Anurag Jain's Blog
Monday, May 31, 2004

National Meet of the Jawa & Yezdi club of India

2nd International Jawa-Cz Day - 12th June, 2004

On 12th June, 2004, all Jawa, CZ and Yezdi owners all over the world are once again invited to ride their motorcycles to show how popular these two stroke machines still are! The point of the day is to show the world again how many of these Czech, and Czech-inspired, motorcycles are still in use all over the world. It's an extra special year in 2004 as the Jawa factory will be celebrating 75 years of motorcycle production, and the UK Jawa Cz Owners club will have been together for 50 years and is holding its annual rally over this weekend.

To join in, all that an owner of one of these fine motorcycles has to do is ride it, and then report the ride to one of the addresses below. If you have more than one Jawa/CZ/Yezdi, ride them all and report that! If you can take a photograph of you and your machine(s) do so, and send that in, too! If you ride more than one machine on 12th June, be sure to tell us how many you rode.

Set aside 12th June, 2004 to "ride and report". Let's see how many machines we can get on the roads of the world that day!

Last year the total was 230 from 19 countries, lets see if we can double that number in this special year. We want everyone to know our machines are alive and well!

For India
It gives me great pleasure to announce the 75th anniversary of Jawa in 2004. To celebrate this occasion the club is organizing a national meet and massive ride from all parts of the country culminating in Goa. I am sure you have got this information from your local division and are busy preparing yourself for this monumental ride. Do feel free to shoot any queries you have regards this ride and I shall be more than happy to help you with the information.

Keep riding, Keep vrooming.

Praveen Prakash Sathaye
Official spokesman for the Yezdi & Jawa club of India - Headquarters.
Mumbai
yezdiclub AT indiatimes.com or yezdiclub AT hotmail.com
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All India Open Climbing Competition

There is an open National sport climbing competition being organised by the Himalayan Adventure Institute Kempty falls, Massourie from 10th of June 2004. circular is attached. Also a route setters and Judges course is organised from the 6th to 9th of June2004 by IMF at the same place Interested can call IMF /Gethnaa for more detaails of the course.

For further details contact:
Himalayan Adventure Institute
Kempty Falls, Mussoorie - 248179
Tel: (01376) 224243, Fax: (01376) 224366
E Mail: hai AT satyam.net.in, hai AT sify.com
or contact to:
Shri Harish Mamgain
Member, Organising Committee
New Delhi.
Tel: 981042299
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Saturday, May 29, 2004

Google's Sense of humor proven again!

Yesterday my orkut account was blocked by mistake. When I wrote to the support, they immediately restored it and sent this funny mail :)

To keep orkut.com a trusted community, we have implemented an automated system that aims to catch members who are trying to abuse it. When someone is caught, they are temporarily jailed. We try to catch only the bad guys, but occasionally innocent folks are put in jail too.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and can assure you that your account has been unlocked. We are working hard to make our jailing system smarter, and we appreciate your patience as we work our way up this learning curve.

Stay connected,
orkut.com

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Friday, May 28, 2004

Indian National Congress Roots

Did you know that INC was actually founded by a Scottsman named Allan Octavian Hume! I didn't. Hume (June 6, 1829 - July 31, 1912) was a British civil servant in India under the Raj.

From wikipedia: "Hume retired from the civil service in 1882. In 1883 he wrote an open letter to the graduates of Calcutta University, calling upon them to form their own national political movement. This led in 1885 to the first session of the Indian National Congress held in Bombay. Hume served as its General Secretary until 1908."

The most interesting bit about INC is this: ""It was founded in 1885 with the object of obtaining a greater share in government for educated Indians, and was initially not opposed to British rule."
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Jack and Jill, Laloo Style

Got this real funny SMS from a friend yesterday:

Jackwa aur Jilwa gayil upar D hil,
Paniya bharil ke vaaste.
Jackwa gir gayil,
Uka khopdi fut gayil,
Aur Jilwa aawat ludkan pure raaste!


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Two Events

1. Rafiki Presents:Journeying Freedom

Dear friends,

Greetings! We welcome you to Journeying Freedom - 3 plays by South African playwright Athol Fugard on the 27th, 28th and 29th of May at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. Other details are on the attached file.

The performances are a tribute to the genius of Athol Fugard, whose contribution emerges powerfully even to this very day in what can be seen as the struggle to articulate and realise one's dreams.

The performance revolves around two political prisoners on Robben Island rehearsing the Greek tragedy Antigone. The performance is a moving account of the prisoners' struggle to understand the concepts of freedom and identity.

The performance, with actors - Rohit Dave and Anish Victor, is about 70 minutes long.

Styles, Sizwe Bansi and Buntu are the three main characters in the play whose lives are a fight for survival and dignity. Even as Sizwe grapples with the question of a new identity, he has to make a choice to survive for the sake of his family.

