LaunDrama

No one should be allowed to wash their dirty linen in public. It is something that we MICANs firmly believe in (but apparently don’t practice much) and that is why when Paras Bhai (may God bestow better customers to him next year) started exchanging our clothes; we decided to get our own washing machines. SOAK first floor were the pioneers of PGP18 batch who after hearing the success stories of seniors went out for the kill. We named it Draupadi, as it was the loyal companion of SOAK 1^st floor. We even had a time-table drawn up and pasted outside Draupadi’s chambers, which none followed and just used her whenever we wished (shame on us). Even one or two rumours of girls using Draupadi were leaked out when a spaghetti top was found among washed clothes but closer inspection revealed it to be the drawstring of a pyjama. Soon, all rumours were dispelled and everyone got their own machines. Even the so-called slum-dwellers of Palaash Ground floor and Bai’s of Parijaat ground floor got one for themselves. So now we have Arjun protecting the sanctity of SOAK ground floor and Bheem looking after the dirty secrets of Palaash. We at LitComm wonder what will happen to these worthy warriors next year but until then we hope all of us will keep our clothes as clean as our hearts ;)….

Ten point somethings

A lot has happened in the past two months,albeit not here. MBA is taxing, especially when we try to make sense of business finance 3 hours prior to the exam  . All said, let us not talk ill of the dread. In the days i have spent here, i have learned and re-learned many a things. Let me reiterate some of them for the benefit of the general public who aspire to be in management. In order to sound more organized and to give you an idea of how long this is going to take, let me give a number to the list of things i will talk about:

10 Points:

1) The only things you would manage once you start your two year PGDM course is less sleep and more emails. 

2) If you do manage to stay awake and write down the seemingly-valid-points that you or your classmates make in the class, you would probably end up authoring a book titled  ’The Art of Pfaff’  which would be thicker than than ‘The art of war’ by Sun Tsu. (Point no.2 is an example)

3) The two most important phrases that a mican should acquaint thyself with are – ‘It depends‘ and ‘Chill maar yaar‘. Use the former with the faculty and latter with your friends to solve any problem under the sun.

4)  Re-learning:  CTRL+ALT+DELETE (this time to avoid terminations)

5) If you felt the competition to get into a b-school is tough, wait till you get here. It’s dog-eat-dog and pfaff-beats-pfaff world. You know your peers so much better than you did once you have been through a GD with them (you get to know more if they get in and you don’t  )

6)  Creative is subjective and everything is creative.

7) An open-book examination is tougher than a closed book, as you waste half your time searching hundreds of pages that you have never read.

8 ). The only conscious free time that you get would probably be in the loo. Make good use of it.

9) Remember, the two years of your life that you spend in a b-school is a paid social experiment.  Make the most out of it before it takes the most out of you.

10)  SOP, EOI, ROI, DCP .. You would start hating 3 letter acronyms

[This piece of writing is a blog post of a member of the literary committee and has been obtained with his consent. No Turning it in required  :)]

Grand Finale - MQC 2011

The patient build-up, a four legged trawl for the creme, the frenzied preparations behind scenes, the innumerable hours of lost sleep, zillions of google searches, an innocent penguin, a twisted thumb and a few gaffes, the MQC final was worth every bit of that and more. 

First up - A huge THANK YOU! to all involved - you participants who honored us with your presence, hounded us with your persistence - both above and below the board, Tarang and Pranjal - the hand that propped us up with external support, our Sponsors, the eminently lovable Senior Team LitComm and the equally adorable junies. 

Getting back to the quiz itself, the Final was an affair to remember - no warming up, it was for the battle hardened pros. They were:

Sania Narulkar & Divyanshu Bhoderia  (Anna ki tamanna)
Abhishek Rane & Dileep Tiwary        (Abhyutthaan)
Abhishek Joshi & Joseph Jacob  (Plan B)
RPulak Narain  Dhreeteman Das (Two 2 Tango)
Anupam Dhar & Divya Agarwal   (Hapless and hopeless)
Aditi Bose and Phalguni Aneja   (Apdi Pode)
Rohit Goswami & Abhimanyu Roy  (Que Pasa)

The format was different too - 35 Categories with 2 questions in each, teams getting to pick their choice for the first 2 rounds. The stake increased progressively with each round. The third round was a blind guess with the Topics masked by numbers, in return for 30 points for a direct answer, that came laced with a -10 for an incorrect answer. The killer touch came out with the 4th round, where the adjacent team picked out the topic for its previous team. This added a great deal of spice to the show as teams grappled to identify what their competitors were weakest at!

