#NITTrichy Alumni Network on Twitter

I had been thinking about the leveraging the power and reach of Twitter as a tool for connecting alumni of my Alma mater, NIT Trichy. It all started with #inditweetmeet which created interest among a few from my batch. We all thought of creating something similar for NIT alumni to connect and interact. It has generated quite some interest amount fellow alumni. We started off with the hashtag #nittmeet and then thought #NITTrichy would be more relevant and useful.

I’d like to keep this ‘fire’ burning and would like to see the idea grow. It would be great to see the idea widely accepted and embraced by fellow alumni. It will add a significant web presence to RECAL, NIT Trichy’s Alumni Association.

Why Twitter?

Twitter is a medium using which one can gain access to new people, new information and new networks. Unlike Facebook, Twitter is an open medium, and hence helps you reach ‘far beyond your circle of friends’.. But there is a huge barrier to entry for those who aren’t familiar with Twitter, since it is a bit harder to get your arms around at first.

The usefulness of Twitter is not readily as obvious to some people as Facebook; although it may be more addictive once you get the hang of Tweeting; you get more immediate responses and it seems to live somewhere between the worlds of email, instant messaging and blogging.

Though I would love to see alumni from the 45 odd batches of NIT Trichy, this would be better applicable to younger alumni.

Alumni can post their networking need to twitter, the same way they might use LinkedIn, but in a broader, more casual way. Tweets are search-able, and can be tagged for others’ benefit.It is open for all and hence would be an awesome tool to connect with other alumni.

How it Works?

It is as simple as it can get.

Join Twitter and start tweeting about NITTrichy with #NITTrichy hashtag. Listen to the conversation that is already happening. Give your inputs. DOT

• Any discussion about NIT Trichy and things happening there would be tagged with the hashtag #NITTrichy by users
• Anyone can ‘listen’ to the twitter chatter by searching for #NITTrichy on Twitter search or Google Updates.
• ‘Spread the Word’ -Get more alumni aware of the existence of such a hashtag and the benefits of a virtual meet up. Get more people to join the chatter on twitter. This can be done by the word-of-mouth approach, giving information at Alumni meetings.
• As Prakash Murty suggested, we can use additional or modified hashtags for specific events. For eg, the hashtag #NITTConvo was used for Live-Tweeting during NIT Trichy’s Convocation on 9th Oct 2010.

Benefits?

‘It is not what you know, but who you know.’ This twitter network would accentuate the strength of RECAL. It helps you connect with alumni of NITT who passed out long before you entered college. Being active on Twitter #NITTrichy, gives you easy access to a good range of alumni info, wherever you are in the world, and continuing support with career and personal development.

This Twitter network would also be beneficial for non-NITTians who would like to know more about the institute. Taking advantage of an alumni network should start before you join the institute. School students can interact with current students and alumni of the institute to know more about AIEEE, admissions and so on.

How to take it forward?

We need some active volunteers who can take the initiative to bring awareness about the virtual meet to alumni groups. There are quite a few people who have twitter accounts but aren’t active. The first step would be to bring them back and get them involved in #NITTrichy.

Another step that would be simultaneously be started off is creating a flutter on facebook. Since quite a few of the recent alumni are active on it, we can get the news out on facebook and create some hype about the meet on twitter.

Then, we can contact the various alumni chapters of RECAL and send them details about the meet and seek their help in getting us connected with other alumni. We can have a mailer campaign to send information about the meet to reach alumni.

For now, you can give me links to some twitter lists with a bunch of alumni. (Like this one for eg – http://twitter.com/a4arvind/nitt2006-2010 )

What do you think?

What are your expectations from such a alumni network on twitter? How to you suggest we promote the network to other alumni? If you have any suggestions feel free to leave a comment.

Of Strikes and Protests

There have been quite a few strikes occurring happening regularly in some parts of India. Some feel it is a strong mode of appealing to the government to change an unacceptable decision. Every time I see some such news, I am reminded about the only time when I was involved (involuntarily) in a strike.