The performance has three characters played by Ashish D'abreo and Sachin Gurjale and is 80 minutes long.

One of Fugard's more recent plays, Playland tells the story of two very different men - one old, the other young, one black and the other white. Their meeting sparks off a confrontation forcing each to see his fears and deal with them.

The performance features David Selvaraj and Ravi Prabhakar and is about 90 minutes long.

The three days will also feature 'The Platform' - a space for short performances. The Platform will see 15-minute performances by various local artists. One performance at The Platform will precede the play on each day.

Hope to see you there! Warm regards,

Rafiki.

2.South Indian regional theatre festival

South Indian regional theatre festival starts from 29th May at Ravindra Kalakshetra. The festival is sponsored by NSD RRC. Details of the festival is as follows are as follows:

29th May - 7pm Ravindra Kalakshetra "Charudattam" in Sanskrit Dir by Kavalam Narayan Panikar, Performed by Sopanam, thiruvananthapuram.
30th May - 10.30am Seminar on New Challenges in 21 century Indian Theatre, Speakers - Prasanna, Akshara K V, and Prof M N Sharma. Presided by D R Ankur.
30th May - 7pm Ravindra Kalakshetra "Prahalada Charitam in Tamil, Dir by Gil Alon, performed by Koothu -P-Pattarai, Chennai.
June 1st - 7pm, Ravindra Kalakshetra "Bhagvadajjukam" in Malyalam, Dir by Jyothish M G, performed by Abhinaya, Thiruvananthapuram.
June 1st - 7pm, ADA Rangamandira, "Brihanala" Multilingual play Dir by Veenapani Chawla, performed by Adishakti, Pondicherry,
June 2nd - 7pm, ADA Rangamandira "Bettalae Vesha" in Kannada, Dir by Nataraj Enagi, performed by Puppet House, Dharwad.

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Music Quiz at Crossword

Are You A Real Music Buff???
Can You Tell The Difference Between Shakira And Santana????

Come Pit Your Wits Against The Best………….. Crossword Bangalore Presents…..

PANDORA’S MUSIC BOX ---- A ROCK & POP MUSIC QUIZ.

There’s Still “Hope” For Music Buffs…
Venue: Crossword, Residency Road, Bangalore
Date: 31st May, 2004
Time: 7 P.M. Sharp
1st Prize : Stay for 2 at The Great Outdoors Island Resort , Karwar
2nd Prize : Stay for 2 at Nature Nirvana Coffee Plantation Homestay , Chikmaglur

Many other prizes for participants & audience !!!

Register Today…forms available at :

  Crossword ( Residency Road )
  Adidas ( Forum & Brigade Road )
  Pepe ( Forum )
  World Space ( Brigade Road , Koramangala & Jayanagar )

Rsvp: Crossword Ph No 080-25582411/6
cwdmusicquiz@yahoo.co.in

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Thursday, May 27, 2004

TREKKING- 29,30 MAY 04

Hi Folks,
Drive away from the city, now is the right time and perfect weather to getaway…

If you are interested in meeting new people, having a good time at one of the most beautiful places on the earth, then check out with us, participate and see the changes…

Our programs:
1. Backpacking Course- Agumbe- 29,30 May 04.- Rs 1499/-
2. Backpacking Trip - Kemmanagundi 29,30 May 04 - Rs 899/-
3. One-day trekking at Kabalidurga- 29 May 04 - Rs 499/-
4. One-day overnight trekking at Makalidurga - 30 May 04 - Rs 499/-

Check out for special price deal…
SAVE RS 99/-
Join for two treks (Kabalidurga and Makalidurga) pay only Rs 899/- save Rs 99/-

For further details (reservations and Cancellation) check out at www.natureadmire.com/reservation.html.

For further details or query contact us at: 080-23340065, 51280998, 51280988, 9845079414.

Thanks,
Dev.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2004

SPJIMR Supply Chain Excellence Awards

The rules of the game have changed!

Supply chains are no more only for improving operations;

They are a source of strategic advantage and long term competitiveness for
companies!

Do you BELIEVE this is TRUE?

Have you worked on a Supply Chain Initiative which
has delivered long term Strategic Advantage to Your Company?

Here is your chance, to compete with the best of breed and be recognized for
the work you have done.

Here is your chance to win THE FIRST EVER

"SPJIMR Supply Chain Excellence
Awards" presented in association with DHL

All you need to do is to send us your case and its analysis in the form of a
paper before July 10, 2004.


