Author Archives: Priya

Getting to know – BLP 2014!

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BLP – BITSAA Leadership Programme provides the perfect platform for each and every BITSian to give back to Alma Mater. It is designed to identify and nurture the next generation of Leaders who will run BITSAA International and its projects. Since its inception, it has been very successful and the year 2014 – where the fourth edition of BLP kick started, the reception and enthusiasm showcased by BITSians across the world was encouraging.

With BITSAA’s primary objective to make it as the best networked alumni ecosystem in the world, BLP comes as a starting step to reach that goal. The entire BLP process was an amalgamation of the thoughts, ideas, efforts and support of numerous BITSAA volunteers, who successfully recruited those passionate alumni who can run this global organization efficiently.

The entire process of BLP 2014 was not a cake walk for the BITSAA team. Initially the planning for BLP process happened early in the year of 2014 with the involvement of various teams such as People strategy, Operations and Leadership teams. The planning was followed by communication to BITSians across the globe. Marketing and Communications teams helped in the overall publicity in reaching out to all BITSians with ease. Once when the initial communication was released, there were around 125 applications which were received for various positions, followed by the 3 step process:

  1. Candidate’s application Screening
  2. Interview by the specific team (Ops, Marketing, Fund raising, Technology etc.)
  3. Final Interview by the people’s Strategy team.

After the rigorous screening and interview process, a total of 43 candidates were handpicked and inducted into different groups in BITSAA. It was no less than a typical job interview.

Organizing an initiative of this volume is not easy without its own ups and downs. The BITSAA team did face some initial hurdles. “Excellent Participation and Interest, But we did face challenges in attracting interest for Technology and People Strategy teams” – says Nidhi Gurnani from BITSAA People’s Strategy Team.

Some of the feedbacks from the BLP 2014 admits –

“Great questions were asked as a part of the BLP 2014 applications attempting to capture each candidates overall profile”

“Interaction/Informal interviews with multiple senior team members, especially with whom the candidates are likely to work provided greater opportunity to connect with BITSians across the globe”

“Greater Flexibility in joining teams/roles that the candidates may apply based on one’s interest”

The candidates who joined in BLP 2014 truly demonstrated their passion to give back to BITS and take BITSAA to the pinnacle of success. The BITSAA Leadership Programme holds a promise of learning, volunteering, and lots of fun with giving back to our Alma mater and creating a strong network across the world with our larger BITSian family.

Do Keep a watch for the next BLP recruitment and join this invigorating team!!!

Oasis 2014 in Boston!!!

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Reunions are always nostalgic and short but leave a profound and everlasting memories. The year 2014 witnessed another glorious Bitsian reunion in US – Oasis 2014 in Boston.. Yes you heard it right!!

Oasis was recreated this time, not in Pilani but in Boston on 9th Nov 2014.This was the first oasis organized outside Pilani with more than 160 people attending the event. There were representations across all the four campuses from different batches. The idea was to cast the magic spell of Oasis in Boston as it used to be celebrated in Pilani and provide a platform for socializing and bonding among bitsians of all batches. “We were not sure how the event would turn out nor did we know many people would come as it is the first time in history that Oasis is conducted outside Bits. However the support and attendance which we got was overwhelming” says Ajay Koul, BITSAA NE Chapter Head.(Batch ‘98)

This Gala event kick started with a warm reception and the Bitsian Junta who came with their family were served their favorite dishes like bread pakoda, banana rabri and paneer maggi with “shikanji” grabbing maximum attention. This was followed by powerfully nostalgic music and dance performances and some entertaining musical games all steered by hilarious emceeing. For more coverage of the event, Do checkout this You tube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62wFKrjhn4I

Bitsians across various batches and campuses bonded very well and together put up an extraordinary stellar performance and made the event a very memorable one. The amount of fun and excitement this Boston Oasis has created gives us the staunch hope that this tradition will continue.

 

BITS 80s Reunion!!!

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It was a chilly November in the San Francisco Bay Area, There was palpable excitement in the air. It was Nov 28, less than 12hrs removed from saying thanks in proper tradition. Less than 8 hrs removed from the last sip of wine.  Less than 4 hrs removed from arguments over the football game. For many, the festivities had ended. But, for some, it was just the beginning. And, they were thankful about one thing, hitting that button on bits80.org and saying “YES”!  The 3 day forecast on the BITSometer was loud and clear “ Nov 28- 100% chance of fist pumps, back slaps and hugs. Nov 29- 120% chance of heart thumping, feet tapping and body gyrating thunderstorms. Nov 30 – 150% chance of psenti-feelings”. A storm was indeed brewing..

