XPeerience 2013/14 Edition 2

Hello People!! Since the last edition of this newsletter, XIMB has been buzzing with tons of activity. Why? Well there was this huge event called Xpressions that happened! Yes, the biggest management fest in Eastern India was held here from 8th to 10th of November. After months of preparation and night-long toil, those three days defined another year of exhibiting XIMB to the rest of the country. Business events included Kurukshetra, Gladiator, Skill City, Helios and Spardha, cultural events like Goonj, Thirkan and the debut of Big Xpressions and a jam packed Celebrity night featuring the impressive Arijit Singh put Xpressions 2013 on a very high level.

On the sports front, an inter-section cricket tournament for the first year students was held on the weekend of 23rd and 24th November, with section B coming out on top, defeating section C in the final. Congratulations section B!

The Volleyball for boys and Throwball tournaments for girls respectively For first year students were also played this past weekend. In Throwball, the girls of section B came out victorious with a win over HRM in the final.In volleyball, section C triumphed beating section B in the final. The match of the tournament was the volleyball semi-final between section C and section D, which was fought till the end with section C clinching a five point win in the final set. Congratulations to the girls of section B and the boys f section C!

We are looking forward to many such sporting events in the future.

Competitors for

the world…

Buddies for life…

NikhilSoft spoken, warm, friendly and a hit with the ladies (couldn’t resist :-P), Nikhil sat down with Peerie a few days after the successful completion of Xpressions for this interview.

Here’s what he had to say…

•Which event at XIMB made you feel like you had come to the right place?It was during the Class Rep elections. I had the experience of being a CR earlier, and it gave me a feeling that I could continue the same work here.

•That one moment when you first felt you were an XIMBian? I think it was during Maxinations. There were a lot of events going on. There was a lot of group spirit. We were able to gel with our seniors. It was a very nice feeling.

•Name the person/ people without whom you think your XIMB journey would be incomplete.There are a whole lot of people and it’s difficult to mention any particular name. If I had to name a few they would be, in no particular order, Subramanian, Aditya Panigrahi, Nidhi, Ajay Jolly, Sreenesh, Shajna, Gokul, ‘the B-Blockers’ and of course Mithun,

Manish, Munish and Subhranshu; I have been virtually living

with them for the past few months.

•How much has XIMB lived up to your expectations?XIMB was second last on my list of B-schools that I applied to. But after I came here and met people, I realized it is no less than the others, be it smartness or academic rigor or the type of events we organize. We have some really brilliant faculty as well. With every new experience, I am getting better and better. Being a fresher I am thrilled with the type of learning experience XIMB has offered me.

•What made you decide to be a part of the SEC?The entire batch had felt the need for a change at that time and I felt I could bring that about. Also I had huge support from my batch, which gave me the confidence to take up the job. Most importantly, the kind of management experience that I would get being in the SEC is immense. I saw that as an opportunity.

•How has the past year been, as the Treasurer of the SEC, XIMB? Tell us about the various challenges faced.It has been extremely challenging and hectic. There were so many tasks at hand with hardly any time. Trying to do justice to each one of them was not easy. And I also realized no matter how good you do or how hard you try, there will be people who will criticize your work. Then there was Xpressions which involved a lot of planning. And securing sponsorship was the biggest challenge of all as we had targeted to recoup part of last year’s deficit as well. But the economic scenario made it extremely difficult.

Describe the entire Xpressions 2013 process for us. What it took from inception, conception, organization and delivery?Even before the preparations had started, we had some major issues. The biggest among them was the budget deficit. This raised questions about hosting Xpressions this year. All the event related work was handled by the respective committee and that was going on smoothly. The only issue was with sponsorship and this was our main focus all the time as everything else depended on it. We had to cut costs at lot of places and at the same time had to ensure that Xpressions does not lose it glamour. Though the work had started months ago, we could see the results coming in only during the last few days. So it was necessary for us to keep each other motivated all the time. There were times when things weren’t going good and we at one point had actually decided to cancel Celeblitz. But then somehow things started falling in place and we were able to pull it off.

The final day of Xpressions was really exhilarating. The whole campus was full of excitement and that’s when we realized that Xpressions had become a great success. Leading up to and during Xpressions we

used to work around 12-14 hours a day but now suddenly it has all disappeared. Post Xpressions, the days have become very boring.

