs
- Highest Indian Salary: Rs. 9 Lakhs
- Lowest Salary: Rs. 3.5 Lakhs
- Highest Lateral overseas offer: USD 84,000

The placements started on 8th January 2005 (just a day after my birthday - so it was bound to be a record breaking one) and it was wrapped up the same day itself.

The placement details are given in detail at: XUBERANCE 2005

I think i have not mentioned where I got placed. Well had multiple offers - and i chose TVS Electronics as my destination with them offering me a job in Sales and Marketing profile. So, I will be going to Chennai initially and then the final destination as of now I myself have no clue.

LIFE @ XIM-B

Ah with placements over, what should we do.
Most of us are having on the average around 2 papers to finish of this semester.
So workload at bare minimum for most of us. Now we are passing our time watching movies, reading novels, playing tennis or any other sport and dining out whenever possible.
The session ends on February 26th, 2005. So parting away from XIM-B campus is toooo near. Just cannot imagine life out of XIMB Campus.
Also, the campus is right now looking so beautiful with flowers blooming all across. Sorry, no snaps right now, but the moment they are developed and scanned I will put them up.

LOOKING FORWARD TO......

Now with time at XIM-B coming to an end, I am personally looking forward to spending as much time with the close friends which I have made here. We all planning to go to Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Gangtok and have loads of fun out there. The train tickets have been booked. The basic trip outline laid out, now we have to wait for the day to come when we leave for the journey. The plan is that we leave on 25th February morning and return back to XIMB on 5th March late night. Its the visit to the Paradise City.......
Here I recall Guns and Roses song (only partial song being referenced)

Take me down to Paradise City,
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty.....
(rest of the song will take me home - which this trip will not take me to)
[Girls here refer to other tourists making a beeline there during the peak season ;-) ]
[So hopefully some bird watching also]

Gangtok is one of the most beautiful hill stations in India, giving breathtaking view of the third largest peak of the world - Mt. Kanchenjunga.
People knowing me know how much I love visiting hill stations, playing with snow if its there and on another extreme I also love beaches equally. But the scenery offered at Hill Stations is unparalleled.
Fingers are crossed, hoping that the journey is a memorable one.
After the trip we plan to come back to campus and spend time here and roaming Orissa itself till 13th March or so. 14th March is convocation. Parents will be coming to campus for convocation - my first ever convocation.
Lots to look forward to. After reaching home, have to also get back in touch with all the friends who would be remaining in Delhi at that time.
Life will change drastically once out of here.


For a change no snaps in this post, but in near future ones there will be some.
Look out for them..........................

Happy New Year

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wishing everone a Very happy New Year....hope all your dreams come true......
Also hoping you have more n more dreams....lasting for further new years to come.....
So,

WELCOME YEAR 2005........

Some of the pics from the new year party here at XIMB:
[Thumbnails can be clicked for a full size view]

[THE BONFIRE] - Contributed by myself


[MUSIC @ THE BONFIRE] - Contributed by myself


[THE CLOCK TICKING] - Contributed by myself


[The New Year Cake] - Contributed by myself


[Chanchal, Sachin, myself, Sonal, Kartik(Blue Shirt),
Ritwick, Sanket, Ravi Sid, Shantanu ] - Contributed by myself


[Sitting: Sanket, Ravi Sid]
[Row 1 Standing: Hima, Gaurav (myself), Sonal, Ritwick, Milind]
[Row 2 Standing: Sachin, Shantanu, Kartik, Supriya]
- Contributed by myself


[Pradeep, Sachin, Myself, Sanket, Shantanu, Ritwick]
- Contributed by myself


[Sitting Row 1: DD, Shantanu, Darpan]
[Half Sitting, Half Standing: Sanket, Hima, Supriya]
[Row 1 Standing: Myself, Sonal, Sachin (Patiala),
also behing me a face can be seen - Pijush]
[Row 2 Standing: Sachin, Pradeep, Kartik]
- Contributed by myself


[My Consumer Behavior group @ new years:
Supriya, Ritwick, Sonal, Gaurav (myself) and Sachin]
- Contributed by myself


[Apni hi dhun mein chale hein - Pijush, Shantanu and Kartik]
- Contributed by myself


[Sitting: Hima, Supriya, Sonal, Gaurav (myself)]
[Standing: Sachin, Sanket, Pradeep]
- Contributed by myself


[The Party is on "Gemini Gemini" is the song]
- Contributed by myself


[The Party goes on]
- Contributed by myself

Thats all......Again wishing everyone a Happy and a Prosperous New Year

Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting