Godrej sponsored Mumbai trip

After juggling for two long months and mails going back and forth, we finally got the dates that suited our academic schedule as well as to the schedules of the top bosses of Godrej Sara Lee Ltd.

We (the nine of us) had won a competition organised by Godrej and the prize was a two days sponsored trip to Godrej campus in Mumbai, including the air fare.

We started early, on the morning of October 22, 2009. When we reached Mumbai airport, two air-conditioned-chauffeur-driven Innovas were already waiting for us. We got so excited when, for the first time, we saw someone holding our name plates outside the airport.

Day 1 was reserved for Mumbai sight seeing. We started with Bandra sealink (yeah.. that is one of the new attractions of Mumbai) and went on to Haji Ali and Mahalakshmi temple. We'd a lavish lunch at Relish near Nariman Point. As they say food tastes better, if it's free.

Later, we went to the usual places viz. Marine drive, Gateway of India, Taj hotel etc. They'd arranged for our accomodation at Godrej's guest house, but I preferred to stay at home.

Day 2 was reserved for meeting with the top bosses of GSLL:

• Mr. K.Somanathan - Executive Vice President (PSO)
• Mr. R.S. Gopalakrishnan - Associate Vice President (Manufacturing H&BC North East)
• Mr. Vinod Salve - Marketing Head
• Ms Pooja Sharma - HR Manager
• Dr. Sreedhar - R & D Head

They gave us a series of presentations giving us an overall idea about how things work in their respective departments.

At the end of the day, we met Mr. A. Mahendran (MD, GSLL). It was hardly a 10 minutes meeting, but the whole staff was on its toes for the said duration.

Later, we clicked few pictures in the Godrej campus and left.

It's not everyday that you get to meet people, at the top of corporate ladder, explaining the nitty-gritties of business. All in all it was a memorable and learning experience, besides, I got some new friends!

Please click here to see some more snaps.

Sanghamitra & HR Conclave

We'd two major events in our college in this week - Sanghmitra (3rd Sept) and HR Conclave (5th Sept).

The two events present the extreme flavours. On one hand is Sanghmitra, which is year's first cultural festival, filled with youthfulness and on the other hand is HR Conclave that brings together the corporate HR heads of top firms to speak on a theme.

I got a chance to do the compering in HR Conclave where I did a goof up. Instead of thanking a speaker for his speech and apologising for a technical glitch that occured, I said "Thank you Sir for the technical glitch". Needless to say the whole auditorium was in laughter.

Some snaps of the events.

Godrej competition

Won an air trip to Mumbai, two days stay and visit to Godrej campus in a competition organised by Godrej.

Certainly one of the high points of my stay at Great Lakes!

The Night Riders

6 guys riding on 3 bikes.. on some highways and Chennai's streets.. from 10 PM to 4 AM..covering a distance of around 200 kms..stopping at various places including the food court at Chennai Airport..

Click here for some snaps.

Ek ladki ka phone number..

Luckily, some of our exams on the weekend were postponed at the last moment and we got straight three days' off. I and my three friends packed our bags and headed for Mumbai.

We reached the Chennai airport on time and boarded the flight. We'd our seats in the last but two row. We put our luggage and settled in our seats. Some announcement was being made and one of my friends pointed at the announcer. I looked at her and said "Boy! She's got the looks."

Her name was Shirley. Unfortunately, she was catering to the front rows and came to our side of the plane very few times, but I made sure that whenever I needed anything I asked her only. By the time we reached Mumbai, I completely fell for her.

The plane landed at the Mumbai airport and people started to get down. Something was going in my mind. I was supposed to get down from the gate at the back, but she was standing near the front gate. I waited for sometime till the way to the front was clear. I was among the last few passengers to leave. The aisle was completely clear and I could see her standing at the end. I started walking towards the front door, but the path seemed never ending. I was completely blank about how to start the conversation. I reached near her and she was ready with an airhostess-smile.

Shirley: "Thank you, Sir"
Me: (Not sure from where this came) "Hey! Are you from Mumbai?"
Shirley: (She stepped up) "Yes"
Me: (Falling short of words) "Where in Mumbai?"
Shirley: "Bombay Central"
Me: It was nice meeting you!
Shirley: "Same here"
Me: (Sounding casual) "Can I have your phone number?"
Shirley: "Sorry Sir, we are not allowed to give our phone numbers."
Me: "Oh ok. Have a nice day! Bye"
Shirley: "Bye Sir"

I turned around and got down the stairs. I'd be lying if I say I wasn't disappointed. I know that it was not the perfect way to approach a girl, but it was my only chance.

PS: Later one of my friends found Shirley's profile on Orkut, so the hope continues.

Road Trip to Auroville

While most of the guys in the college were busy burning the midnight oil, preparing for the next day's end term exams, some of us were refueling our bikes for a road trip to Auraville.

Please click here for some snaps.

We left early in the morning at 5 and took the ECR(East Coast Road) highway that goes along the Bay of Bengal. It is around 90 kms drive with a scenic view and we reached our destination by 7.30 AM.

Auraville is a small town near Pondicherry and is meant to be a universal town. We went to the visitor's center, but couldn't get the entry passes for the Matrimandir, which is one of the major tourist attractions.

We'd an early breakfast there and left for our college by 9.30 AM as we too were supposed to write our exams the next day. We reached the college by noon, completely refreshed and rejuvenated.

Photoshoot

We'd a photoshoot in the college today. The pictures taken will be used in various brochures. Here are some shots taken by personal cameras.

HR Conclave Team

Amphitheatre in the background

My hostel room

Jam session

Had a jam session today in the boy's hostel from 2 AM to 4 AM. Most of the guys were completely drunk. Some snaps:

Photoshopped - I

Was trying my hand at Photoshop today. Here is my first work.

Basketball Court

Finally, the college's basketball court is ready for playing. Hope to spend some good time there!

PS: The length of the writeup reflects twitter effect.