It was as exciting as a Finale could be with a different team leading at the end of each round. In the end it all boiled down to the rapidfire round, yet again. Divyanshu & Sania were in a close tussle with Pulak and Dhreeteeman for the top spot. A tense staccato of questions erupted with Bunty and Babloo definitely deserving their lead but the runners up not lagging far behind. All that held them from tying up for first spot was "Water" and "Waterman" for the inventor of the fountain pen. The winners received a cash prize of Rs. 4000 and two coveted trophies with the runners-up getting Rs. 2000 and it all ended up with jubilation from all quarters: the participants, the audience and the organisers who were left with a sweet taste of success in their mouths.

Sports & Entertainment Quiz

The final installment of the topic based rounds of MQC 2011 - the much awaited Sports and Entertainment quiz (SpEnt). And spent we were, what with over 50 participants in the prelims, 110 questions and an exciting Wild Card Round we were left huffing and puffing due to the sheer pace.

As expected, the presence of Sports and entertainment ensured a full-house, the prelim questions were tough but the high interest levels ensured that there was no dip in the qualifying scores. Top 6 teams made to the on-stage round. The On Stage round featured a new team - Avinash and Utkarsh who gave the regulars a run for their money. Sania and Divyanshu, the mainstay of all the 4 rounds saw off the challengers and clinched the first place.

This was followed by the Wild Card entry round where everyone, irrespective of their standings in any quiz could have a shot at qualifying to the finals. It was a 30 question marathon, along the lines of the prelims, but only of a higher difficulty and with questions from all domains. The wait for the results of this round was bordering on painful and we in the team correcting had to check the responses several times as the competition was cut-throat. Finally the team of QuePasa consisting of Abhimanyu Roy and Rohit Goswami got a well-deserved entry to the Grand Finale, pipping two other teams by the narrowest of margins and all they could say was "Finally!!".

And now finally the preparations for the Grandest of Finales are underway. Let the Literary Committee not find you all avid quizzers, cheerers and enthusiasts unprepared because if you thought the topical rounds were a delightful snack, get ready to expect a sumptuous feast in the end. We know you are going to be there, 24 hours away...we are counting, are you?

The Madness that is MQC

This is that time of the year when it doesn’t matter whether we are good, bad or ugly; girl, guy or a sigh, compliments and special favors are strewn along our path just because we're a Litcommie.

“Oh, should I get you something?”… “Chocolates, or some savoury snack maybe?"

There’s not one day during this mega event that we do not get coaxed and cajoled to leak out just a few questions or  “Just give me a few websites you guys have used to prepare the questions. I want to be well prepared for tonight’s quiz you see.” In a bid to sing 'We are the (quizzing) champions', people get carried away with their own powers of persuasion or ability to charm an answer or two from an unsuspecting Litcommie. One poor editor was half kidnapped and questioned intensely to reveal (hold your breath) an audience question in an effort to making the kidnapper look "smarter" in front of everyone.

Special mention can be made of a certain Mr.Ticksy Turvy and a Mr.Juicy Burger in this regard who religiously bugged Litcommies before every quiz. And how can we forget the man with the ‘spidery’ touch, Mr. Mozzarella who threw compliments in every direction there was a Litcommie:

“Divyangana, you look beeyootiful tonight!” (attempts to get cozy) and then he virtuously promises to flirt with her everyday making us believe this isn't MQC related at all! “Smriti, you look so pretty. Have you done something to your hair?” And even, “Karthik, man, your T-shirt looks so cool” or threatening to run his fingers through Karthik's hair which scandalized the poor man! “Pertash….Pertash” (violently shakes his head in an unsuccessful attempt to come up with something) “Ankit, my dear friend….” His evening was filled with giving hi five here and flashing a charming smile there. Sadly, all his hard work was in vain, his team didn't qualify.

Oh and who said we are complaining? Keep ‘em coming people. When our minds are buzzing with A3 and A4 posters, starred questions, Kitkats and coupons, bringing the flexes down and putting the cushions right,nothing makes us feel this important and loved. Flattery does have it's charms. Top 7 teams, are you listening?

Here’s to the MQC which is nearing its end with only the Mega Quiz left, may there be many more.

P.S. Fellow Litcommies brace yourselves and be on your guard at all times

MQC 2011 - Literary Quiz - As it happened

Brands and the nation were done with, it was time for the Literature-oriented giants to showcase their talents. The Literary Quiz - the Third installment in MQC 2011 was conducted yesterday with unprecedented participation levels for a round that is often considered 'for the bookish'. We had around 60 participants in the preliminary round and the top 6 progressed to the on-stage round. There were some familiar faces on stage in the form of Divyanshu & Sania who have made 3 finals in a row now, Abhishek & Dileep and Divya & Anupam who have 2 appearances so far.

The LitQuiz finals was played out to a rapturous crowd; the air thick with guesses and whacky associations, fundae and numerous "How could I NOT answer that" yells of anguish. There were very few audience questions that went unanswered which established that the knowledge gap in level between the teams on stage and those in the audience was miniscule if any. Questions that were as long as a page from a book and connect pictures that appeared outlandish at first sight but were so easy when Srishti (the joint quiz master of the night) gave the answer.

