Xams, Xmas and a bit more...

It's been almost 2 weeks since I've penned something online. Is that right? "Penned"?? I guess I should say "typed", but who cares... :)

As you must have felt, I have been busy. I guess I took this term a bit lightly, messed up a few grades and now I'm slogging at the end trying to make amends. But I've learnt my lessons. I just hope I can get through this storm. 4 exams over in the first 2-day phase. 5 more at the turn of the year. Sadly, they end on 31st and I'll have to spend New Years eve in the train back home.

But that's not the only thing which has kept me busy. I've shouldered a new responsibility out here. I got elected as the Secretary for the Media & Public Relations Committee. (a part of SWAC, I mean SAC... I'll tell you about that later) You can say, I've helped myself become a bit more busier. But I guess it's fine. Always been passionate to work for this committee, and though it seems like a daunting task, I hope to do my duties well. One thing about being the head of anything is that, You very easily become the target of so-called "Critics". And these days there are many. You're scrutinized by every individual; One wrong move and Wham, they'll hit you right where it hurts. One thing I'm glad about.... I have a great team - 3 individuals (Srinath, Raj and Srihari) who have a very level-headed approach to everything and I hope we all complement each other in the days to come. Here's to you guys - Cheers!

This time round, the elections (yes even IIMs have elections) were a very new experience. People (including myself) campaigning for votes, making new contacts and even friends at times. Manifestos being presented, Questions being raised, Controversies and Rumors brewing. Some of it was truly painful and shocking, but all in all I guess I had my share of fun. I learnt how childish as well as how mature individuals can be. It all got over pretty fast. I'm gonna miss those days, and those posts on the News Groups.

Politics and Exams apart, it's been a dull last month of the year. The 2nd term just seems to be dragging itself for too long. It's become like one of those Saas-Bahu serials. I'm just dying to get back home to Udaipur and enjoy the Winter (Man, it feels so gud to cuddle up in bed and sleep all day long) :). I have to get attached to some NGO also during the same period. IIMs don't leave you free very easily :) Projects, assignments, Field Visits, Surveys... You name it, They've got it! I guess we all asked for it when we entered this humble abode. But I'm sure it's better than working for some IT company 15 hrs. a day. I can wait for another 15-16 months.

X-mas!! It's the season to be jolly. I guess we all are a bit jolly right now because of the 5 day gap between the two exam phases. Not too sure about Sections A & B; poor fellas have 4 classes every day, thats about 6-7 hrs of rigorous boredom. Sorry for you guys...
December kinda reminds me of the US. I miss the snow, the decorated streets and malls, the Christmas tree at home, those gr8 gifts :). I miss those days when school would suddenly be called off, the snow-man and the snow-fights! They're all a distant memory now :(

I watched a movie yesterday, "One-hour photo" where the protagonist speaks about the magic behind photos; about how families capture time in the blink of an eye, or should i say "shutter". Even I have so many pics from those gr8 old days, when ignorance was a bliss, when blunders were called cute by people, when you could get low grades and not even care. Were those days gr8 or what??! Wish I had a time-machine.. :)

Anyways, I gotta get back to work. Still 5 exams to go, and some work for MediaCom. See ya all soon. Hope I get some time b4 I go off home, to write some more... Adios.

IPL @ IIM Indore (Manoranjan Ka Baap)

So what if the Champions League (20/20) got cancelled; we at Planet I designed our very own IPL. The concept was new but the excitement for cricket was just the same. A combined event by our Marketing Club (Mercur-i) and Sports Committee, IPL was a bucket full of energy.

Rules of the Game:
Oh, don't worry, I wont list down loads of bullet points here like an ICC Rule Book. Let me just get you acquainted with the event. 12 Teams of 10 members each (6 for the cricket team + 4 for the Marketing) were formed and divided into 4 groups. If you think the teams were too small, think again! A ground the size of a tennis court and just 6 overs to slog. You've got a thrilling watch for your eyes.

The rules kinda reminded me of cricket at home during my childhood. I'm sure many of you have had innovative rules of your own. Ball hits the boundary wall, Superb Six! If it goes over the wall directly, You're back to the pavilion. :-) Last man allowed to play alone, and you can run him out at both ends. Remember such memories of childhood?
Our version of IPL had some such rules. I guess that's what made the game more interesting. We even picked up the idea of Power Play. A free over of smashing where you can only be run-out or skied out ( that's when u hit the ball over the hostel's 2nd floor).

