Arcadia Day 2 – Spotlight: Chess

“Silently they made history!”

It’s not often that chess hogs the limelight when there is a wide array of spectator-friendly sports going on around the campus but today was an exception. The day clearly belonged to the royal game – possibly it was time for the silent game to make the loudest noise!

Chess was slotted to begin at 4:30 PM. Division A won its match against CM and BM won its quarterfinal against CMB. The much-awaited quarterfinal match between HR and defending champions ‘F’ began around 6:15 PM. All three boards went beyond 30 minutes. After the first two boards finished, it was all fair and square at 1-1. HR cracked under pressure to give F division their semi-final berth.

Arcadia 2014 – Day One

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”

This classic line is always true, more so at NMIMS. Balancing academics and extra-curriculars is a herculean task in MBA life. Given that we have classes at all odd hours here, it was always going to be tough.

Arcadia 2014 began with a bang on Tuesday, the 7^th of October. All of the indoor sports – Badminton, Carrom, Chess, Counter Strike, Squash and Table Tennis. Scheduling the events required meticulous planning and you got to say the Sports Committee did a fantastic job. The timetables of every class, both I and II years, had to be checked each time a fixture was put. The first years had more than just academics to handle, which meant lesser players being available for the event. Hopefully some day, sports gets due recognition in this campus; only then we can match the allure of events like Valhalla et al.

Destination XLRI Valhalla 2014 – Part Two

Thanks for making it to Part 2.

Day two was all about upping the ante and elevating the performance to the next level. And yes, the cheering and sledging were to intensify too.

First in action was our chess team – 10.45 AM, semifinal against XLRI. Well, it was scheduled to start at 10.30 AM, but then, when did NM boys reach on time early morning? On a Sunday?

“NM habits die hard!”

A 15-minute delay was okay, and the organizers were kind enough, even though they were visibly frustrated a little bit. We defeated XLRI 3-1 to reach the final. This game was more difficult than the first. XL played well and initially threatened to draw level. By one fortune swing, we were through. Clearly, we were happy to beat XL once at least. So much for history! FMS Delhi won the other semifinal to set up a final showdown against us. By the way, when this semifinal was going on, outdoor games also started around 11 AM. Intensity was at its peak on day 2.

Destination XLRI Valhalla 2014 – Part One

It’s not often that you go to a different city with your college folk, play sports, sledge, and cheer, make noise and have fun, especially if you are in a B-school, and a top one at that! But that’s exactly what happened for 30-odd adventurous folks of NMIMS, over the last weekend of July 2014.
Our contingent for Valhalla, the flagship cultural event of XLRI Jamshedpur, reached the XLRI campus on Friday evening, the 25^th of July, for what would turn out to be one of our most memorable events. On reaching the Tatanagar railway station, we were received by a liaison officer, a first year Sardar student, good man. He had come to pick us up in a van. The journey to the XLRI campus was smooth as silk. A little bit of rain made the atmosphere pleasant, it was a 30-minute travel to the sprawling campus. Accommodation was provided in XLRI’s newly constructed hostel – we were possibly the first ones to occupy it, for, XL’s own students had not yet ‘experienced’ it.

Home, People!

After a long time, I made it a point to visit my hometown. Going home is one thing, going to hometown is something else. அது வேறு இது வேறு! You can go and settle down in some city or the other; build a house there, rent, beg, borrow, steal, stay... but hometown is something different! You feel you 'belong' there.

Chennai is big, cool and awesome; but it's not home!