Your case would be evaluated by an eminent Jury consisting of:-

Prof G. Raghuram, IIM Ahmedabad; Mr. Sankalp Saxena, MD and Sr. VP, i2
Technologies - India; Mr. R. Ramakrishnan, Director, SAP; Mr. Chris Callen,
Country Manager, DHL; Prof. Jamshed Modi, Professor of Operations, SPJIMR

The Prizes:The winners get SPJIMR Supply Chain Excellence Trophy and a
cash prize of Rs. 51000/-; the runners up get a cash prize of Rs. 21000/- and
certificates.

For more details please look at the guidelines for participation. Please do
write to us for clarifications at

ssea2004@spjimr.ernet.in OR CALL Prof. Malini Gupta/ Arati Jaggi at 26230396 / 2401/ 7454 Extn. 232 or 373

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Best regards,

Prof. Malini Gupta
Operations Area
S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research
Munshi Nagar, Dadabhai Road, Andheri (W)
Mumbai  - 400 058

ATTACHMENT
Concept Note with Guidelines for Participation

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Wall climbing weekend (29th and 30th May)

EVENT: Wall climbing
DATE: 29TH & 30th May
TIMING: 7am to 11 am
VENUE: Kanteerva stadium (opposite Vijay Mallya hospital)
SCHEDULE: Warm up exercises, lessons on climbing equipment, climbing techniques, actual climb.
ATTIRE: Cotton T-shirt, shorts, PT shoes/climbing shoes.
CHARGES: Rs 300 for individuals, Rs 250 per person (if group of 3 or more)
ORGANIZERS: Nature Yogi Voyages
Mars Adventures
SNACKS: Water and light snacks provided by the organizers.
For registration, mail at hari AT natureyogi.com or call 9886373048.

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Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Phone numbers as URL!

The guys at e164 have put up a non-profit DNS root server, which can map your phone numbers to various internet protocols (such as http, mailto, iax, voip, h323,irc, ftp, sip, ldap, aim, yahoo, msn, irc etc)! Based on Enum, Its a fantastic concept leading to convergence of different communication channels. I tried signing up, but it said my (Indian) number is a 'high-rate' number and hence they "would have to ask me to donate"! Hope, it'd be free soon.

Its interesting to note that web's underlying URL scheme was developed so that people can remember the easy english URLs rather than unwieldy IP addresses. We seem to have come back full circle when phone numbers will be used as sort of URL!!. :)

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Monday, May 24, 2004

Last of the Mohicans

A fantastic movie, first time I watched it in mid-90s I didn't get it at all. Recently, I watched it with all seriousness and 'got it'. Its a fantastic movie. The fact that print was a DVD one, of course helped! The soundtrack is amazing. Awesome can also be said of the same. The movie won Oscar for Best Sound (not for Best Original Soundtrack though :( )

Set in 1757 (I think) and in the Hudson River catchment area, its essentially a love story with a backdrop of battle between the French and the English in colonial America. The natives have to take a side (English) by enlisting as the colonial militia. Some promises given to the natives are broken even as the daughter Cora (Madeleine Stowe) of a British officer falls for a native Hawkeye/Nathaniel Poe (Daniel Day-Lewis).

Incredibly pretty sites are a bonus. The movie is shot in North Carolina, where my brother has been residing for last 12 years. :) In fact, this movie was released the year (1992) my bro went to America! Dont miss it. For fantastic soundtrack and pretty natural sights, if for nothing else! More at Last of the Mohicans (IMDB).
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Saturday, May 22, 2004

Bangalore's first professional D.J. School

Better late than never, Bangalore has its Disc Jockeying School now. Considering the huge number of bars, pubs, lounge bars etc in Bangalore, it was desperately needed. I think Bangalore DJs in regular pubs do not have a good sense and taste of music (one notable exception being Purple Haze). I even had a tiff with Spinn's DJ sometime back because he was playing all stoopid numbers on a great Saturday night.

So, now things will get better I guess. The school will have DJ Bobby, DJ Gokul, DJ Sean as instructors, with DJ Vachan thrown in as guest instructor. The course is run by Stanton Magnetics Inc. For details on the course, contact: 9886101852/9845016482, insomniaproschool@hotmail.com

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Friday, May 21, 2004

International Conference On "Globalization & Competitiveness"

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, India along with Academy of International Business (AIB) India chapter is organizing an International conference on "Globalization & Competitiveness" during 11th to 13th January 2005.

The conference aims to deliberate on how globalization has led to increased competitiveness and its impact on today's business scenario. The three days of conference will include keynote address and panel discussions by eminent professionals, academicians and researchers. Many experts from industry and academic institutions from India as well as from foreign countries will present papers and cases related to various aspects of globalization and competitiveness.

Three best papers will be given cash prizes of Rs.5000, Rs.3000 and Rs.2000 respectively along with certificates of recognition. More details about the conference is also available at http://www.iitkgp.ernet.in/aibconf Please feel free to write to us at aibconf@vgsom.iitkgp.ernet.in if you need any further information.

