A quick post on a couple of fundoo videos I stumbled across.
First of all, this really fun way to make more people take the stairs instead of an escalator. Watch as people hop, skip and jump (literally) over the stairs as it makes those piano sounds. Courtesy: Sayesha's blog.
Next, this awesome wedding dance tribute to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Loved the spontaneous and unannounced way in which the dancers begin.
The wedding dance obviously reminded me of this (don't remember having put this up over here). Like I commented on this video some time ago, if ever you decide to make a grand entrance to your own wedding, let it be an inspiration from this.
Part 1: Long before a buck-toothed Darsheel did a 'Taare Zameen Par' at the behest of an actor-turned-director Aamir Khan, Master Raju had done a film titled 'Kitaab' at the behest of a brilliant writer/director Gulzar.
And though there was no Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy around at the time, there still was the brilliance of R.D.Burman who made background music out of banging wooden school-tables together. The result? "A-aa-e-ee... a-aa-e-ee... master-ji ki aa gayi chitthi".
Note, this was also long before 'Pass-Pass mouth freshener' appeared in Subhash Ghai's 'Yaadein'. Although un-intended, 'VIP underwear-baniyaan' got a free in-product placement in the song. Enjoy.
Part 2: Long before one particular Mr. Shahrukh Khan showed us the dancing styles of actors of yesteryears while swaying to 'Hum hain raahi pyaar ke... phir milenge chalte chalte', there was a Kishore Kumar (or Swami Kishoreanandam, if he had his way) who went "Guni jano...bhakt jano". Have some patience and watch the clip post the 3:40 mark where, in his words, Kishore Kumar "chal-chitram ki katha sunaaye".
Note: There isn't even a mention of Amitabh in the song, 'coz of course, its only 1970, 3 years before 'Zanjeer' hits the big screen. :D
Apologies for not posting anything here for a while. Have been terribly caught up. I had come up with a few posts but they, unfortunately, remain as drafts on my dashboard.
In the meantime, here's one kicka*** trailer of 'Dev D'.
Last night, I was asked what exactly it was about Dev D that I liked so much.
The answer is difficult to put into words, but I'll try nonetheless.
First, I really liked the concept of the film. The film has captured the essence of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic novel 'Devdas' and has yet managed to introduce a freshness to the storyline. At no point do you feel that this is an antiquated love story. The presentation made you feel that this could even be your next-door neighbour's story.
Second, I loved the fact that Dev wasn't portrayed as a "loser". Previous versions somehow gave me the feeling that Devdas was a spineless lover who relied on alcohol just because he needed support. Here, however, Dev drinks and dopes not because it is an outlet of his anger and frustration but because it is a part of his regular life... just that he does it a little more often now given the 'emotional attyachar' being meted out to him by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
Third, a lot of credit goes to the way in which Anurag Kashyap directed the movie and how Abhay Deol acts. They have made the Dev on screen so much more believable and identifiable. Like I said, Dev's story pans out so smoothly that it could have been your neighbour's story, or heck, even your own. Dev doesn't haunt pubs and bars because he wants to "drink, dope and forget" but because he wants to spend time somewhere where he wouldn't remember her.
Finally, I loved the film because Abhay Deol rocks!!! If films like "Manorama Six Feet Under" and "Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!" told us about the promise in this actor, "Dev D" brings forth, I dare say, the best in him. He proves that you don't need six/eight-pack abs to give a brilliant performance.
Sample this:
*spoiler* This deleted scene is just after Dev has been told that Paro is nothing more than a loose village girl who sleeps around with anybody who cares to share her bed. Throughout the one and a half minutes of the scene above, Abhay DOESN'T SPEAK A WORD but emotes his anger and frustration just through his eyes and his body language.
The movie, my friend, is awesome. I can barely wait to get my hands on the DVD of this film. If you have missed it, I recommend you buy tickets for the next show available or wait for the DVD like me.
Today evening, I saw this short film by Siddharth Sikand filmed on Dido's song "Let's do the things we normally do". Really liked the film. Here it is.
An East meets West concept for a music video reminded me of a video "The Whale" had shown me in Nirma. The song is "Afterglow" by INXS featuring the Indian singer Sona. Not much to speak of in terms of the video here, but really love the way the song plays out.