Tell us about your interest in chess. Do you still pursue it?Before I came to XIMB, I used to focus on chess. Just before I joined

XIMB I was free for around three to four months. During that time I played around 2000 games online. But now I hardly get time. Though I do take part in the chess matches held here, now it has become more of a pass time.

RahulWe see him at all cultural events. His wonderful voice has moved us all. Peerie caught up with Rahul Rai to ask him a few questions about this journey through and in XIMB

over the past 18 months. Here’s what he said…

•Which event at XIMB made you feel like you had come to the right place?I think it was during Parichay. I had performed and I love doing that. It was my first event and performance here. I had sung "Mora saiyan mose bole na". I was aware of ximb life from my college days because of my seniors. From the very first day on campus, I started loving it. I have tried my best not to miss any event.•That one moment when you first felt you were an XIMBian? When the seniors welcomed us by throwing water on us. In RM we have one extra VIVA session where they get us together and then throw water on us.•Name the person/ people without whom you think your XIMB journey would be incomplete.

There are many. Pallav Bhatt, Munish Gill, Pradeep Sharma, Ipshit Bagchi, Happy - to name a few. We have had some

wonderful times together. Last time during Xuberance we all had gone for a night out to

Konark at 12 am. It was a crazy thing we had done.

•Your role as a member of RMAX.When I came to XIMB, I wanted to be a member of RMAX. I was happy I got selected as a shadow member. In the core team which was formed, everyone was from the shadow and therefore we had a great understanding among ourselves. As a team I think we are great. We bagged four big sponsors for RMAX. This had never happened earlier. Needless to say, Naseem is a great Coordinator. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him.

•Your comments on Gramotsava.For this year’s RMAX, we had started working as soon as the core team was formed. He had to handle a lot of things starting from logistics to the actual execution. I think the location for this year’s Gramotsava could have been somewhere else. Site selection was a huge problem. Pulling in crowds was also an area of concern, but I think the team pulled it off really well. It was also the first time that we published our magazine. It was a great achievement. My special thanks  to team Illuminatix specially Meghna, Lavina and Anil for their support in Media work and promotion. This year the promotion and media coverage was more than that of last year and it happened only because of team Illuminatix.

•Your comments on being a part of two Xpressions now. How was this year’s Xpressions different from last year’s?It had rained last year during Xpressions. This year the weather was great and Xpressions was much better. I think there was a little mismanagement for the Celeblitz night. The number of passes handed out was more than capacity. But still the event was handled well. There were many good events in Xpressions. Time management was also great.

•We (the first years) heard you sing for the first time in Parichay, and we were floored. Tell us a bit more about your singing?Music was always been my passion. I had performed for the first time during my college. I have had no formal training in singing. I just enjoy it.

• Tell us about your role in pitching to companies. How challenging was the experience?

I had to pitch for companies for Gramotsava. I was a pretty difficult task. There had to be continuous follow-up calls. It required a great deal of commitment from our end. We had to contact the zonal offices,

from there we had to find out information about people whom to contact. After contacting 12-13 companies, I was able to convert Mahindra two wheelers and Swaraj Tractors. Generally it takes around 1-2 months to get companies confirmed. Sometimes even after giving their word, the companies do not respond and at the final moment they back out.

Send in your entries to [email protected]. The first two entries will get a mention in the next edition.

It’s perhaps the only week of the term when everyone has the same activity on their mind, study. Yes you guessed it, end term examinations approach us. The last minute doubt clarifications, notes exchange and catching up of three months worth of studies definitely takes it toll. To add to that the numerous assignments, presentations and quizzes don’t make life any easier. Oh well! That’s the life of a management student. We are supposed to Manage – our time, our efforts and our performance.

Many activities are already being planned post end-term, including an inter-section football tournament, an informal quizzing league and loads others. Plus there is the much awaited return of those three letter…JLT!!

The correct answers of the last edition’s Who’s That X-Peer contest is Nikhil Mathew. The following are the names of the early bird entries:

Saurav GangulyHarsh Mohapatra

CONGRATULATIONS!!

I l l u s t ra t i ons : Ami t Kumar J ena