Thanking you and with best regards.

Dr. Prabina Rajib
Conference Coordinator
Vinod Gupta School of Management.
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Kharagpur -721 302. West Bengal, India

Phone: +(91) 3222- 283886(O)
Email: aibconf@vgsom.iitkgp.ernet.in

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Thursday, May 20, 2004

Alumnus takes IBM to HBTI

On May 16th 2004, we completed 1 year of HBTI alumni networking initiative. We are 500+ members now. And, It sure feels good when the benefits of Harcourtians' networking are visible as in the following news! :)

Yestrerday (May 19, 2004), Manu Kuchhal (CSE, 2000), working with IBM, took IBM to campus for recruitment. Out of 48 students eligible, 18 could clear the written test and out of those 12 were finally selected! Congatulations to those who made it to IBM and thanks to Manu!

More updates on alumni initiatives here.
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Brahma performing on 22nd May at RVCE

Brahma will be performing on Saturday, 22nd May at RV college of engineering. The show starts at 5:30 pm. For those who dont know Brahma play a lot of Metallica,Floyd,purple,scorpions,linkin park,etc.
The details are as follows :
Date : Saturday, 22nd May
Time : 5:30 pm onwards
Venue : R.V. College of Engineering ,Mysore Road, Bangalore.

The tickets are priced at Rs.50/-.

All those interested in buying tickets can contact the following people :
Nihal : 080-31834909
Ajay : 9844081778
Akar : 080-31868477

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Under the Peepal Tree

R.V. College of Engineering, Bangalore will hold 'Under The Peepal Tree', a festival of quizzes, on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of May at Jayanagar's RV Teacher's College auditorium. The tentative schedule is as follows :
21st May : India Quiz (morning) & General Quiz (afternoon)
22nd May : Science & Technology Quiz (morning) & Entertainment Quiz (afternoon)
23rd May : Sports Quiz (morning) & Corporate Quiz (afternoon)

The Corporate Quiz is (tentatively, again) scheduled to be held at Hotel Chancery, Lavelle Road, Bangalore. Registration for all the quizzes is free. Only students are allowed to take part in the first 5 quizzes while only corporates are allowed to take part in the Corporate Quiz. Accomodation to all out-station teams, corporate and student teams alike, will be provided at very reduced prices upon advance intimation. Student teams and corporates requiring formal invitations are requested to send their organization's address to SandeepRao_44 at hotmail.com. The invitations will be sent to them shortly. Informal Quizzes all day long on each of the 3 days. Accomodations for Out-Station Teams The cost incurred per out-station student participant would vary between Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 for the entire course of the 3 days.

Prizes :
Student Quizzes First Place :- Rs. 2500 Second Place :- Rs. 1500 Third Place :- Rs. 1000
Corporate Quizzes : First Place :- Rs. 10,000 Second Place :- Rs. 5,000
Contact Sandeep Rao Co-Ordinator RV Quiz Corp (080) 28364118 for more information

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Monday, May 17, 2004

Movie review: Cheech and Chong - Up In Smoke

Based on two dopeheads, this 1978 movie is a quintessential riot. These two amateur rock-musician guys, (Pedro De Pacas [Cheech Marin] and Anthony 'Man' Stillman [Tommy Chong]) are on a roadtrip, stoned all the time. The movie has real funny comic points, such as the story about dog eating the weed and then these guys smoking dog's shit. But to top it all, the soundtrack is wow!! Lost Due to Incompetence (Theme for a Big Green Van) by Yesca is incredible. And it was impossible to find it on Net before Roman Corrales agreed to upload the mp3 for me. This track combined with Low Rider (War) and Earache my Eye (featuring Alice Bowie) just makes for the heady mixture of music and dope!!

Watch it when in a total chill-out mode.
                                                                                             


Friday, May 14, 2004

Some musings on Indian Elections 2004

When Mayawati said: "A majboor (helpless) government is better than a majboot (strong)", she meant that a coalition government is tied up with the concerns of many different parties, a fact that makes sure the actions leading to best interests of people prevail. The slogan seems to have come (again) true with Indian elections 2004 leading to a Congress-led coalition government. I have some thoughts on the Elections 2004:

1) In the run-up to the general elections 2004, I always rooted for the Congress, but never really thought that they would come to power. Now that they have made the cut, its time to revisit the election campaign trial time and ponder over how wrong the media and incumbents can be.

