PARTY TIME

3 IDIOTS

All thanks to Christmas, we are blessed to get a break from the hectic schedule and relax. So here in the chilling cold hostel rooms neatly wrapped under two blankets, we all have a lazy start on the 25th of Dec. As we go down for breakfast we realize that the space in front of the hostel building has been turned into Eden Garden and some of the GMPians are playing their most obsessed game, the CRICKET. But as they realize that few other of the cricket lovers are awake and the required number of players can be arranged they head their bats towards their age old LORD’S stadium. After the strategic victory of one team, both the teams return the hostel while discussing the strategies for the future matches.

The morning went by and the time strikes for lunch. In the mess we have a mouth watering lunch and after relishing every single bite of the ravishing lunch, everyone is geared up to make plans for the first free evening after the return from the International Immersion. Sitting on the flower bed edging, enjoying the hot sun, a plan for the evening got incarnated in one of the bright minds. Everyone zeroed in for going to watch the first day evening show of Raju Hirani’s “3 Idiots”. Before anyone could even realize the sun had almost set and we all are set to march towards the sole decent theatre in the city. The rickshaw journey was spent cherishing the cold winter wind. But were we in for a nightmare? Guess we were...

The group of 31 GMP guys tried to encircle the two brave GMP girls (who were brave enough not to run back to the hostel after looking at the cool theatre crowd) to protect them from the mob that was trying to push their way through the theatre gates and into the hall. Let me tell you why the crowd was so eager to get in the theatre, the seats were not numbered and was available on first come first serve basis. I had never seen such madness but yes I was witnessing it and my fellow mates were enjoying the reactions on my face. It was a task to make our way through the crowd and get some seats together though many were scattered in the large theatre.

As soon as we sat down we realized that the hall was suffocating and the seats were uncomfortable but as the movie started these realisations took a back seat. We were left laughing our guts out as many of the characters in the film were felt to be taken directly from our own vicinity and as and when any joke was cracked in the film, we all turned to each other taking names of the fellows from our own real world, the GMP. Oh God!!! It was just amazing and then comes the interval but not many leave their seats as everyone knew that the seats are not reserved and could be blocked by someone else by the time you returned. But we had an advantage of being in a big group so few of the guys go to buy the snackies while we all sat their keeping a close eye on their vacant seats.

By the time movie ends, every one of us has had a hearty laugh and is ready to head back to the hostel but with a new concept in mind, “aal is well”. There are few learning’s from the movie though how many of us implement on them is a totally different thing. Like how to study without keeping the focus on exams, marks and grades, how to be true to ourselves and to the society at large and how to follow the passion for life........

STAY AT NEW ORLEANS

Continuing from the previous blog this blog will take you through our explorations of the city, New Orleans. The first week seemed hectic with all the 29 GMPians running from Tulane University to Idea Village, hogging sandwiches and burgers. At the Idea Village, we all worked on four different entrepreneurial projects, Body Evolution, Feelgoodz, NuMe & Schedulists.

BODY EVOLUTION – This team worked on the market research for a product to improve the body image.

FEELGOODZ - A flip flop slipper, the ethical green product made of rubber, yes this was the product of this team. They worked on the market analysis and planning strategy.

NUME – My team worked on the industry and market analysis of the Medical food for Breast Cancer patients.

SCHEDULISTS (the team awesome) – This awesome team worked on scheduling the shifts of the staff to improve retention and also on preparation of prospectus and pricing strategy

After the Idea Village, it was time for the fun evening with tons of places to visit, the Bourbon Street, the Harrah’s Casino, the French Quarters, St. Charles Avenue, Magazine Street and lots more. The week end began on Friday evening after the work at Idea Village. The evenings were mostly spent at the pubs which had brass bands performing live jazz music. Most of the day time was spent exploring the city on foot, taking in the beautiful architecture and also spent some time aboard the steam-driven river Paddlewheeler.

On completion of the first week, we all were virtually dying for Indian food and that is when we discovered a Pakistani restaurant at walking distance from our hotel. Now this became a daily dinner destination for most of the GMPians. Our classes at the Tulane University were successfully completed and we started working full time at the Idea Village. This week cannot end without the mention of Xavier Pires, the star of XLRI, who made it to the Garland Robinette radio talk that highlighted the Entrepreneurship in New Orleans. On that day, Xavier had an audience of approximately 6 million listeners and Xavier completely rocked the show. Without flinching even once, Xavier charmed others by his comments, viz. GMPians sharing expertise; pure determination and will power of the entrepreneurs and the best - Americans party better than Indians. Here is the link to the talk show:

http://audio.wwl.com/m/audio/27511276/11-20-09-garland-s-entrepreneur-challenge-10am.htm

For the following week end we went to the Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. A 600 mile drive one way was a cake walk for all of us, thanks to the infrastructure of US and the driving skills of the two GMPians.

Finally the last week at New Orleans began. Everyone was immersed in their respective projects. After the final presentation of the projects to the clients on Tuesday, Idea Village took all of us for an excellent dinner. The next day was the wrapping up and the debriefing session for the GMPians at the Idea Village and then the much awaited lunch at the Indian Restaurant, Nirvana.

After this it was only the party time for all of us, roaming, gaming, partying was all we did from Wednesday evening to the early hours of Friday. And finally the back home journey began, some (including me) were excited as they had an extended vacation to their respective home towns but the others were cheerless. How can I end this trip without the mention of my two Guardian Angels who made every possible effort to make my trip a memorable experience.

Yes now we all are back at XLRI and the grinding has begun, but let us all respect the past in the full measure of its desserts, but let us not make the mistake of confusing it with the present nor seek in it the ideals of the future.