The first week!!!

More than a week has passed since I have got adjusted to this new home of mine for the next two years. And these days have been definitely eventful.

First of all, the campus is simply breathtaking. If Manipal is paradise, Lavale is a bigger paradise. Situated in the midst of the Sahyadri ranges, at an altitude of 2200 ft above sea level, I am sure everyone will enjoy every moment of their stay here. For all the obvious reasons, its all the more beautiful with the monsoons just on the verge of setting in.

The hostels are totally well planned and designed meticulously to the last detail. All the things have been taken care of. I could correlate it to my previous stay during my undergraduate days, and could find a hell of a difference here. Though any comparisons of any sort would not be fair, I am pretty much satisfied about the hostel and the facilities. We have two seater as well as three seater rooms with attached baths. I have been allotted a two seater on the extreme top of the building. Peep out of the window and you overlook a huge golf course (supposedly owned by Jackie Shroff!! Dont really know how far it is true!!). And as a special privilege, I alone have the opportunity to walk all the way to the terrace of the Boys Hostel and enjoy the mystic and serene surroundings in the early mornings and late evenings!! The mess is also decent enough, serving a variety of food. Though the quality is not so great, it still is edible. It only makes sure that noody stretches beyond their limits in eating. My room is on the third floor, and a few trips up and down daily, will definitely ensure that I'll end up losing a few pounds here over the next few months!!!

The main academic block houses the SIU office, and academic blocks of two institutes other than ours. Commonly known as the North Block of the campus, its close to a km away from the hostel blocks, referred to as the South Block. Midway is the mess and the not-so-developed shopping complex. The great part of the campus is there are army cycles placed at the North, South and the Central blocks, which can be used by any students on campus to commute between these points. The campus has been decided as a "Pollution Free Zone" and no motor vehicles are allowed on campus. Though this rule is not strictly enforced, it still is a good way to start. People bringing their vehicles have to park it outside and can use it only to commute outside the campus.

The campus is close to 20 kms away from the heart of the Pune city. There is no public transport to anywhere near the campus as it is located in an isolated area. As a result, the campus runs buses to the city and from the city to the campus 5 times a day at convenient intervals. Really appreciate the efforts taken by the administration. Though a personal vehicle would definitely help, this effort is definitely laudable.

Another icing on the cake is the recreational facilities available on campus. There is a full fledged gym, aerobics and yoga with qualified trainers, badminton and squash courts, table tennis and carrom, a swimming pool (where I chill every evening!!!). Added to this is the 36" Plasma TV(was a pleasure watching Fedex complete a career slam). I really am in love with this campus and want to make the best use of the facilities available over the next couple of years.

Coming to the academic part, the first four days were full of gyaan sessions. People briefing about Symbi, the college, the new campus, the facilities, the rules and regulations, the opportunities, the statistics about the past performance of the institute etc etc. Though, a few of the students found them boring and useless, I thought those were important, as we need to be aware about the happenings in and around and the facts about where we are studying. More so because, we are all the brand ambassadors of our college, and inability to answer simple queries regarding the college would reflect directly.

Towards the weekend, we were taken for an Outbound Training program. Most of them, took it as an opportunity to start their "batting" careers. The "bowlers" here are definitely good and the collective group of them are far better than any team I have seen anywhere so far. But on the whole, we were all made to play small games and the learning from each game, was very much clear on the wall. Though very obvious, we tend to forget the small and minute details, which contribute very much towards good and efficient decision making and team work.

On the whole, the first week was good and memorable. Moreover, now that regular classes have started, it remains to be seen how I can manage my time. I'll try to post the pics asap. Till then, Cheers!!! Keep rocking!!!!

Three days & three big jokes!!!!

Its been three days since I have re-started my formal student life after a brief hibernation for 3 years. The three days have been more than eventful. Like the Fake IPL Player, I am in sorts, posting this, in a sort of a hurry. I promise to be back as soon as possible. But till then, I'll share with you three of the biggest jokes I have heard on campus in these three days.

