Reminiscing XMC

"when conventions are broken.. new worlds emerge" - TEAM XMC 07

having worked on projects, organisations, events, teams since the last 3 years of my life.. gives me a sense of satisfaction and confidence after the end of each and every project or event.... its always a fulfilling experience of working in a project or a team and event, of carving everything from scratch... giving it a shape.. structure.. plan.... glamour.. and executing !.. its entrepreneurship spirit at its best..

this post.... is dedicated to the spirit of XMC - Xavier's Management Convention 2007 !..

really dunno where to start from !!...since we entered college in BBA, we had a dream of hosting a fest !!.. like every other college student....after participating in so many fests, winning them... we always felt.. that we as management students can host a festival.. like a lot of undergrad management institutes do and create a niche for ourselves....

it all started with the ever enthusiastic, excited ankit and sudipto goin to father in the wee months of 3rd year with the courage of hosting a fest.. as a part of XAMS... and fr approving it... i mus admit.. in the begining... i was never kicked about participating in the preparations or planning and execution of the same... as i wsnt a part of xams, and never had a motivation to organise events after my experiences in AIESEC..... but somehow.. somthin happened. and i got convinced, that i can contribute to the whole idea. , and make it a dream come true !..

so, after the innumerable meetings, brainstorming sessions, fights, ego battles - emerged - XMC !!.. i remember that i floated the idea of having a planning day, as things werent goin exactly organised, and told sudipto, that we need to dedicate a day for XMC, plan every subsystem, make it structured, have chart papers !!.. everythin out of AIESEC !!.. and was doin some planning for the meeting back home.. and thought of the name - XMC - xavier's management convention... and thought this mite be da perfect, simple name for the fest.. and would differentiate it from other fests.. it wud be a management convention !!.. wohhhhooooooo... and the journey began from there !

Was made the head for corporate communications in a meeting i didnt attend (much like VP ER in AIESEC ), which i always wanted to do. .. raise money, brand the event,.. and meet a lot of corporate honchos... so it all seemed damn nice.... and the perfect next step after AIESEC and implement a lot of things i have learnt out there !!

slowly but surely, things started to roll on, and we had our designer fixed.. graphica.. and released our innovative event brouchure (courtsey : sudipto!!), which looked damn nice :

then... things rolled on.. appointments, phonecalls, meetings, making millions of proposals... convincing ppl to give money, support, ads !!.. crazy crazy hard work, weeks of anticipation, finger nail bitting!!.. it was fun... and had a wonderful team to work with !!..

The cream of XMC was PD - the panel discussion, as the idea was floated by fr to hold such a thing, my mind went beserk !, makin huge, huge, ultra XXXXL plans of the discussion, of inviting, CM, havin cnbc to cover and telecast it.. makin it a national event.. blah blah.. cudnt sleep tht nite only !hehe.... but every large dream.. starts with a small step.. so made a list of ppl, elite ppl, who wud be panelists with the team.. and ws thkin of makin one person solely responsible for PD, and da 1st name came to mind ws SHILPA JAIN !!. dunno y.. but felt she was the perfect sweet little, cunning and smart girl, who wud work, with al her contacts, and charm, and make it a success !!... so allocated her the responsibiity !!.. and the rest as they say was history... we got 5 eminent ppl for PD... so what if there was no media !, no superstar moderator.. but the whole expereince of makin it happen ws amazin, i still remember the day when me and ms jain ran all over kolkata, meetin the stars !!, and one confirmation after the other..... it ws amazing....

The panelists were :

Mr Rahul Saraf - MD Forum Projects
Mr Noomi Mehta - MD - Selvel
Mr Roopen Roy - Partner - PwC
Prof Sarkar - ISI
Fr Mathew - SXC

moving on... the best highlight of XMC, were the events... truly management in its genre and well thought of... i must say that sudipto and his team did a brilliant job of organising all the events in such a short time !!..... i mean, there were definately fuck ups, but those happen, but not the tune it happens in other fests, XMC almost went on schedule, and all people who participated enjoyed XMC !.... i too conducted the event called synergy !!.. a team bldg game, which was too much fun ..

overall, JDBI stood 1st with 33 points, sxc bba 2nd with 32, and sxc bcom 3rd with 31 points.. was a close call !!

the update part of it is over !.. the expereince of working passionately and dedicatedly all over again with a team, was an amazing feeling, and we rocked completely... rite from managing the printing, fighting over stupid small issues, critisizing ankit fr everythin, wrkin with the smart and beautiful girls, 4geting home, gfs, studies, office everythin fr a month, it was crazy times... and beleive you me.. organising a management convention in 2 months is no joke and we the team pulled it off !!

Well, thats it from me, for a looooooooooooong post..... do post comments. here are some pics from XMC !! - conventionality redefined !!

XMC ------------------------------Poster Putting Up XMC Banner in front gate !!