For all their analytical and technological capabilities, no newspaper, no magazine, no psephologist, no-body was able to predict the results that have turned out. Which raises serious questions about such prediciton exercises which include opinion polls, exit polls, self-serving statements by politicians. All popular media predicted a shoo-in victory for BJP-led NDA. And when after the first two phases (out of four) of elections, the indications start to go in favour of the Congress, the stock markets took a nose-dive. Spoon-fed by the India Shining campaign and the feel-good factor, the whole urban population was apparently high on NDA making it back to the seat of power. And the media had been telling them the same thing that it indeed would happen like that. Hence, when the markets sensed that it instead would not be so, they tumbled. When we combine this fact with the final results where the Congress swept the elections (and BJP took a drubbing, much to the surprise of its spin-doctors such as Pramod Mahajan), it only goes on to show just how stark the difference is between the urban middle class' and rest of India's (read, the masses) expectations and aspirations.

(Update @ 7pm: Found a very similar sounding article on the Hindu)

The story at the Centre has an echo in IT-driven, suave-governments-led southern states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and vice versa. AP's Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu (TDP, an NDA ally) and Karnataka's Chief Minister S M Krishna (Congress) both led their states on IT-path, but were shown the door by the voters. The lesson being that you can feel as good as you might want to believe about your governance, but you just can not sacrifice the masses' aspirations and issues at the altar of making a much smaller (in number, but economically much bigger) urban electorate feel good.

Amongst all this, the biggest surprise for me is that even in Mumbai and Delhi, where India Shining was supposed to have been highly visible, and been making a wave on which BJP witch-doctors were riding, BJP has been trounced like anything. That sure is some news. So, apparently even though urban voters are the ones who benefitted the most from Vajpayee govt's pro-economic reforms stand, even they didn't help BJP! The reason for this could be twofold:
a) Within metros, this so called urban-elite class that forms public opinion through mass media (such as the Tabloid of India) is actually quite small. There's a sizeable number of poor people in metros too, who wouldn't be affected by any amount of India Shining factor, if it doesn't affect them in a positive way.
b) Even amongst this small urban-elite class, how many do actually vote! Its ironical that the section of people who are most vocal in mass media - the ones with much higher access to opportunities to voice their opinion round the year (not just at election time), the ones who have gained most from reforms and IT-led Shining India - are also the ones who are most irresponsbile towards their franchise duty. Well, the results serve them right. Somebody had to recieve their comeuppance for being so blinded to the obvious grim reality of the rest of the India, and in this case it is the urban elite and the mass media.

2) Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin issue.
I dont care two hoots about that. I would rather see her as Prime Minister. I have always appreciated her for the way she has conducted party affairs in the last 4-5 years: cleansing the party, sanitising the rank and file, behaving in almost a non-politician way which is to say that she didn't resort to all nasty tricks of the trade while being in the opposition. Her kids are from new generation and they talk the same language: no hanky-panky, no monkey business, just plain, straight, serious business. Neither Sonia, nor Varun (or Priyanka) have ever used their lineage for political gains. (Its a different issue that her opponents didn't want Sonia to become the Congress President just because she was from the Gandhi family. But then that speaks more about Congress situation at that time and not about her per se.).

I have been recieving SMS' like:
"History repeats itself - India once again ruled by foreigner. Greatest tragedy - 1 billion people couldn't find an Indian to become PM. Shame on us. Jai Italy - Vande Mata Rome."

To such propangandists, my answer is that first of all *think* before you send any such messages. *Apply* your brains before you become a part of the herd. Why I am against such messages and propaganda is that people spreading such messages are the "Haves" of the country and are utterly irresponsible in the conduct of their duties towards this country, and I am sure, not shockingly, are exactly the ones who would be more than willing to take the next flight out of the country to the Europe or still better, the USA. At least, Sonia Gandhi left her home-country and has made our country her home for last 20 years! So, if you wanna repudiate her loyalty to this country, please get your own credentials in place first.

3) Since I have come out rather strongly about my support to Congress, a warning piece is in order. So, here it goes: I recently watched a Hindi classic Sutradhar where the story revolves around a young rebel who uproots years of tyranny by a village landlord-cum-dictator by promising better future, only to become more like his bête noire in the end!

I just hope that doesn't happen with Congress!
                                                                                             


Thursday, May 13, 2004

Music and Art Appreciation Workshop

PICNIC ON PARNASSUS

Spend a morning with a Muse amuse yourself with learning about art and literature, music, science, discoveries, and everyday life.

Starts 19 June, ends 8 August; in 2-hr sessions from 1000 hrs to 1200 hrs; choose the eight Saturday morning sessions or the Sunday morning sessions.

A series of forays into the culture & social history of Europe. Hear music, see documentary films, analyse paintings, start your own art gallery with the colour photocopies you collect…

Module #1 Renaissance Man or Shakespeare’s World. Fee Rs 3500/- Concession available for students. Conducted by Ms Ruth Heredia at R4 Coral Plaza, Kemp Road, near Coles Park

REGISTRATION OPEN NOW! To enrol contact bspa@sify.com Ph 2547 9043 (May 3rd - May 14th 2004, May 31st – June 6th), Ph 25510992 (May 15th- May 31st 2004). Registration closes June 6th 2004
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Wednesday, May 12, 2004

The Kerala Career Fair

Please let me know ASAP if you are interested (esp. for Thiruvananthapuram for which we have to send names today by 11am).