• "There was a time when Pune was called the Oxford of the East. With our ambitious plans of expansion and going global, there will come a day when Universities will yearn for the title Symbiosis of the West!!!" - Principal Director of SIU on their ambitious expansion drive - Too ambitious I say!!!
• "SNAP is better than CAT" - Director, trying to draw comparison on the number of students taking the exam per college considering the exam score. CAT 2008 was taken by 2.75 lakh people and CAT score is considered by close to 130 institutes whereas SNAP 2008 was taken by 1.2 lakh students and SNAP score is considered by only 13 institutes. - Wow!! Some people in the audience might really have taken your words!!!
• "In the US of A, you must know where to rape!!" - Professor who was stressing on the importance of understanding the geographical and political systems in various regions in the world and their necessity for emerging business leaders and managers. The fine for rape, incidentally varies from state to state in the USA - "Well that session on a whole, was definitely interesting!!!"

Well, I am still in the first week with Induction Formalities going on. We are scheduled for an Outbound Training program on 12th and 13th. Promises to be interesting. Regular classes are going to start only from the 15th. Till then, probably I can afford to relax!! The campus is really beautiful. Especially the sunrises and sunsets over the hills in the durrounding, the pleasant weather, the facilities on the campus (really enjoyed watching Federer complete the career grand slam on a 36" Plasma TV) all add up to the ambience. I would also reserve my comments on the mess for a couple of weeks!!

Till my next post (hopefully coming soon), cheers!!!

Election Campaigns - Its a big joke!!

With the largest democracy in the world, in the midst of the world's largest electoral exercise, battles are getting heated up.  And why not, a lot is at stake! The license to rule (??) India for the next 5 years is up for the grabs.

But when you see the way election campaigns have evolved over the years, its indeed a big joke. The most glaring one about the 2009 General Elections is that, more often than not, we see people (candidates) trying to convince the people as why he/she should not vote for the other candidate, and not why they should vote for him! Generally, whenever someone wishes to represent the people, they need to tell the people why he is the best choice for them. What are the top priorities in his agenda should he be elected, and how he intends to address the issues of concern to the people. Rather than doing this, all political parties, no matter their size, are busy in mudslinging. So much that, it has turned too personal at some places.  All the election rallies have become mere means of accusing others and the other person replying to the accusations throughout. Party X says that in the last election Party Y promised such and such things but has not managed to deliver. Party Y reverts saying Party X had promised such and such things, but has failed. These gentlemen fail to understand that those who stay in glass houses should not throw stones at others. Other than these, I have never managed to see anything significant in these campaigns.

One sad part which I came across in these electoral campaign, was one of the most "respected" faces in the central government making a public statement that Independent Candidates spoil the show and people should vote for only party candidates. I was shocked to hear such a statement from a leader of such repute. And the biggest irony was that in spite of being a "party candidate", he does not have the guts to go and stand for elections to the Lok Sabha. In fact a sizeable percentage of our Union Cabinet has ministers, who have been rejected by the public. When the Constitution allows any Indian citizen irrespective of his background to aspire for becoming a representative of people, such a loose comment was definitely uncalled for. And this inspite of knowing that there still are a good number of Independent Candidates winning and coming to the Lok Sabha.

The only good thing about this elections has been the continuous updates shown by the media and the analysis done to varying depths, enabling the common man to make a decision. The write ups about the constituency, the candidates, their past history, the major issues in the constituency etc have definitely opened the eyes of many and made us aware of many things which we had no idea about. Yes, I do agree that there are chances that these opinions can be biased. But equally important is the fact to note that, its an attempt well done. One thing I have learnt over the last couple of years, is to appreciate the attempts made by someone to improve something however insignificant it may be and whatever be the outcome of the attempt.

I would like to give another funny aspect of these elections. When I was in Hyderabad till a couple of weeks back, the local newspapers carried a series of photographs of the sitting MP of one of the constituencies in the city. He was on a massive tour of a constituency he had never even bothered to visit in the last 5 years. And he was trying his hands at various professions at which people were involved viz. tailor, barber, weaver, blacksmith etc. The ironical part was the caption under it which in essence said that a majority of people who gathered in hundreds to see him, were not even aware that the person in front of them, was in fact a sitting MP and they themselves had elected him 5 years back! Are these the type of people we want, to represent us??

On a lighter note, there is a rumour that all future public meetings, press conferences and anything involving politicians and ministers are going to be held under strict scrutiny and among various things that are not permitted for the gatherings, footwears are also going to be included in the list. Every day, someone or the other is being targetted with an angry protestor's footwear which ultimately leads to another blame game.