Banner at front gate of SXC--------------------------- TEAM XMC 2007



The Xecuters -------------------------------------3rd years at XMC

people at work !!-------------------------------- with director of IIMC, chief guest !!

Last, but by no means the least.. the intro video of XMC 2007 - it truly stunned ppl.. it rocked !!


For more resources and info on xmc.. mail me :)

congratulations to team xmc for making it a rockin success !!

cheers to all of us !!

Signing off !!

Niks

Budget of India : A Summary

Hey Guys

Here is a short, and incomplete summary of my understanding of the Budget Presented by the Finance Minister : Mr P.Chidambaram today. I will put forward my novice point of views very soon :)

• Education Cess Increased to 3% from 2%
• MAT Introduced in IT Sector @ 11.33% of Adjusted Book Profits
• Excise Duty on Cement Increased to Rs 600 Per Ton for bags above Rs 190
• Bags Below Rs 190 Mark, Excise Duty is slashed by Rs 50
• Non Taxable Income increased to Rs 1,10,000 Only
• The markets were spared hikes in STT and long term capital gains tax,
• Dividend Distribution Tax
• There will be no surcharge on companies with less than Rs 1 crore taxable income.
• The FM has raised the Dividend Distribution Tax on companies to 15%, and on mutual funds to 25%.
• 2 per cent interest subvention scheme for short-term crop loans. The scheme will get an additional allocation of over Rs 1,600 crore.
• The effective rate of customs duty has been reduced.
• The peak rate for non-agricultural products has been brought down from 12.5% to 10%.
• The ad valorem component of excise duty on petrol and diesel has been brought down from 8% to 6%.
• CST rate reduced from 4 to 3 per cent effective APRIL 1, 2007.
• He has raised the exemption for small service providers from Rs 4 lakh per annum to Rs 8 lakh per annum.
• Consequently, 2 lakh assessees out of a total of 4 lakh assessees will go out of the service tax net, resulting in a revenue loss of of Rs 800 crore.
• Service tax will now be payable on services outsourced for mining of mineral, oil or gas and renting of immovable property for use in commerce or business.
• The Budget has introduced a new exchangeable bond instrument. Using this instrument, holding companies can raise money through bonds against shares
• He proposes allowing mutual funds to operate dedicated infrastructure funds.

Till the next post

cheers

Niks

the journey is over.... welcome to the real world !!

hey guys

well, am a little nostalgic rite now, and i know my readers (the few i have) and my blog is very angry wth me, for not posting for a long time... but was a little busy .. but now.. will be regular..

well, today was my last day in AIESEC, was discharged of my duties, and resigned... it was a gr8 feeling to have contributed positively to an organisation, learnt so much, changed as an individual and inspired some people !!...

AIESEC truly is a wonderful place, which all youths and college going students should experience.. trust me... its smthing that will show you where u stand in this world !!...

anyways... thanks to all the people who supported me in aiesec.. locally and nationally.. and will definately be in touch with all of you

signing off

niks

On the dance floor... one more time !!

Yea, it felt like decades after which i was dancing on stage again !!.. yea.. dancing.. one of my oldest and most cherished hobbies...

well. if you look at my structure rite now.. u mite jus wonder hw this fat ass can dance .. and that also quite well.. but u kno what.. looks are always deceptive !!...

This time around..it was XAVOTSAV, me and my sweet little partner Aditi, danced to the tunes of Love, in the event Nach Baliye. The song was pehla nasha.....

When we got the concept of love is in the air,, both of us were clueless on what to do,.. wher to start from... which song, what concept... and what STEPS !!... cos both of us are not that great at dancing.. jus decent.. and for me.. i had not danced on stage since 2.5 years !!.. so it was a comeback for me..... and i took it as a challenge.. and the best part was.. my so called busy schedule was gettin into my head.. and i seriously wanted to freak out !!.. and get that charm of being on stage back !!..

I mus say we put in a lot of effort.. hours and hours of practise with Ms Shilpa Jain, Swati Poddar, Sudipto 'hero' dey always there to make us dance and give their creative constructive and criticising inputs !!... i wud never forget those random chai and 'gatthiya' eating sessions we all had... the practise for the event was simply a rockin time.. and we had a ball !!

coming back to the dance.. a slow romantic theme of Love is in the air.. and the remixed version of Pehla Nasha... actually 'aroused' my inner love feelin all over again.. it jus felt that i wanted to be in love.. all over again.. and the song was so so meaning full !!... we just got the hang of it by the end. and the song and steps went into our cells !!... it was just impromptu by the end day !!..

we performed brilliantly on the D Day and everyone appreciated us.... we are being termed as the love birds.. and our dance created an atmosphere of Love all around SXC audi... no mistakes... perfect natural expressions.. confidence !!... love.. it was everything in those 4.5 minutes..

whateva the result.. we all had a ball preparing for this. and i was tooooo kicked on gettin back to stage... where i belong.. (or do it.. hehe)...

