Semester II

In Winter the cold is terrible in Kgp. After the First Semester exams, we headed home. We had around 20days of holidays and that was a relief from unbearable climate in the campus.
When we are back in campus, the tension of results followed. Which grade I got, what's my CGPA? were the bothering questions. One of the reasons to the importance of First sem results is - it decides the second year project guide. Better your CGPA, better options of Professors available to chose from. I was second topper of my class and I had all the options available :) .
I chose SCK and only later I got to know the odds against it.

One of our Classrooms

More and more we got acquainted to the campus and the climate, our attachment towards it grew better.
Mess food.... Yawk! We hated it many times, which helped the business of restaurants and eating-spots like chaddi's, Little Sisters and billoos.

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Holi was one of the good memories of this semester. A Picture is worth more than 1000 word :)

 Euphoria !

Can't get wilder than this! :P

He is Mr. Shyam.
This is one of my Fav Holi pics :)
No Hard feeling mama :P

In MMM Hall Mess-
After Holi Celebrations

Spring Fest was Rocking and we enjoyed it very much. Playing cricket became a weekly event by organizing matches with other Hostels.

I could not recollect much of the Semester II, but overall it was Studies, Fests, Cricket.

-Vish

Semester- I

Life in a campus was new to me. The atmosphere at campus on the first was great with students moving here and there to find their alloted room and getting over the admission procedure to adjust in their new hostel rooms.Introductions, Hi-Hello's followed.I was given Room 323 with Ravi as my roommate.

The initial shopping of ours included the bicycle, bed and other necessary things for a bachelor to live.

MMM Hall

Few of my friends (Ravi and Girish) were waiting for IIT madras to declare the final list of students and were delaying the shopping in the hope that their name would include in the list. But (fortunately for us), that it didn't happen otherwise we would have missed good friends.

Ravi , My Roommate: When I first saw him, I was afraid of his tall and semi-dark personality. I thought he would be very rude, full of bad habits like smoking which I cant bear. To my surprise I found he is totally opposite- Very shy guy with child-like behavior and thank god he doesn't smoke.

One of my friends, Suresh bought a cricket bat during the first week of our stay and yeah,in India cricket connects people and our circle of friends just exploded covering many in it.

One of the peculiar thing about the Kharagpur environment is the unpredictability of rain. It is one of the important advise by the seniors that umbrella is a must, irrespective of  clouds in the sky.

If one forgets it, he need not take a bath again :) .

Who says life at IIT is a cake walk?
To reach IIT is difficult, but to stay at IIT withstanding the academic pressure is much more difficult.

A gathering on - "MMM Hall Day"

Waking early for 7.30AM class, working on the assignments till late night and preparing for the sudden tests[which profs warn initially] are some of the bouncers.
Attending classes , without bathing, in pajamas wearing chappal and always being late to those early morning classes are fun to recollect. Breakfast vs Early class was always a dilemma, many a times we used to manage both.
Ravi, Girish, Venu, Vamshi, Shiva, Suresh, Sujit, Shyam are few among my classmates in KGP.

Overall, First semester taught us handling the pressure of being at IIT and joy of bicycle riding in a huge campus, other than the technical learning ofcourse.

-Vish

Handling Criticism

This is a newsletter of HareKrishna movement and worth sharing it. This is how it reads...

To become a top performer, you’ll need to open yourself up to feedback from those around you. Here are some steps you can take to ease the sting of criticism and begin to make it work for you, instead of against you.

1.Hit the Pause Button - It’s important to maintain your composure and not lash back or respond defensively to criticism. Take a breath. Don’t do or say anything. This brief pause not only helps you compose yourself and prepare to listen to what the other person has to say, it demonstrates your poise and self-confidence. Maintaining your composure when criticized shows that you’re in control.

2.Turn On Your Brain and Turn Off Your Emotions - It’s important to disconnect your automatic emotional response to criticism. Otherwise you won’t be able to objectively consider the value of the information. Focus on the words and facts, not on the feelings they generate within you. Regardless of how undiplomatic the other person is in delivering the feedback, tell yourself that it is designed to help you improve, not to tear you down.

3.Listen Carefully - Listen intently to what the other person is saying. If you’re busy formulating your rebuttal, you may miss some valuable information that can help you avoid errors in the future or improve your overall performance.

While any criticism can be discouraging, it’s important to keep in mind that negative feedback can contribute significantly to faster growth and higher performance.

Business - Poultry Farming

This is the first business i have invested money in.
I did this with out having much knowledge and data regarding the business and went ahead investing Lakhs.
There were many parameters which i had no control over.
If I had to list them

1. Selling price - I realized that Poultry business is not actually a business but farming. And as every farmer I had no control over yield and price.
2. Perishable Aspect - There is always a risk involved if you are producing some perishable goods. You have to sell it even at losses otherwise you loose your entire investment. My target was Dec25 and Jan 1st and 14th  market where the price of chicken will be normally high but to my hard luck, 2010 dec25 -Jan has seen the worst price. To add to the fuel,  diseases and mortality of chicken has further eaten away my investment
3. Labor issues - After I entered into this business, I realized how difficult it is to get a trustworthy labor and to handle them. I guess this is the most boiling issue of many businesses and I hats-off to the one who can contain these
4. Leasing a land - This is the most irritating aspect I found with this business. Unlike any office space or  outlet, leasing a land has an issue of owner intervention at every point. 
5. Rural Aspect - The environment and the people around the cities are way different than from the rural. Connectivity, lack of skilled people and security are to name a few concerns I had.

After above discussion one can easily guess what could have been to the investment and yeah , you are right! The business simply sucked the money as the ground sucks infinite amount of charge with out changing its voltage potential. The worst part of it is that I had convinced two of my friends to invest in it and they contributed half of the investment. As a part of good gesture and friendship I said I will return the money coz money comes and goes, but friends would not!

Now I am burdened with this loss and god knows when I will be out of it !
But I know I will be out of it soon and start afresh on some solid idea. :)

My only advice to enthusiastic people is to beware and not to burn your hands with the manufacturing sector producing perishable goods ( yeah i know I am generalizing a bit )

-Vish

Danke Schoen ( German : Thank you very much )

Danke schoen, darling, danke schoen,
Thank you for all the joy and pain.
Picture show, second balcony, was the place we'd meet,
Second seat, go Dutch treat, you were sweet.
Danke schoen, darling, danke schoen,
Save those lies, darlin' don't explain.
I recall Central Park in Fall,
How you tore your dress, what a mess, I confess, that's not all.
Danke schoen, darling, danke schoen,
Thank you for walks down Lover's Lane,
I can see, hearts carved on a tree,
Letters intertwine, for all time, yours and mine, that was fine.
Danke schien, darling, danke schoen,
Thank you for seeing me again.
Though we go on our separate ways,
Still the mem'ry stays, for always,
My heart says, danke schoen.
Danke schoen, Oh darlin' danke shoen,
I said thank you for, mmmm, seein' me again.
Though we go on our separate ways, Still the mem'ry stays, for always,
My heart says, danke schoen. Danke shoen, auf weidershein, Danke shoen.




Note: (German)
Danke Schoen : Thank you very much
auf weidershein: until we see again , German - goodbye


-Vish