This incident took place just few months ago when I was in the final year of undergrad at NIT Trichy. Let me explain the situation to you first. The food in the hostel mess was pathetic and awful. Quite a few souls like mine had quit eating at the mess. Getting up late in the morning, we generally end up skipping breakfast and hurrying all the way to class in order to maintain our 75% attendance. During breaks we used to go to the bakery, juicy or snacky to fill our hungry stomachs. Then came the hot afternoons. Tired of walking all the way from my department to the mess, I end up eating lunch at the Buhari restaurant within the campus.

Dinner was almost always reserved for the roadside dhabas. Almost the entire college used to dine either at the couple of dhabas just outside our campus or at one of the restaurants in the city. We only visited the mess in rare cases when we were out of cash. Of course there were quite a few guys who found our eating habits too revolting. They too were dissatisfied with the mess food but simply couldn’t give in to spending so much cash eating outside. Even though we didn’t eat at our mess we had to pay huge sum of money which was eventually gobbled by the administration.

Coming back to the incident, it was a hot sunday, when a few guys found some insects in the food. Of course, this was a regular occurrence, but this time these guys were really in a rebellious mood and decided to forcibly enter the kitchen and inspect everything. They recorded everything using a mobile camera in the hope of showing some evidence.

Then they sent some really long text messages to everyone in our batch explaining what was happening and so on. The message was soon forwarded in bulk by the placement reps and the class reps. The news spread first among the mobiles and then among people.

So that evening we were all asked to assembled at the hostel lawn. Some guys went room by room calling every final year guy from their hostels. Of course, not many were willing to give up their gaming and movie watching experience, just for the mess, the mess where we rarely ate. The student council president was off for a volley ball tournament. There were large groups formed each discussing some random theories and coming up with the random-est suggestions. Uninterested people like me and a few others felt stupid with every passing minute just standing over there. So we formed a group amongst ourselves and started some small-talk. Soon some of the naive guys started merging all the groups and began explaining their theories. They drew up a plan of what was to be done and expected our cooperation assuming that the united force of the students would make the administration fall on our feet.

The wardens were taken aback by the turn of events and notified the admin. One guy even came to threaten us all off. Determined we were. We didn’t move and he eventually left. Soon after that, the discussion went into a further level of complexity where the corrupt administration was ultimately responsible for everything. Some suggested protest by not attending classes. A few of the guys didn’t want to lose their attendance fighting for the mess. Some didn’t want to create a bad impression in front of their profs. So it was decided and academics and hostel wouldn’t be intertwined.(duh!) Those who used to eat in the mess decided that they wouldn’t be eating in the mess till the issue was resolved and they allotted a new caterer to us. I personally would have loved to see some good food in the mess. I badly wanted to eat  in a good mess with a decent caterer because I was making a hole in my pocket eating outside all day.

The group dispersed for the night. We went back to our routine of movie-watching and gaming. Others were still out there discussing. I’m damn sure that a few of these guys even contemplated a career in politics after that day.

Alas! To our surprise, the next day morning there was a notice written by a few students asking everyone to eat in the mess! (Of course I saw it only in the afternoon). The reason was that these guys were seen by the admin when the discussion was going on the earlier night. They feared some harsh action and asked everyone to return to their normal routine. What seems to have happened is that the administration had shooed of all the allegations and even threatened students. Am not sure about these too.

There ended the only pseudo strike that I have been a part of. Basically nothing happened. I may have been politically wrong in stating the occurrences of the day. Some might have some strong disagreements with what I’ve said here. This is just my version of the story. If you know more, you are always free to correct me, reject me or whatever.

It is Festember X this year!

Though I’ve completed my course at NITT, I still have that enthusiasm when I hear about the upcoming Festember. Hardly a month to go.

Festember X

The next edition of Festember is here in true cowboy style loaded with guns, hats and wagons. This years its being called Festember X instead of the usual Festember followed by the year. Refreshing change.

Sept 24-26th.

One of India’s best college cultural festivals. It has an impressive track record of being organized every year, right from the 1975. Many celebrities have performed at NIT Trichy for Festember and that includes Maestro Ilayaraja among others.

It is a must-participate event for lovers of music, dance, literature and arts. Look into the official site of Festember for further details about the events. There’s also an awesome publicity video this year.

Here are links to a few interesting posts about previous editions of Festember on my blog.

• Festember 09
• Kuraloviyam at Festember 08
• First Day of Festember 08
• Tune In, Drop Out
• Festember 07 and a few pics.