In the end.. i would like to thank Shilpa and Swati for being the most supportive and persistent choreographers u cud have.... Mr Dey for always being there and givin his inputs.. and dancing sometimes... and last but by no ways the least.. my partner aditi.. u were superb... and sorry for all my leg pullings and mistakes.. and callin u swati at times.. hehe

Cheers and have a great week ahead

Niks

the year of india?? India Vs India... lets wait and watch !!

Time to Time, the corporate world does emerge with a strategy to reach out to the society, to reach out to the billions of people they are serving, to reach out to the masses. India Poised !.. a campaign by the Times of India Group, according to me, is such an initiative. It has got people talking.... it just trying to say things, that all of us knows, talk everyday, crib, gossip, but never ever try to come up with a solution. This post is dedicated to a simple analysis of the whole campaign, and a learning that can be extracted by the youth of today.

Again, i have given the youtube link of the Amitabh Bachchan Video of the India Poised Campaign, watch it,... and here are the words...

There are two Indias in this country

One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the
adjectives that the world has been showering recently upon us.

The other India is the leash.

One India says, give me a chance and I'll prove myself. The other India says,
prove yourself and maybe then you'll have a chance.


One India lives in the optimism of our hearts. The other India lurks
in the skepticism of your minds One India wants. The other India hopes. One India leads. The other India follows.

But conversions are on the rise. With each passing day more
and more people people for the otherIndia have been coming over to this side.
And quietly, while the world is not looking, a pulsating, dynamic
new India is emerging.

An India whose faith in success is far greater than its fear in failure.
an India that no longer boycotts foreign-made goods but buys out the
companies that make them instead.

History, they say, is a bad motorist. It rarely ever signals its intentions
when it is making a turn.

This is that rarely-ever moment. History is turning a page.

For more than half a century, our nation has sprung, stumbled, run. fallen, rolled over, got up, dusted herself and cantered, sometimes lurched on
But today, as we begin out 60th year as a free nation, the ride has brought
us to the edge of time's great precipice.

And one India- a tiny little voice at the back of the head- is looking down
at the bottom of the ravine and hesitating.

The other India is looking up at the sky and saying, it's time to fly. .

Some words of inspiration, motivation, patriotism, self belief, and dignity. Some words of looking into the face of reality, frustration, hope, dreams, aspirations, following, leading, etc etc.

Some of the words and phrases in the anthem of India Poised, are things we think everyday.... a lot of us plead for chances to prove ourselves, we need opportunities, we hope to win... we hope to succeed...while some of us, create our own opportunities, create them, have a hunger to win and succeed, and lead others to the same path...

i believe that this campaign truly represents the New Age Indian, times are changing rapidly and we will always have a double mind inside us... one which is always urging us to create the way and lead others into the light.. while another restricting us... and reminding us not to take untoward risks.. and following the success paths of others....

whatever be the case.. India as a country, and we as citizens, have come a long way since 60 years.. and have a longer way to go.... as they say.. sky is the limit.. and we are just learning to fly...

i am not here to give political statements, on whats good, or whats bad... in india, but this INDIA POISED campaign should be looked from the viewpoint of a challenge to every individual, to maximise their efforts, intellect, visions and ability, to make sure in the years to come, we live with dignity, prosperity and freedom... in a Balanced Developed India... the India of our dreams


Vande Mataram

Niks

the questions begin.... again !!... (KBC @ srk)

Last night, millions of people across india vitnessed the rebirth yet again of one of the greatest TV shows of India : KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI (adaptation of " who wants to be a millionaire"), with a new host and dost - Shahrukh Khan !!'



When KBC Started around 3 years back , it was a revival of sorts for the then host :Amitabh Bachchan... and the same for STAR PLUS the media house. From a management prospective.. the channel wasnt the top viewed channel in India, and they had to do something BIG to get right up there.. and KBC was the answer

It was a perfect case of thinking BIG and thinking out of the box (daring to adapt a successful show.. and roping in Ambitabh Bachchan..). Big B at that time wasnt on the peak of his career and nor was star plus... but here is a classic example of how two struggling entities can synergise and create history.

Anyways.... Best wishes to Mr SRK and KBC for this year..... and the first thing i liked about the new KBC is the relaunch video !.. its damn cool ..

Watch it .. right here. !!

Enjoy !

niks

one of the best speeches.. watch it.. and hear it ..

The following is one of the best and meaningful speeches that i have come across... its all about.. motivation... team.. leadership.. passion.. commitment.. and how to lead and live a life...

cos life is a game of inches... the guy who is willing to die.. will win that inch !!

watch it here.... AL PACINO speech in the movie.. Any Given Sunday... :-







Niks