Deptt of Higher Secondary Education, Kerala is organizing The Kerala Career Fair in 4 cities as per following details:

Thiruvananthapuram, 17th-19th May.
Kochi: 20-22nd May.
Thrissur: 23-25th May
Kozhikode: 26-28th May

They need some speakers to make approx. 45 minutes speech/lecture on general career guidance at any/all of these cities. You can choose your day(s) and city(ies).
* To-and-fro: by Volvo bus.
* Boarding/lodging taken care of.
* Honorarium: Rs 1000 per day (flexible).

Anurag
+91-9886178995
                                                                                             


Tuesday, May 11, 2004

IIMB Event: Movies at IIMB Tonight!

-----Original Message-----
From: Film Club
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 1:17 PM
To: Film Club
Subject: Summer Film Festival - Part Deux

Hi Everyone ,

We welcome you to the second edition of The Summer Film Festival.

The two movies being screened tonight are :
1) Mr. & Mrs. Iyer
2) Monsoon Wedding

The movies will be screened at the IIMB Auditorium, 8.30 pm onwards. We look forward to your presence at the screenings tonight.

Regards
Dress-Circle, The IIMB Film Club
“KEEP WATCHING”

(This mail has been sent to PGPPM 2003, PGP 2003, FPM Students)
                                                                                             




2 Quizzes

1) BBC's University Challenge

Synergy Communications is producing University Challenge India, an intercollegiate quiz show to be telecast on BBC later this year. The quiz will be general in nature and is open to Indian nationals above the age of 18 who are bonafide students of a recognized/deemed University/College. Selection for the TV rounds will be via a Preliminary written test to be held simultaneously at various centres all over India. Teams will be chosen based on the following criteria: 1. Performance in Written Test 2. Personal Profile 3. Zonal Representation. Preliminary TV rounds, semi final and final rounds will be recorded at a studio in Delhi, in two batches later this year. Candidates appearing for the preliminary written test must bear the costs of travel to the centres. However, the producers will meet travel & hospitality expenses for outstation participants competing in the TV rounds.

Important Dates Last Date for Registering: 17 May 2004 Written Prelims in Bangalore on: Sunday 23 May 2004

Many queries have come in, most of them about about eligibility and the number of teams a college can field. I trust the extract from Synergy's rules, reproduced below, should answer all questions.

"You should be 18 and above and a bona fide under graduate or graduate student from a University Grants Commission recognized/deemed University/ college or institution." "Please note that for your team must comprise students in the academic year 2004-2005." "More than one team from a single college can sit for the written selection test. However only the highest scoring team from that college will be selected for the television rounds depending on its All India standing"

Forms available at www.syncomindia.com. For clarifications, please call 98452-06690

2) Science & Technology Quiz at RVCE

The Department of Telecommunication, RVCE, in celebration of World Telecom Day is organising a two day fest Connect-2004. As one of the events in the fest, a sci-tech quiz is being held. The details of the quiz are as follows:

Date: 18th May 2004 Venue: RVCE, 8th Mile, Mysore Road, Bangalore-59. Time: 1215 hrs. onwards (prelims and finals) Eligibility: open to 3 member teams from the same institution (school/college/corporate house). Unlimited teams per institution. Prize: 4500+3000+1500 Registration: Rs. 60 per team Quizmasters: Abhishek Nag & Aditya Jalan.

For further details, contact, Aditya Jalan at 98863 34387

                                                                                             


Monday, May 10, 2004

ART & Alliance Française de Bangalore presents Dirty Hands (Les Mains Sales)

ART & Alliance Française de Bangalore presents
Dirty Hands (Les Mains Sales) by Jean-Paul Sartre Directed by Arundhati Raja.

On 6, 7, 8 May 7 p.m. at Alliance Française. Tickets: Rs. 120 available at Alliance Française

Featuring
Kartik Iyer, Sukhita Aiyar, Abhijeet Shetty and Sabreen Baker with Kartik Kumar, Pritham Kumar, Anish Singh and Nilanjan Choudhury.
Stage Manager Gitanjali Calro
Lighting - Pradip Belawadi
Sound - Madhav Costume - Sankeerthi Make-up - B. Ramakrishna
Backstage Amol & Selvan
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Jean-Paul Sartre, France's famous philosopher and author was one of the most popular playwrights of the 60s. Although his philosophy remained more
talked about than read, his novels were popular and his plays were much performed. In fact, it was almost a binding obligation in the 60s for student drama groups to perform Huis Clos (No Exit).