Time to say Goodbye…

After four years at this hot and dry place called NIT Trichy, it is time to pack our bags and leave. This place has been my home for the past four years. This place and the time I have spent here with seniors, batch mates and juniors have been responsible for shaping me into what I  am now. During my stay here I have made a lot of friends and have had a lot of fun with them. A lot of post are pending about this campus and my life here at NIT Trichy. I’ll eventually bring all those posts from the drafts stage to the published stage. This place has also taught me a lot about life and how to tackle it.

Its is now time for me to change the ‘About Me’ stuff in various social networks. From ‘a student of NIT-T’ to ‘an alumnus of NIT-T’. It does feel different.

It is now time to say goodbye. Goodbyes are not forever. Goodbyes are not the end. They simple mean that I’ll miss the place and all my friends here. We part only to meet again. Love you all.

Festember 09

Yet another festember has gone by. This one being the last one of my college life. Didn’t want to miss blogging about this. Thats why I’m back from a long hiatus.

Thanks to the heavy downpour in Trichy on Day 0, I couldn’t attend the inaugural function (in which the college presi wished everyone good morning at 6 in the evening) and I also missed a few performances by the Dance Troupe of  NITT. But I did make it to the concert by Kadri Gopalnath. He started off with a few classical ones and eventually went on to what the audience really wanted – the ‘Anjali anjali’ song. Overall it was a memorable performance. It was followed by half-an-hour long fireworks display. The sky was completely lit and the I’m sure the awesome show would have caused a few accidents in the adjacent highway due to mesmerized drivers.

A few of the other events I attended were ChoreoNite and Tarangini the major events at barn. As usual there was an uncontrollable crowd shouting every time a team performs for some ARR song. There were quite a few catchy performances from various colleges. Vijay TV’s Super Singer winner Ajesh too had come over for competing in Tarangani with his college light music team. The crowd loved his performance.

Yet again, the Dance Troupe and Music Troupe of NITT were at their best. It is a great thing for participating institutions that they don’t have to compete with the hosts in the dance and light music events. Else the best they can get is the second place.

Another popular event at Festember every year is the pattimandram type of event conducted by the Tami Mandram of NITT. This year it just got bigger, with excellent group of participants and and awesome judge, Barathi Baskaran of Sun Tv Pattimandram fame.

This Festember wouldn’t have been fun without Sushish Kamath‘s workshop. He was called in for a workshop on Independent Film making and he was at his best. He gave us tips on how NOT to make a movie. He included his own experiences making TFLW and another movie He Says, She Says. He definitely kept his audience attentive even though the workshop’s timing made many of them stay hungry.  It was indeed an enthusiatic turn-out. After all he is the best known film critic of south India.

The best of the events were saved for the final day. The ProNite show had an energetic Benny Dayal and a band called Bandish currently making waves in the music scene. Benny Dayal’s concert was simple superb, but had to be cut short as the girls were asked to leave early. Then a just-for-boys show by Bandish began enthusiatically at 11 in the night. The best thing was the absence of staff and the girls. With them in Barn, Festember wouldn’t have ended the way it did this year. Would never forget their performance I guess. They rocked the stage and the barn truly came alive with the whole crowd cheering. It ensured that Festember 09 ended on a high. Inspite of there being a few organisational glitches, and rain playing spoilsport, I would say that Festember 09 rocked. (and even kra feels the same).

Water Trouble Yet again

Water tanks in our hostels dry out pretty fast thanks to the water-guzzling beasts residing in them. And frequent power shutdowns in Trichy ensured that the tanks are not re-filled to their full capacities.

We woke up today morning only to find all the guys hurrying here and there with mugs in their hands searching for the least amount of water available. No water to brush, no water to drink. After finding some water in a bottle and brushing, I went to eat only to find that even the mess didn’t have any water to wash our hands. Thankfully one of the nearby hostels had some water supply to satisfy our drying throats and to overcome the ‘basic needs’.

This happens so often and dunno when the campus infrastructure is going to be enhanced in order to avert any such situation in the future.