It has been a long time since I read fairy tales / mythological texts / magical epics. This video, that I first saw a couple of years ago and totally loved, reminds me that I must start reading them again.
Do check out the video. It is simply amazing. And yes, turn up the volume. :)
I was putting up at a friend's room at IIT-Kharagapur during their 2004 Spring Fest when I came across a video on the local network titled "Kaash aisi bandi KGP mein hoti.mpg". Naturally, my curiosity was aroused.
Thanks to YouTube, I met her again a couple of years later while I was studying at Nirma. I showed the video to a couple of guys in the hostel, and the video was a rage, even though none of us understood a single word Alizee sang.
Ever since then, I've always wished I'd taken my French-language lessons in college seriously. ~sigh~
It’s been a long day and I’m dead tired to say the least. Things got really complicated (as they tend to become around me, don’t ask me how I manage it~grins~) over the weekend and I am absolutely sleep-deprived right now. Somehow, though, I can’t seem to find it in me to drop off to sleep.
And although I would just love to write a really long post, I’m just too weary. Pleasantly weary though. Nothing like a day when you’ve worked hard and know that it’s been worth every minute of it.
And so, I’m going to calm my nerves by jotting down the lyrics of a song that I’ve been hearing repeatedly on my iPod. It’s one of those songs which always makes me smile and brightens my day up, no matter how it might have been up till that point.
What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
I see trees of green Red roses too I see them bloom For me and you
And I think to myself, ‘What a wonderful world’
I see skies of blue And clouds of white The bright blessed days Dark sacred nights
And I think to myself, ‘What a wonderful world’
The colours of the rainbow So pretty in sky Are also on the faces of people going by I see friends shaking hands saying ‘How do you do’ They’re really saying ‘I love you’.
I hear babies cry I watch them grow They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself ‘What a wonderful world’
P.S. I VERY VERY seriously advise you to view this video and listen to the song. There's very little chance that you won't like it.
Namak Halaal (1982) is one of my favorite Amitabh Bachchan movies. In many way, this is a typical '80s Hindi film. This Prakash Mehra film had all the elements of a blockbuster then (and even now, perhaps). Comedy, drama, love, songs, murder, good-wins-over-evil...
And a stellar star-cast to boost. Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Parveen Babi, Smita Patil, Om Puri and Ranjeet.
The following scene from the film is brilliant because Amitabh, the superstar, decides he will make himself a buffoon. He isn’t scared to make the paying audience laugh at his expense. (In fact, he's already done so earlier in the film, when he does the 'Pag ghunghroo baandh Meera naachi thi' number).
The scene unfolds thus. Amitabh, the country bumpkin, has come to the city to get a job. His friend has put in a word to the manager of the hotel (Ranjeet). But in order to impress him further, the friend advises Amitabh to speak like a champion and thereby impress the manager. Amitabh, the village simpleton, takes this advise most seriously and proceeds to try and impress Ranjeet.
The following is a transcript of the scene. I tried searching for the transcript on the Net, but couldn’t find a single site where the transcript was correct to the letter. So, I downloaded the scene and played it over and over again to write down the dialogues bit-by-bit. The result is well worth the effort, I feel.
Here we go…
[Amitabh and his friend enter the hotel manager’s (Ranjeet’s) chamber]
Ranjeet (to Amitabh’s friend): Oye, tumhara dimaag kharaab ho gaya hai, yeh kis cheez (points at Amitabh) ko le aaye ho tum?
Amitabh: Lo kallo baat. Babuji, hum cheej nahin hain. Maara naam Arjun Singh vald Bhim Singh vald Dasrath Singh hai. Lakhanpur gaav ke rehne waale hain, Inter pass hain, gaav mein sabse avval number aaye the. Maare gaav mein, maare daddu aur main hi sabse zyada padhe hain, baaki koi chauthi pass nahin hai. Shaher main aane se pehle maare daddu ne humko teen baatein sikhayi…pehli baat, paraayi aurat aur paraayi daulat pe haath nahin rakhna, haan. Doosri baat, jiska namak khao uski namak halaali karna. Teesri baat, anyay ke saamne sar nahi jhukaana. Bolo, maare daddu ne theek kaha ki nahi kaha??