His not so popular play, Les Mains Sales or Dirty Hands, was first performed in 1948 and was widely interpreted as an attack on communism. However, as a political thriller, peppered with satirical humour, it's theme is not so simplistic. It raises many issues: power play; political choices and how far should one go for one's ideals? Touching even on women's rights, it is very much a play for today, timeless and universally located.

In a fictional east European country ("Illyria") in the dying days of the second world war, a young man is commissioned by a revolutionary Socialist Party to assassinate the leader of a rival faction. This leader is thought to be diluting the party's principles by forming a coalition government with liberal and right wing parties. Is he able to carry out this assassination? If so, was it for the right reasons?

With costume, music and sound effects of the period (1943-45), this is a play not to be missed. Come and watch a piece of classic drama!
                                                                                             




FivePointSomeone

Through google ads at my own blog, I came across this new book called Five Point Someone. There seems to be a wave of books on IITs these days. FivePointSomeone continues that trend. Written by Chetan Bhagat (IITD, IIMA), its about three IIT guys who are struggling to keep their head above water. IITs have a 10-point GPA (Grade Point Average) system. Hence, the title: Five Point Someone refers to a student with a low GPA.

Just wondering what would be the title for a similar book on IIMs. Two Point Someone? :)
                                                                                             


Sunday, May 09, 2004

Mother's Day

Nice CH tribute to moms :)

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Saturday, May 08, 2004

Friends of CRY (FoC)

I have been volunteering for CRY's pinwheel campaign for last 1 month or so. The campaign went down pretty well with the people. The only problem is that we dont have many students in campus currently (I did 50 odd pinwheels with the help of a friend of mine who did almost half of them at her corporate). Also, got into debate with one student because his point of view was that govt. shouldn't be present in the social sector at all!

Then last Saturday, Kamna Sharpe from CRY, Mayank and 10+ other vounteers (FoC) had come to the campus and we discussed the way forward. In that meeting, another pinwheel volunteer (Nishant) too had reservations about touching the government, because in his experience of campaign whenever he told people that we'd send letters to poiliticians, people became indifferent. The apparent reason being that they just dont trust govt. anymore. His proposal/idea was that CRY shouldn't touch anything that has anything to do with the government because it sort of undermines CRY's cerdibility!

Anyways, apart from these debates we discussed the field-level initiatives of FoC. One such is helping the children in QIC(Quality Institutional Care) . QIC is about government-run residential schools for juvenile children. These institutes are meant for children who are either in conflict of the law, or they dont have anywhere to go. I myself decided to go to the QIC (Quality Institutional Care) this weekend with the conviction that I would be able to do something useful for the QIC children.

So, today, with Mayank, I went to the Juvenile Home for Boys run by the Karnataka Government (Child Welfare Committee). Its nestled between Kidwai Institute of Oncology and NIMHANS. As expected, I had problems in communicating with the kids. Still I could find some Hindi-speaking little kids, who talked for themselves and translated for others. I met four kids in particular:

1) Shekh Hidayat (age: approx: 9yrs): After his dad's second marriage, he was living with his uncle until the time his uncle threw him out of house for losing a pair of clothes. Shekh worked with mechanics at auto garages for a while before boarding a train to Chennai. At Chennai he was intercepted by the police and taken to the juvenile hostel there. Later, he was shifted to the juvenile hostel at Raipur (TamilNadu border) before finally being sent to Bangalore juvenile home. He wants to goto his uncle's place for upcoming Moharram festival because he's very religious and wants to lift/carry the Tazia. He has no interest in studying at the Juvenile Home School (QIC). Full of world-wisdom (which was quite a surprise for me) for his little age , he liked Raipur Juveline Home but he does not want to stay in Bangalore Juvenile Home because of 'rowdyism' (in his own words). The bigger guys bully them. Someone in fact abused him and he said: "I just listened and cried".

2) Ayyub (Age: approx 5 yrs): He also is from Bangalore and has some address on his memory. Tomorrow, Mayank will be taking Shekh and Ayyub to the addresses they are mouthing and try to restore them to their kith and kin.

3) Edwin (Age: approx 7 yrs): A Christian from KGF, he remembers his full address. From what little I could understand, it went something like like: Champion (It has to be the mine name which I saw when I went to KGF last), Anna Theatre, Tanning Road. He knows very little Hindi and is very jovial.

4) Srinath (Age: approx 6 yrs): He is from Mumbai and speaks Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi! His uncle lives near Bangalore and he's looking forward to a visit to uncle's home.

I have decided that talking to kids is fine but what I really wanna do is to do something tangible for them. And for the same reasons, I am planning to interact more with the older guys (14-18 yrs). I have identified following areas where I can help them:
1) Driving Lessons
2) Computers/Internet
3) English coaching
4) General Career Counseling.