 Storms are not created overnight. They are a culmination of forces of natural elements building momentum with positive re-enforcement to sustain it along the way. There is a perpetrator for every storm and the BITS80 Reunion was no different. Suvashish Ghosh (83) batch – the master mind sowed the seeds which bloomed to this beautiful reunion. Suvashish along with a group of energetic bitsians – Vijay (83), Vikas (83) and Ratnesh (82) Nivi Padhy(85) Anu Murari (86) Rajiv (80) Venu (80) Sriram (87) and Sudha (86) – formed the core committee spanning the batches 80 to 89 , who championed this re union.

Having lived years not knowing one’s own batch mates, the notion of motivating and uniting BITSians several degrees apart was a tall order.  And if you thought biking to pahadi was hard  … this was a step harder…  but, the rewards and the descent after the accomplishment paralleled the same heights and sights that pahadi had injected into the BITSian lives.

The Reunion clocks started ticking fast and the core committee got into the full swing of preparations. Right from scouting for venues, figuring out events to crafting the agenda the engines for the reunion rolled out in great speed. Elaborate thoughts and endless lacha sessions resulting in getting the “where”, “when” and “who” questions of reunion answered. The team decided that the reunion had to be a long weekend and they all settled in on the thanks giving holidays. Thanksgiving would allow families to travel together and also meet the extended BITS family.

Once the “where” and “when” items were finalized, the committee realized the need of an agenda which would keep the incoming bitsians and their extended families on their toes. So they got together and whipped up music, drama and ELAS/HAS for starters. Creative one-off activities with local attractions were thrown in as optional choices. Armed with a decent “agenda” the committee were all ready to jump into action.

Initially the core team did face hiccups in getting more registrations as there were lot of skepticism with enthu meters very low.However it was the exact opposite with music gang, whose enthu caused needle-bending readings. The spotlight was on the music night which was to be the crown jewel of the reunion. With dates and venue locked in… The feverish pitch towards the music night began earnestly in the month of October. Virtual rehearsals, conference calls etc. indicated that music night is going to rock on Reunion. The enthusiasm infused video clips of music night practices acted as a catalyst in turning around the re union registration. It served as the perfect trailer to build momentum.  It was further bolstered by another music event, a karaoke night in Los Altos, Bay Area with an open invitation to the larger BITS crowd. This did turn the tide in the right direction.

Finally all the planning paved well and the celebrations kick started from Nov 28th to 30th 2014 in San Francisco.Celebrations and excitement were filled in air. Not to forget that all bitsians eyes were gleaming at those ever yummy panner Maggi, Kashmiri pulao, sweet curd and Jalebi which were served. Also reunions without RAF would be definitely a miss.So RAF night was organized and Amitabh Bachan’s Don was screened which added more excitement. It was extremely enjoyed by bitsians, their spouses and the kids too.

Series of events like fashion show, ELAS/HAS plays, antaskhari, and dumbchardes engaged all the bitsians thoroughly in immense fun and awakened the animated, adrenalin generating hyper tension that was the very hall mark for any event in BITS. This was followed by Photo-shoots which provided a nice break between ELAS/HAS events and the music night. Set in a beautiful location of Presidio in SFO, the customary group and batch photos turned up some interesting nuggets like the “bookends of the reunion: 80 + 89 batch photo” and “The lone guy and the women: 84 batch photo”

As the final evening of the reunion rolled out, the excitement and anticipation towards the Music night continued to climb higher every minute. the melodies started rolling out with “Deewana Hua Baadal” “neele neele ambar par”. Intertwined with the rocking tunes like “Jaane Jaan”, “Piya thu.” the audience got into the groove heading out to the dance floor. The music night went on for 4 plus hours with nonstop hits that kept coming like a juke box set on automatic. It was a nostalgic blast from the past with great song selection and brilliant performances. Challenged by geographies and very little practice time, the music night team simply rocked putting on a stellar show.

All good things come to an end and that applied to BITS80 reunion. This reunion perfectly resonated nostalgic memories, unlimited joys, boundless happiness of good old college days. The BITS80 Reunion is one such reunion which was a journey in itself and truly lived up to the tagline Reconnect, Relive and Renew the Bitsian Bug.

For more details on the event – Check out (https://www.facebook.com/BITS80s)