On a concluding note, I would have loved to see live debates between two candidates or the top leaderships of major political parties, held in a more explicit way, on the lines of what happens in the US of A and other developed nations.  There have been indirect debates already on varied topics like "Should it be made mandatory that the PM should be from the Lok Sabha?", "Should voting be made compulsory for the people?" etc to name a few. I would really appreciate if this can happen in a direct way. Technology also has to be used to the maximum possible extent to ensure penetration and creation of awareness among the masses. I would even love to see some youth icon, urging the people to go and vote. (Though the EC had earlier conceived the idea of roping in MSD for the same, I dont know what happened to it.)

All said and done, I am definitely going to vote tomorrow. How about you??

The Tata Nano is going to cost much more than Rupees One lakh!!!

With the Tata Nano finally launched, and bookings closed for the public, all expectations are on Ratan Tata and his team when the cars will be delivered to the proud owners. Having said this, much furore has been made over the cost of the vehicle and more often than not, we hear people complaining that Ratan Tata had promised to give a car at One Lakh, and now its gonna cost much more than a Lakh. And added to that, it does not have all the features like power steering, ABS, airbags, power windows, AC etc. 

Some facts. Ratan Tata made the promise way back in 2003. When he had made the comment, it was only a passing reference which was blown out of proportion by the media. Having said that, coupled with the commercial success of Ace, gave him more confidence and Tatas came out with a concrete plan for the same. But ever since material costs have sky rocketed like anything in the last couple of years. The frequent delays caused due to various reasons, some being political and some other, has definitely not helped the Tatas' case. Time and again, he has been ascertaining that its going to be very very difficult to keep the costs within the 1 lakh threshold. Having come across so many hardships, its really commendable to be coming out with the Nano, at whatever price it is being offered to the customers.

Yes!! Nano is going to cost more than one lakh. Though a lot has been done to cut the costs, viz only one windshield wiper, only one rear view mirror, no power steering and simplification of various linkages, replacement of steel with fibre wherever possible, it still was difficult to contain it in the range that was promised. The base model comes to Rs.123000 which is the most simplest model. Advanced versions which have central locking, power windows and air conditioning are going to cost upto Rs.175000. And these figures are only ex showroom prices on which VAT, Life Tax, and other expenditures have to be incurred by the consumer.

What bothers me most is the way critics are making a mountain of a mole. If Ratan Tata has not been able to give a car at Rs 1 lakh, whats their problem. Atleast he has made an attempt and atleast he is giving it at 1.5 lakhs. Which other manufacturer in India has even thought about that?? And look who is speaking. Its not the common man for whom it has been designed. Its not the barber or the butcher, whose dreams of owning a car is coming true. It is them, who already have enough cars in their homes, who are cribbing about Nano. Come on guys, have some respect for the person who has seen the dream of rural India, the dream of an average middle class family to drive safely in the comforts of a four wheeler. In fact I really admired Tata, when he had the idea of selling the Nano to only those customers who do not have any other vehicle. This would mean restricted marketing and sale in cities and metros. Going by statistics, almost 72% of cars in India are sold in A and A+ cities. By cutting down on this, please calculate how big a risk he has taken. Its a different matter that with the launch of Nano, that statistic will change! And yeah, please be aware, that Tatas are selling Nano's at a very minimal profit. Neither the company nor the dealers are going to make anything out of it!!

People have also raised the issue on the quality of the car. For your information, the car conforms to all the necessary statutory requirements in terms of security. Using simple common sense, if Tata's compromise on the quality of the car, they themselves will be at the receiving end having invested so much and having faced so much of trouble so far.

Eminent environmentalists have questioned about the eco friendliness of the car. The car has been certified by ARAI (a GOI body, having nothing to do with Tatas) to meet the norms of BS III for emission. And it is definitely wrong to blame Tatas if there are more cars on the road. Yes it will raise the demand for fuel, it will lead to congestion in roads, it will lead to huge parking problems. If an Indian city is unable to cope with this, its the Government which is to be blamed for not having provided the required infrastructure. Atleast they had enough time to plan.

After seeing through all the hardships, of varying magnitude starting with the Singur pull out(which has hurt Ratan Tata the most), to the recent resentment over the pricing and concerns over various issues regarding the performance of the car, it is highly commendable that the Tata's have finally managed to come out with it. A two cylinder 624cc rear engine, coughing 33HP of raw power, running at a maximum speed of 120 kmph, a 15 litre petrol tank, offering a decent fuel consumption of around 20 kms per litre, is infact a great deal. If you still want AC, power steering, ABS, airbags, central locking etc for one lakh, GIVE ME A BREAK!!! You don't even deserve to own a car!!!