Ranjeet: Tumhaare daddu ne bilkul sahi kaha. Ab tum sheher mein aaye ho, aise hi baatein karoge ya tumhe English vagera bhi aati hai?
Amitabh: Lo kallo baat ! Arre babuji aisi English aave that I can leave Angrej behind!! You see sir, I can talk English, I can walk English, I can laugh English because English is a very funny language.
Bhairon becomes Baron and Baron becomes Bhairon because their minds are very narrow. In the year nineteen hundred and twenty nine sir, when India was playing against Australia in Melbourne city, Vijay Merchant and Vijay Hazare they were at the crease and Vijay Merchant told Vijay Hazare, “Look Vijay Hazare, this is a very prestigious match and you must consider this match very carefully.” So, considering the consideration that Vijay Hazare gave Vijay Merchant, Vijay Merchant told Vijay Hazare that, “Ultimately we must take a run.” And when they were striking the ball on the leg side, sir, the consideration became into an ultimatum and ultimately Vijay Hazare went to Vijay Merchant and…”
An exasperated Ranjeet, who has been drowned into silence by this volley of English from Amitabh, shouts: OH SHUT UP !!!
Amitabh continues: …similarly, sir, in the year nineteen hundred and seventy nine when India was playing against Pakistan in Wankhede stadium, Bombay, Wasim Raja and Wasim Bari they were at the crease, and Wasim Bari gave the same consideration to Wasim Raja and Wasim Raja told Wasim Bari, “Look, sir, this ultimately has to end in a consideration which I cannot consider. Therefore, the consideration that you’re giving me must be considered very ultimately.” Therefore the run that they were taking, Wasim Raja told Wasim Bari, “Wasim Bari, you take a run.” And ultimately both of them ran and considerately they got OUT !!!
Here is one incredibly inspiring speech from Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple Inc.
"I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Was hypnotized by Al Pacino's acting and dancing prowess in this scene from Scent of a Woman..
Also brilliant was the beautiful tango music, "Por una cabeza". [Trust me, the music is so sweet to hear that it made a fella like me want to learn the tango. This, coming from a fellow who's never stepped inside a discotheque or dancing hall of any sort.]
On trying to find out more about the song at Wikipedia, I was surprised to find out that the song talks about a race-horse gambler's comparison in addiction to betting on horses and being attracted to women.
I got the original Spanish lyrics and the translation here.
Por Una Cabeza [By the head of a horse] (1935) Music by: Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera Lyrics by: Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera
Losing by a head of a noble horse who slackens just down the stretch and when it comes back it seems to say: don't forget brother, You know, you shouldn't bet.
Losing by a head, instant violent love of that flirtatious and cheerful woman who, swearing with a smile a love she's lying about, burns in a blaze all my love.
Losing by a head there was all that madness; her mouth in a kiss wipes out the sadness, it soothes the bitterness.
Losing by a head if she forgets me, no matter to lose my life a thousand times; what to live for?
Many deceptions, loosing by a head... I swore a thousand times not to insist again but if a look sways me on passing by her lips of fire, I want to kiss once more.
Enough of race tracks, no more gambling, a photo-finish I'm not watching again, but if a pony looks like a sure thing on Sunday, I'll bet everything again, what can I do?
Had an hour long talk last night on the phone with an old friend. In fact, he's one of those people who I don't speak to for, say, a month. And then, the day we talk, we try to catch up on everything that has been going on in the other person's life and hence, the discussion always extends beyond an hour.
Now, owing to the Business Law lecture yesterday morning at 11, I had to wake up after a very short sleep (yeah... I slept at 7 in the morning and woke up at 10:30). And despite this, I was feeling pretty ok and not drowsy at all, although the cuppa of tea at the mess helped greatly.