As has been the trend with the 2 previous rounds of MQC 2011, the scores were delicately poised at the beginning of the RapidFire round. Divyangana who co-hosted the quiz reeled out the questions and the answers flew faster than she could complete the questions! Divya and Anupam put in a strong show in the round to clinch 2nd place from the duo or Parvati and Hunaranjan. Zoya and Shirish though were on a separate plane, always enjoying a comfortable 10 point head-start over the competition, to clinch a First place!

2 Days to go for the Sports and Entertainment quiz - stay tuned and brace yourselves for a surprise announcement in the next couple of days!

Stay smart, stay MICAn!

Quizzing at MICA

When people talk about MICA the first thing that pops in the mind is creativity. MICA is all of creativity and more – it is also about knowledge, culture, sports and more fundamentally pursuing one’s passions in any field. Quizzing is one tradition in which MICA has had a very rich history.

What is quizzing? It is a test of one's knowledge across various streams and spheres. Students at MICA have always been avid quizzers. We believe it is not talked about nearly enough. There is a buzz created around events like Matki Phod, MICAnvas, Sankalp, however the quizzing aspect of MICA and its students just isn't displayed enough.

TATA Crucible is the biggest and most difficult business quiz our country has and Sania (Batch of 2012) and Kaushik (Batch of 2011) won it in the year 2010. There were 6 MICAn teams in the final.

We, the Literary Committee of MICA organize the MQC (MICA Quizzing Championship) in the first trimester of every academic year to attract the brightest quizzing minds in the incoming batch and see how they fare against the PGP-2 batch. The MQC consists of four preliminary quizzes (Brands, India, Literature and Sports and Entertainment), the top 6 teams of which qualify for the MEGA Quiz. All the quizzes of an extremely high standard and the turnout has been excellent. This exemplifies the quizzing pedigree and the vibrancy of the Mican quizzing culture. 

You Name it! - Contest Alert

LitComm is coming out with a monthly newsletter, starting September 2011. This will be a short, witty monthly digest of the previous month at MICA from a LitComm perspective, with a stress on pictorial representation.We encourage student participation in terms of contribution of ideas, articles and photos for the newsletter as well as our flagship publication - 'blackcoffee'.

Contest:

The newsletter that we shall publish will be named - "_______" The dash will be filled by YOU! You will have to come up with a creative name in line with the 'Coffee Theme' (All litcomm publications carry Coffee as the theme) as well as a rationale behind why we must adopt that name for the newsletter. There will of course be prizes for the chosen name, apart from the newsletter being christened by the name. The First prize will be cash while the next Four best entries will win gift vouchers.

Contest opens today and you will have to send in responses on the LitComm Facebook page or on our Twitter handle - You can follow our Twitter page and reply to us with the entries as well as to stay updated with all things LitComm.

Last date for receipt of entries is 23:59 on 31 Sep 2011.So put your creative caps on and start churning out names! Multiple entries are allowed.

MQC - India Quiz 2011 rocks Micans!

Yesterday was the D-Day, the much awaited second installment of the Mica Quizzing Challenge - the India Quiz and what a show it was! The format remained the same as the Brand Quiz. A total of around 70 teams entered the prelims, egged on by an equally enthusiastic crowd.

Here is a peek a question from prelims if you missed it -

Identify these popular lines:- “Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people , Dispenser of India’s destiny……”

The answer is of course the Indian National Anthem! At the end of the prelims 6 of the top scoring teams went on stage for the finals. The final was a grueling affair, with the participants as well as audience in great form, which is quite understandable, given that the topic was India! Three teams pulled away from the rest by the end of the first 3 rounds and were well within striking distance of each other, so the Rapid Fire round was again the decider. The team of Abhishek Rane and Dileep Tiwari emerged winners, Divyanshu and Sania came a close second. It was a gripping encounter and at the end every single participant as well as member of audience went away satiated and tingling with anticipation for the next round of the MQC - Literature quiz which is slated for 26th August 2011 at 10.30 PM.



Keep your mind open, get ready for another quizzing tour de force in a couple of days! Cya there for the Literature Quiz!

MQC 2011 Kicks off!

The Mica Quizzing Challenge (MQC) got off to a rollicking start with the Brand quiz as the first of four Quizzes, on 19 Aug 2011 at the Mani Iyer Auditorium in MICA with over 70 teams taking part in the preliminary round. Six top teams from the prelims went on stage to fight for the honors. The quiz was a humdinger with most teams on similar scores at the end of 3 rounds, with the final Rapidfire round becoming a virtual decider. The excitement hit feverish pitch when at the end of the Rapidfire round two teams consisting of Pulak & Dhreeteeman and Aditi & Phalguni were tied on 30 points each. This led to a Tie-breaker consisting of 5 questions, but the two teams remained even at the end of the first tie-breaker. That necessitated a second tie-breaker in which the pair of Pulak and Dhreeteeman emerged victors while Aditi and Phalguni claimed Second place. There were several audience questions with prizes for them too!