Kuraloviyam at Festember

This was another event which attracted huge crowds during Festember 08. Basically it is a Tamil speech competition which had two rounds. The preliminary was a elocution competition and the finals was of the debate format. The finals was conducted by the Tamil Mandram guys in a format similar to the Pattimandram shows in TV. The judge we had for this event was Mr. Raja. He himself is a famous speaker in pattimandram shows.

The topic given to the three groups of finalists was – What does the youth of today wish for? Is it for a lover? Is it for an oversees job? Or is it for family and social recognition? Each of the teams had to speak from one of these three. The contestants from various colleges of Tamil Nadu, spoke very well and impressed. They had done more than what was expected out of them. Mr.Raja listen to each of them during the first round and gave then positive as well as constructive comments. He, then gave them another chance to speak and asked them to conclude. This was yet again formidable. He concluded saying that though a youth may yearn for love and an oversees job it the most important thing which he asks for is social recognition and a good family. And the other two may be means to achieve this.

The entire event had a festive feel to it. The comic interludes given by the judge and the contestants between their talks kept the audience tied to their seats. This event, which was widely praised, demonstrated yet again that Festember was one of the best student-run college culturals in India.

A R Rahman

The name needs no introduction. From humble beginnings in Chennai, this man now rules the music empire. He made the world listen to Indian music. Even though he is a quiet guy he commands respect from musicians and music lovers. He has great technical expertise. He knows what his fans expect and connects well with all his audience. His music has changed the face of music in India. He is a guy who keeps changing well with time and brings out the best.

Well, for a music freak like me ARR is the Lord. Even after listening to his creation innumerable number of times one would never get tired. It is a magical experience. It boosts the spirits of everyone.

Many say “What’s life without music?”. Even I agree with that but I would like to add – “What’s music without ARR?” This was proved at our cultural fest, Festember too. Most of the events had the participants either singing ARR hits or dancing to his tunes. Pro Nite was an event which saw two prominent personalities, Drummer Sivamani and Singer Karthik performing at NIT Trichy. The 1hr long solo concert by Sivamani had him performing to various evergreen tunes of ARR. It was a truly interactive experience with his playing dexterity shining through. Even the next concert by singer Karthik had him singing from the diverse collection of ARR Hits. Truly, music is nothing without ARR.

Festember

Festember, the most expected event of the semester, began a bit late as usual. The Dance Troupe of NITT performed three dance sequences to entertain the audience and gather the crowds. That was used as a ‘Crowd-Pulling Technique.’ Soon after their performance we had the inaugural ceremony.

Then we had quite a bit of delay due to various technical errors. First, the publicity video about the previous editions which was played in the Barn got stuck in the middle and created a lot of trouble for the audio-visual team. Then the attempt to play it again was abandoned. Then we had the white screen in the grand old Barn falling down suddenly due to yet another error. It took quite a lot of manpower and consumed much time to remove it and fix it properly.

So, after all these delays the Light Music event Tarangini started. The judge for this event was Singer Benny Dayal ( singer of quite a few songs in new Tamil movies). He began by doing a performance himself. He sang the song ‘Taxi Taxi’ from the yet-to-be-released movie Sakkarakatti. Showing much enthusiasm and vigor, he tried to make the crowd crazy.

The event saw a list of participants from various places. Beginning at around 7 30pm it came to an end at about 12 midnight. Most of the performances were good and this time again it was SASTRA which wont the top slot. The second slot was snatched by JIPMER. (NIT T had won the first position in JIPMER’s Cultural Fest Spandan earlier this month). The third position was awarded to Thiagaraja College Madurai.

The day ended at midnight after the results were announced and the Director gave a memento to Benny Dayal for his presence.

Festember Day 1 begins today and has variety of events to entertain and enthrall everyone.

Tune In, Drop Out

NIT Trichy presents FESTEMBER 08 , the cultural festival that is one of South India’s biggest in its genre.

It is not just about a plethora of events or for that matter a treasure trove of prizes- for this is where the moods and the motley crowds merge to embark on a journey bordering on creativity and imagination. Festember, as has been its tradition, this time too promises to eclipse what its previous editions achieved.

Come September 2008, and you’ll see a generation tune in, in an attempt to connect with the milieu and letting their spirits drop out, to discover their singularity.

Plan your stay in Trichy from18th to 21st September.

FESTEMBER

~~Tune IN~~
~~Drop OUT~~

www.festember.org