However, late last night, after the phone call, I just couldn't sleep. I don't know what it was that kept me up, but although I felt tired and drained, I just kept sitting in front of my laptop in my darkened hostel room. This was around 3 or so in the morning, so the noises of the hostel were already quietened and all that I could hear was the silent whirring of the fan. And for some reason, I kept staring at my desktop, which for about the last 2 weeks, looks like this:
I kept staring at the picture of Kali Ma (the photograph is a capture of the deity at Kalighat Temple, Calcutta) and wondering what the purpose of life was. Somehow, I felt that I was just wandering around life aimlessly, not knowing what exactly I wanted. To quote myself from a chat that I had with a close friend a few days back, "most of us are like rudderless boats rocking to the waves in the ocean of life...". (Recall Abhinav's post.) What exactly was my mission in life? The biggest trouble was that continuing with life without answering this all-important question seemed useless. Unfortunately, I don't have the time that a seer has, neither do I have the courage to give up all worldly pursuits and follow a philosophical pursuit of questions that a seer does.
I was then reminded of The Verve's song, "Bittersweet Symphony" (needless to mention, have already downloaded the song and heard it about 10 times back-to-back). Somewhere, the lyrics expressed the turmoil within...
"Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life Try to make ends meet You're a slave to money then you die...
No change, I can change I can change, I can change But I'm here in my mold I am here in my mold But I'm a million different people from one day to the next I can't change my mold No, no, no, no, no"
[P.S. To all my dear well-wishers: Please don't worry, I'm not terribly upset or worried about anything. It's just that I'm thoughtful. The usual. ;) ]
The reason why films are magical is because they have the potential, at times, to inspire people. How many times have you felt charged up just because of the dialogues that were extremely well written. Of course, you also need an actor competent enough to say the lines with heart and emotion.
One such American film series was the Rocky series. The sixth and final installment of the series, 'Rocky Balboa', has one such dialogue which is just beautiful.
Rocky gives his son some fatherly advice on success, and then repeats these lines to himself in the final fight after taking a brutal punch from his opponent.
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that! "
Apologies for a late post. It was inevitable. What with the Summer Project Report which had to be prepared, printed, and presented...all in a matter of 72 hours, the delay was inevitable.
But wasn't that on Monday ? Who you think you're kidding, huh, smart guy?
Err...agreed. Lekin, mai-baap (no special Nirma puns here), I've also been through a tremendously busy week. And the class schedules have really gone haywire in the second year. Here's what. Firstly, most of my elective classes aren't scheduled for the usual 9:30 AM, as it was in the first year. So, the main incentive (rather, the ONLY incentive) to get up early and dash off to the college goes 'poof'. Due to this, I sleep really late at night trying to access websites which, if the 'Naari Jagran Manch' were to get hold of, would cause a en-bloc heart attack to the members of the respected manch. (Nah!! Just kidding...I'm an innocent boy...All I look for on YouTube.com are TV ads..I swear!)
Now, these late bouts of sleep ensure that my room-mate has a field-day waking me up the next afternoon (ladies & gentlemen, special attention on the use of the word 'afternoon' instead of 'morning'...ahem). All kudos to him for ensuring that I haven't missed more than the stipulated number of classes that I can miss in any particular subject. Further, let me also notify the public that all the classes that I've missed till now are result of what I call the 'what-the-hell-I-can-bunk-this-lecture-let-me-sleep-now' syndrome.
So, as this week comes to an end..I'm left wondering here what the hell have I done this week? Well, nothing much. Then what in the world am I so excited about?
You guessed it...the Book Club.
SUMANTRA has officially started off the second year of its operations. And this time, things look extremely promising. Provided we're able to maintain the kind of perseverance I was able to display last year, the Book Club should be rocking by the time I leave Nirma. Of course, the perseverance I showed was much due to the guidance of the faculty and one particular senior student. I hope I'm able to guide, motivate and lead a young team just as well.
And looking at the number of junior co-ordinators that we plan on getting, we're betting that quite a few activities get going. Of course, the weekly book reviews will form the pillar of our activities. But tomorrow itself we're adding a Video Lecture Series to our repertoire. Under this program, we plan to show recorded videos of classes conducted at the Harvard and Stanford Business schools. This should provide good exposure to the students, and also (hopefully) make the lives of our professors a little tougher. *devilish grin*
We're also thinking of inviting authors and management gurus to the campus to speak to the students about their books. That will obviously require great management skills, but should also be a load of fun.
All in all, things look promising.
And while I head back to my bed (it is 4:09 AM), I leave you with a video that I'd prepared to welcome the junior batch, but which I couldn't show to them because I was in Delhi for the weekend when they had the Fresher's party. Anyway, I hope at least a few juniors do view this.