Gift vouchers were provided by Scissor Rules, fresh-n-fresh, Campus Stationers, Hollywood Optics. The event was covered by Times of India and DNA in their Ahmedabad editions.

The next Quiz is scheduled for 22 August 2011 and will be an India Quiz. That will be followed by the Sports & Entertainment and Literature quizzes. At the end of all the 4 quizzes the cumulative top 6 teams in the leaderboard will contest the Grand Finale to be crowned the Mica Quiz Champions!

Introducing - the Junior LitComm Team 2011

After a characteristically rigorous selection process the members of the Junior LitComm Team were picked. A brief intro to each of the members:

Aishwarya Padmanabhan:

She’s a 21 year old hardcore Dilliwaali who can quote dialogues from mindless Bollywood films. She loves traveling, reading and writing. The permanent smile plastered across her face and adds a little light to the entire setting. Goes by the nickname ‘Eshu’ and loves to act crazy and hyper even when sober.

Joins the Marketing vertical under Satya and Shrishti.

Varun Sathees:

The quiet funny guy who’s great to hang out with. A back-bencher in class with a near photographic memory. Newton had this boy’s laziness in mind when he framed his first law of motion. He however has a lot of bottled up energy which we’re scared is going to implode some day and take us down with it.

Joins the Marketing Verical under Satya and Shrishti.

Karthik Balachander:

Thank god he escaped engineering to become the mute editor of ‘Blackcoffee’ for his skills were very misplaced till now. A gadget, politics and international affairs freak who loves to bathroom sing (and drive people up the wall with it). Have a conversation with him, you’ll enjoy it.

Joins as Editor under Satya and Shrishti.

Divyangana Rakesh:

The kid of MICA and by extension – LitComm, youngest by age, loudest by voice, she is a livewire. Intelligent and opinionated, she is witty and quirky. She can be persistent to the point of being annoying but puts up that innocent face and a toothy grin that makes you pat her head, shrug and smile at her.

Joins as Editor under Satya and Shrishti.

Ankit Jain:

He knows and reads a lot, this boy. He is one of the few people here who actually read about advertising and marketing as a hobby and not as part of the course. he eats, sleeps and breathes advertising. His thing is surprising people; he’s good at it too.

Joins the Creatives vertical under Shruti.

Rakesh Sukumar:

This former IT pro is a self taught Photoshop whiz. He is very committed and intense team member. Has a good sense of humor and loves to experiment and break stereotypes. Has a languid style and is generally silent unless he has a strong opinion on the topic of discussion.

Joins the Creatives vertical under Shruti.

Smriti:

The quietest (at first glance), no sorry, the second quietest (shrishti is the quietest) person of the LitComm and is perpetually late for meetings. Perhaps she ain’t that quiet, because when she starts talking she doesn’t stop!

Joins the Events, Logistics and Student Response Vertical under Atin and Vineet.

Pertash Kaul:

Our ‘Jhootha Man’ who’s gotten quite a reputation for lying to the senior litcomm members at the very beginning and thus the nickname. He is jack of all trades (almost) and a voracious reader, writer and an avid quizzer.

Joins the Events, Logistics and Student Response Vertical under Atin and Vineet.

LitComm says Hello!

"Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he read made him mad." - G.B. Shaw

At first, there was only darkness. Spreadsheets floated around, showing off their ugly columns and fomulae, gleaming a guttural green, striking fear and revulsion into our hearts. Presentations sprang up out of nowhere, dripping with gaudy slide transitions and mindless graphics concocted out of random pfaff. So we set about trying to find a shelter for language and knowledge from all the abuse they were being subjected to.

We found a solution - MICA LitComm. And then there was light.

Who we are: The Literary Committee of Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, fondly known as LitComm, MICA.

What we do: We write, publish, debate, quiz, JAM. We do everything that could possibly come under the large umbrella of 'literature'. We create where there is none; we nurture where there is a will. We offer you a platform to express your wildest fantasies in words or pictures or through speech.

If that was not enough, we have an annual publication - 'BlackCoffee' that we are most proud of. We publish monthly newsletters and 'The Daily Grind' during MICANVAS, organise an annual Inter-collegiate Literary fest as well as MICA Quizzing Championship (MQC) - the hotly contested event that pits teams of MICAns vying to showcase their knowledge of solid facts as well as the abstract against each other. We also chronicle memories in the form of a thick yearbook filled with testimonials and confessions to savour at leisure.

Come join us.