Round 1 was intra-group, where each team played 4 matches. The best team from each, went on to the semifinals. The final 4 were Eagles, Ab tak Chhappan, Lemon Brothers and Master Batters. The tournament favourites "Eagles" were able to pull off a win in the finals, when they seemed to be struggling a bit for the first time. Ab tak Chhappan, which had an immense fan-following sure entertained their friends out their.

Cash (Read Mercuri Dollars) -
IPL wasn't just about winning the ball game. It was also about marketing your teams. Though this idea got a slow start, there was a bunch of creativity towards the end. The media up for buy (Each team had restricted amount of Mercuri Dollars and the media usage had to be paid for) consisted of posters, pamphlets, jingles, videos and even outdoor events like plays/speeches.

It all started with a few gr8 team names, names like Master Batters, Ab Tak Chhappan, The Lemon Brothers (I heard they even served Lemonade one day), GAY Men (Gaonwaale Angry Young Men); A few really good slogans, for example "Kyunki Hum Kisi Ka Ehsaan Nahi Lete" (MasterBatters), "The Nerds who love Playing with Balls" (Community Service). I'd love to put a few posters of teams Community Service and Master Batters up on this post, but my blog would start getting flagged for obscenity. :) I'll have to get publishing rights from the team managers b4 I can actually put up some of their creativity online. :)

Something Different -
Team ChidimaarR put up oval boards on the boundary and challenged the opponent teams' batsmen to hit them. The Prize?? CHOCOLATES!
One of the IPL teams blew up some creatively shaped balloons (if you know what I mean :-)) and hung them near the playing field.

In all, the online newsgroups at IIM Indore were flooded with publicity stints. And spectators were loving it. A round of applause for Sportscom & Mercur-i. Let's hope this fun-filled event becomes an annual fiesta.

So Much is Happening...

We all take a few days off don't we? Well, I've been a bit busy with submissions recently, that I haven't had time to update my blog. But that doesn't mean that Planet-I has been silent. Rather, it's been the exact opposite.

So much has happened since my midterms got over on 19th November. You can say that we know how to keep our selves busy. As if our Profs don't give enough work. Didn't they tell you that elite institutes like IIMs are about holistic personality enhancement?? :-)
Now let's see... There's been our sports activities including our very own IPL & IFL, RTI week (Dec 1-7), Parthenon 08', our Freshers' Party (if you can call it that) and much more. Don't worry... I'll give you details, but in a later post. One post wouldn't be enough to speak about all of that. We'll take it one by one.

So what's this one about. It's about IIM Indore's newest member. No, no one has been given lateral entry into our institute, if that's what you're thinking. I'm referring to our recently appointed Director, Professor N. Ravichandran who joined us on November 27. Prior to this, Prof. Ravichandran was teaching OM & Strategy at IIM Ahmedabad for quite some time. With change comes waves of hope. And I believe that's exactly what many of us at Planet-I are hoping for. I'm not saying that things are bad out here, but we all know, everything can be improved.

Professor Ravichandran doesn't need an introduction; his credentials speak for themselves. You could google his name and find hundreds of links on him. You would probably learn that he's a great researcher and a great guru. We at IIM Indore are yet to know him better, but based on what I've read, he always means business. And yes, did I forget to mention, he has some great one-liners.
During his first interaction with the whole PGP fraternity, he made quite an impact. Though I won't and can't discuss everything he said, I must say I was impressed by his criticism. I've always felt that the only one who can make a difference is the one who identifies and accepts the loop holes in a system, big or small. There's no point in praising yourself among your own family members. Kind of reminds me of a friend out here, who proclaimed something during a certain event. He said "I'm here for CHANGE". Well, maybe he really had a point.

Bug then again, these have all just been speeches till now. I remember my IIM Lucknow's GD topic: "Words without Deeds, is like a garden full of weeds". So let's hope that the garden turns out to give real flowers. And as Professor Ravichandran said at the end of his introductory speech, "From nowonwards, let our actions speak and not our words".