Fun...unlimited...

An inter college fest..which had excitements soaring...and which unfortunately turned out to be a disaster does wonders to create a negative atmosphere..drain out energy...n have loads of bitter memories!!!

Well...a bunch of students after a week's break..return to college..(in bhubaneswar..) for an "outbound programme"...we're filled with apprehension and clouded with negative energy..n unsure of what the programme will offer..

A cold morning..the 7th of January a group of 27 students board the bus for Puri..the venue of the programme.

Half of us are asleep..and the others are chatting away n sharing experiences of the holiday n new year. Two hours later..we reach The Tosali Sands resort..the first reaction..wow!!! what an amazing place...filled with green trees..water...beautiful rocks..the place sure lifted spirits and lives upto its name...

The check-in, followed by a welcome drink..n instructions to reach the conference hall in half an hour for the inaugural session had us racing to our rooms..Spacious..clean...an inviting bed...a well planned room layout...in short beautiful...!!

Late as usual..we reach the conference hall...to begin with the "outbound programme". The introductory speech by our faculty..was indeed inspiring and very very thoughtful..striking just at the right place. The first chance to meet the families of our faculty...who turn out to be perfect...the "made for each other" people..
The first activity was a self analysis..a series of 36 questions..to test how well we could work in a group...n show the qualities of leadership..much required for all of us...
The next one actually set us thinking about our life as we were asked to pen down the next 50 years of our life...according to our assumptions..including the best and worst phases of life..in a time span of 20 minutes..the task actually brought in seriousness which was lacking somewhere within...
well at the end of the first session we were a bunch of more serious people heading towards a pre planned path in life...
To set the mood light...we were then taken to the beach..a private beach...the gals all dressed in sexy shorts...a truck ride to the beach through a forest lane...sure had spirits raised...one view of the beach was more than enough to make us all go crazy..amazing...three hours in the water...salty waves..some beautiful photography...and appreciable tries at building sand castles..nothing could take away the spirit of oneness that encompassed all the students at the beach..who were later joined by the late comers...an experience of a lifetime..with the in between funny quotes by our faculty and their family...
We returned to the resort..all sandy...wet and tired. An amazing bonfire party which was whiled away singing songs and a bit of dancing round the fire..followed by a grand dinner..and an assignment of a book review.."Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" again a group activity.
The next day...we wake up with a call from our faculty..posing to be room service (a caring gesture on his part to wake up every single student in every room). We rush to have breakfast..again a gourmet.
Followed by the breakfast was the second session...one which I would always remember..
A session which gave birth to a number of companies..A session which gave birth to SUTR...now the dream for the Founders..Monika Choudhary, Pallavi Khandelwal, Shubhangi Agarwal, Tarunendra Pratap Singh and Pragya Jain. What started off as an exercise ended up in a serious thought...to actually make "Sutr-Tying Threads the DESI Way" happen. To convert a dream into reality. Thanks to Jena Sir for indirectly helping us coming up with this idea..now an aim to achieve.
The second tasks..building castles out of blocks...was an excellent one. I learnt that by joining small blocks..one can actually achieve a lot..and dream big.
At the end of the session..we rushed to the pool..had a memorable time there..and following the pool party was the most awaited DJ party...the girls looking hot and the handsome guys dancing away to the music..for long hours, a break from the Sessions.
Following this..an unforgettable late night chat...tucked under blankets..sitting in the balcony..seven people..simple getting closer..strengthening their bonds..Love U Guys...Shubhangi, Pallavi, Monika, Shreyansh, Arun, Tarunendra and Me..Thank u all for a night I'll always cherish..a night that got me some of the best friends I can ever have..
The shock of our results...with mixed reactions kick started the day.
Though unwilling..we had to leave that day..a formal wind up session, where every single person shared their experience of the past two days..I still remenber Amit saying " We are going back as a more closely knit, organised unit" and Tarunendra "Don't plan for your life..you never know what may happen"..
An exciting trip..finally coming to an end..Monika almost had tears..it all ended with everyone exchanging warm hugs and taking away priceless memories.
A trip to Ramachandi beach, on the way back had us refreshed with coconut water and great fun..
And finally a bunch of tired students in a bus..heading back to their campus..to begin their next semester..but this time everyone could sense the difference..we came back with a motto..
In a nutshell, the experience was completely "AWESOME"!!
WE CAN, WE CAN, WE CAN.. and WE WILL, WE WILL, WE WILL!!!
Long Live NIFT Bhubaneswar!!

