MAXI Fair

The MAXI Fair is happening early this academic year! Usually, it is conducted in January or February, but the MAXI team appears to be extra-enthusiastic this year, and is holding the nationally-acclaimed marketing research event in November.


Preparations are going full-swing. Colourful stalls have been set up in the football field. The game-design part is done and the seniors have now set the juniors to work on the props. Visit the 'working area' of any of the teams, and you will have a hard time finding enough floor to walk on. Thermocol, chart-paper, glitter, sketch-pens, cutters, markers, paints, cellotape and, above all, bottles of Fevicol, litter the floor. In the middle, those juniors that are not busy 'taking a break' can be found industriously working on their individual bits of thermocol.

Those with some skill in drawing/painting etc are in great demand and are sometimes loaned to other groups in the team as well (but not between teams, no way!). Some juniors (especially those in the rural MAXI fair) are tapping their previously unexplored talent at Devanagiri calligraphy. Some (mainly those from the South, but others also) are learning new Hindi words. Yet others are just having a good time putting glitter on unsuspecting people.



A few have appointed themselves the 'bread-bringers' of their respective groups, and take orders for food. Since it's MAXI that's paying for it, everyone orders a good amount; Bishu da must be having a hard time dealing with the mass orders that come by for cheese maggi and bread-omelette and alu-paratha.

Like last time, the MAXI Fair will have two parts this year as well - the rural MAXI fair, which will be held at Rakha Mines (around 30 km from Jamshedpur) on Saturday, and the main fair, which will be held on the campus on Sunday. For text and pics of all the fun and games - watch this space!

XL Utsav - The Family Festival (Aug 11-12)

Thanks to Sharath N. (09BMD) for the text... and wish I had more pics to share about the event...
Nevertheless, here goes:

Life in a b-school is not only about exams and late night submissions, especially if that b-school happens to be XLRI. This is one campus where nobody is a stranger. This was exemplified by XL Utsav, a two-day extravaganza in which the students, the staff, and the faculty and their families came together with one intention – to have fun.

The weekend was formally inaugurated on Saturday morning by the Director, Father Casimir Raj. Afterwards, everyone headed to the sports field, where friendly football and throwball matches were conducted between teams comprising a healthy mix of students, faculty, staff and their families. There was an atmosphere of healthy competition, with the teams fighting each other to gain supremacy.

After breaking for lunch, everyone returned to the front lawns, where stalls had been put up. The food stalls had mouth-watering delicacies from all parts of the country, which had been specially prepared by the families of the faculty and staff. The game stalls were manned by the students and had old favourites like Ring the Bottle and Lucky Seven. The stalls, the music and the children running around, gave a carnival-like atmosphere to the proceedings. .

The next event of the day was the Treasure Hunt, which had ‘The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ as its theme. The clues were challenging, and had the teams at their wits’ end, as they ran from pillar to post, trying to make sense of it all.

With all the fun and gaiety around, the Rain Gods decided to put in an appearance. But that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirit – the action moved indoors, where a rousing round of Antakshari was played. This was followed by a sumptuous buffet which was a treat for the palate.

The Utsav culminated in a musical night. The first performance was by acclaimed sitar player Partho Bose. Next up was a performance by the children of some of the faculty who enthralled all with old favourites like Zombie and Smoke on the Water. The evening ended in a grand performance by BodhiTree, the famous XLRI band. It was a rocking show that got the crowd on their feet, singing and clapping along to the songs. And thus, two days of fun and excitement were brought to an end by the old XL favourite, ‘XL Meri Jaan’ ...

Life Returns to Campus...

Almost 2 months are gone since the new batch arrived... and life has been busy - not just in the classes!

here are some glimpses:
The Preparatory Program was not just about classes:
There were games.....

...including a Tug of War with the faculty :)

...birthday parties...

shocked everyone with a formally dressed-up class!!

And then the senior batch returned, and more excitement followed:

Maxi Bazar

The Freshers' Night & The Juniors' Nite

the village trips...

...a pooja for the venerable prof ;0)

(not that it improved anyone's quantie marks!)

...the adventure camps..

...and, of course, not to miss out: an age old tradition ;-)

Oh, yes!... there are also the classes, quizzes, submissions, presentations... :)