Me and Mayank have decided to take it forward from next week onwards. Lets see how it goes.
                                                                                             




IIM Bangalore Wi-Fi hotspot?

According to this site, IIMB is one of the 802.11b wi-fi locations in Bangalore (India wifi hotspots list here). Also, as per this news, IIMB is supposed to have got its 'hotspot' in 2003 itself! So, where is this hotspot in IIMB? Treasure hunt playing, are we!!
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Thursday, May 06, 2004

Gmail accounts up for sale!!

Even as I am beginning to make some sense out of my new gmail (google mail) account (anuragkjain AT gmail), this news (Gmail accounts go up for bid) comes where apparently cyber-squatters have signed up for critical/important IDs such as hackers AT gmail.com and now selling such IDs for as much as 200$ on eBay! Combine that with news on India's secret army of online ad clickers, and it almost feels like we are back to the dot-com era!

Anybody willing to donate/sell me anuragjain AT gmail.com?
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Watermills Power

An excellent reportage on how villagers in Uttaranchal are using traditional watermills (or Gharat). News like this is what makes me feel good about India and not a charade like India Shining.
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Tuesday, May 04, 2004

IIMs/IITs and Entrepreneurship?

This is someting I had written to ZDNet Editor quite sometime back.

Entrepreneurship is not a prerogative of IIT/IIMs (at least not IIMs). Just look at the biggest home-bred companies. Do they belong to IIT/IIMians? NO. Most of them are powered by people who had no access to the wonderful resources provided by places like IIT/IIMs. That makes it all the more surprising that people who are not well connected with resources have made it big and why have the IIT/IIM people not? The answer could very well be: security. Students at high-flying institutions know that a plum job is waiting for them. Why bother about sleepness nights of starting a business. In fact, why bother even thinking about starting a business? Personal disloaction is something which us high-flyers dont have to worry about. But if u see the history of major businesses around the world, personal disloaction has been the major motivating factor behind the start of a company.

IITians have started some big companies in the technology related areas but IIMs have failed totally on Entreprenurial front. The only major flurry of Entreprenurial activity at IIMs was seen in the dot-com era. Can u attribute that activity to a sudden spurt in Entreprenurial spirit of IIM junta? No. It was the external stimuli that provided the opportunities, and people were just trying to grab a piece of the pie.

Entreprenurial activities are picking up at IIMs. But for serious businesses to come out of IIMs - like in the US B-schools - it looks like we have a long way to go yet.

Ultimately, do not expect the high-flying MBAs to come up with life-changing businesses. Leave that for the common man. They are better at it.
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Monday, May 03, 2004

Jugalbandi and Carnatic Concert

1) Ramachandrapura Matha is organising a Jugalbandi by Pt VishwaMohan Bhatt ( Mohan Veena ) & Pt Parameshwar Hegde ( Hindustani Vocal ) at Ambedkar Bhawan ( Millers Road ) on the 9th of May. Tickets priced at Rs 500 , Rs 249 and Rs 100. Available at KC Das ( Church street ) , East cultural club - Indira Nagar Ramasram ( Girinagar ) 26721510. For further details contact Mr Bhatt ( 98454 88202 )

2) Ramachandrapura Matha is organising a Karnatic Vocal concert by "Yesudas" at Ambedkar Bhawan ( Millers Road ) on the 8th of May. Tickets priced at Rs 1000 , Rs 500 and Rs 249. Available at KC Das ( Church street ) , East cultural club - Indira Nagar Ramasram ( Girinagar ) 26721510. For further details contact Mr Bhatt ( 98454 88202 )
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Saturday, May 01, 2004

Moonplugged: Saturday May 1st 8.30pm

Aha ! the last moonplugged concert was a very special one with the heavy downpour cancelling the main artists and a franco-bengali group taking over....The moon deciding to rise late..... the music was divine, with the hundreds of candles and lit camphor all over the place

This month, the moonplugged features 'Esperanto', the world music band, featuring Geetha Navale -veena, Michael Sorensen - Electric Digeredoo, Blues Harp, Gopal K.Navale - vox,mandolin, flute, Guitar, Natraj - percussion & drumset. AND the very very special Hindustani vocalist Trina with Shumone Chatterjee & urban baul Tamajit Ray performing an ecclectic mix, Incidentally guruskool is hosting a moonlight run for the Bangalore Hash House Harriers. The nearly 15km run starts at 8.30 pm........ followed by disc and Star TV who will be covering the event live.

Be there to catch the excitement...........

A nominal entrance fee of Rs. 100/- will be collected at the gates, to defray the costs involved in putting together this experience which includes food.

Geetha Navale
www.guruskoolmusic.com


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