Back from home..O

Well Diwali has gone by..and so are my hols. I should say that the trip back home was really a refresher. On reaching bangalore on the 23rdh a surprise at the airport from my roomie..i completely went crazy...wandering around the streets and taking in all the changes i could see in my favorite city left me with an amazing feeling. With a drafted list of the things i had to do..i set out to explore bangalore with my best pals. The night was one of the best i had spent  in the city ever..the next day i headed homeward..with immense happiness that m going back after 3 months...snuggling into a warm blanket at 5:30 in the morning on a cold november day with ur mom beside u is an experience in itself .And then that hot glass of milk...and garam parathas..simply wow..the initial days went by so fast that i didnt even realise it..meeting old frenz and relatives was another add on..and to top it all was the amazing weather...and ya the news of our results kept me frantic for days n wen we finally got our results..i was happy..very happy... jumping all over the house...diwali came by n i had a resolution n so the Diwali was a quiet one..with very little 'shor-sharaba". Somehow,the solemn atmosphere was a relief from the noise and pollution. I get a feeling of satisfaction when i think of the diwali i celebrated with 'no crackers-no pollution and no sound'....it was time for me to head bck to bhubaneswar..
Loaded with a lot of food and a bag of clothes(for which i landed up paying 1800/= for extra baggage)..i reached back on the 8th of november.wit I guess the break was needed. I went home with a lot of apprehension about coming back as life at NIFT is not as easy as I supposed  it would be. The reunion with my dearest of friens in bangalore and my family in ooty left me wondering if i shoul actually go back. But then..the inspiring words from my dad that this was an amazing chance i was so intent on losing..and the words of my best friend from NIFT pulled me back to bhubaneswar...so here i am...back on track...again with the same routine of classes..assignments..presentations...n all d fabulous masti i have wid all my frenz...m happy to be back..but ya i miss d food...thank u to d ppl who helped me choose..n choose well..luv ya guys...

The Beginning..

 It is truly said that life is a roller coaster ride...you never know what life holds for you...the future can be so unpredictable. Three months back..life gave me a challenge that hit me so hard that I was apprehensive about even trying to accept it. An opportunity that would have been considered as a "golden one" by thousands out there..held no meaning to m whatsoever. I'm talking about my admission at NIFT Bhubaneswar. The chance left me with mixed feelings...as I had never ever imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be drifted away to a place so far off...away from the "safe zone" I had created for myself in and around Bangalore and my hometown Ooty. Hardly having a choice of opting out because of the confidence of the ones I knew that I would make them proud...with great difficulty I settled on accepting the challenge life had given me.
A two day train ride..full of doubts and tears finally transported me to the city of Bhubaneswar. The day I first laid eyes on my supposedly new campus (the 25th of Jul.y), I knew I would never make it through the prescribed two years of my Masters programme. away from the city...situated in the small town of Jatni...the NIFT Bhubaneswar campus did very little to boost my confidence...though I have to admit that the feeling of being selected among a huge number of applicants aroused a sense of pride and the though of being capable of doing something...
The 26th of July marked the inaugration of the centre...where a meeting with the faculty and the Director imbibed a growing hope in me..that it would not all that hard probably...the 61 students..obviously all unknown to each other went out of their way to make each other feel comfortable...
Life since then has been great...and now three months later when its time for me to head back home and meet my old friends...m sure im gonna miss this place..the confidence that this chance has given me..the transformation i can feel going on inside is helping me turn into a better person...with a great career ahead of me...and most of all it has provided me with a chance to know and mingle with people whom i assumed i would never get along with...and now im the proud possessor of an amazing group of great people...my friends here at NIFT...
they are the ones who make my life bearable...and have helped me survived...
And today i'm glad that I took up the challenge...for otherwise I know I would have missed out on a one time and "golden opportunity"...