XLRI prepares for feast of St.Ignatius - 31st July, Sat

Supposing you went to war and had to have surgery on your legs and then you had to rest until they were better. What would you read while resting? Romance stories? In that case you and St. Ignatius of Loyola have similar tastes in literature... now, horror of horrors, what if the only book available is a book on the life of Christ? St. Ignatius decided to read it rather than die of boredom after having survived the war. Like most of us, when he was not reading, he dreamt of fame and glory, as well as the hand of his lady love (whose identity is a mystery). However he noticed that when he thought of the fame and glory, it left his mind troubled, when he read of the Christ he felt a sense of peace. This is the turning point of his life.

The Society of Jesus was formally recognized by the Pope on ( Estd. 27th Sept in 1540 ). The name Jesuit originally meant “One who used or appropriated the name of Jesus too often” was first applied to the society in reproach, but later came to be accepted in a positive sense. St Francis Xavier was a close associate of St. Ignatius and was one of six friends who came together to form the Society of Jesus. St. Ignatius himself a soldier called the society “The Company of Jesus” to show it’s military approach.

On January 1 2004 there were 20170 Jesuits around the world, making it the largest religious order or the roman catholic church. Rememeber that "religious order" means that they are monks and are different from the parish priest who is concerned with the management of the church and the welfare of his flock (people).

Events on Campus - 31st July, Saturday



Mass Celebrated at the Chapel 8:30 - Chief Celebrant Rt. Rev. Felix Toppo, S.J.
Bishop of Jamshedpur. Followed by refreshments - All are invited.


5:00 PM Small Auditorium - A brief presentation on the life of St.Ignatius and the Jesuits followed by Tea

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To learn more about the Jesuits here are some good links.
http://www.jesuit.org/sections/default.asp?SECTION_ID=187


http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14081a.htm

To learn about St.Ignatius Loyola, this is a good place

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07639c.htm

And here is one about St.Francis Xavier.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06233b.htm

UFO on campus?

An Unidentified (admittedly not-Flying) Object was spotted on campus.  A sleek, brand new white Hyundai Accent was seen on campus today.  Always the car enthusiast, Fr. James was seen whizzing it away. It was later learnt from reliable sources that the car is the new car for the Director of XLRI! There were hints at getting a "Treat" which the Director side-stepped with elan. 

More on campus football - Surya S.

Wednesday 21st

FIFA Cup might be the greatest football fete for many people, but XLers beg to disagree. Nothing is as challenging as the Ratanjee Memorial Tournament, the annual Senior v/s Junior sports fete at XLRI – i.e. nothing other than an XLRI - IIMC match. So the juniors have been holding league matches among themselves to select the Ratanjee football team.

The third match started, and the teams (BM-A and PM&IR) got into the groove almost immediately. The scene was perfectly set, with the monsoon hovering above, and a very vocal bunch of supporters on both sides of the ground. For sheer throat power and enthu, there are not many on earth who can stand up to a bunch of XLers. Priya, the official amplifier of IR batch was leading the pack. Danty was providing ample support to the teams while Dijo, the official mascot of IRs was running around the field.

The BM gang was also well equipped. Monga was working his grey cells overtime, shouting for all he was worth. The rest of the BMs also were a very loud crowd, adding to the general display of enthusiasm by the crowd.

There was some neat footwork by both the teams. In the BM camp, Sudhir, despite his malnourished frame, did some neat foot work. Mohit was very much focused. Mrugank and Sumit were here, there and everywhere supported efficiently by the likes of Richik and Gautam.

But that doesn’t mean that the IRs were any less competent. Roshan and Fauji were tackling like anything, with Piyush, Rajiv, Ronel, Nikhil and others played a very coordinated game. The teamwork was supported by Desmond, the goalie, who never let the ball pass beyond him. The superior coordination and team work of the IRs were rewarded when Sanker score the first goal almost nearing the end of the first half. The spectators (who were mostly the IR bunch) went berserk with joy.

The second half was much more vigorous both on and off fields, with the players giving it there very best, and the steadily increasing bunch of supporters involving in shouting or booing each other down. Personal friendships took a backseat as bosom friends belonging to opposite camps were seen taunting each other. The game was becoming more and more competitive, with the BMs desperately trying to score and the IRs holding them down. With just a few minutes to go, Saurabh scored the second goal for IRs, bringing the game to a temporary halt with the IR junta overflowing with enthu on and off the field. A deserved photography session near the men’s hostel followed the 2-0 victory.

Mixing pop and politics

Sorry this article was meant for my other blog, hence I am removing it. Those who would still like to read it can find it at http://mathaifenn.blogspot.com/2004/07/pop-art-and-politics.html . This article has nothing to do with XLRI or XL campus, its my thoughts on popular art and politics.

Fellows of FPHRD XLRI

Yesterday we had three candidates from the combined XLRI-AHRD fellow programme presenting their work and defending their thesis -Ms. Suneeta Mishra Ms. Anuradha Challu and Mr. Hari Iyer. I found Hari's work on Organizational Citizenship Behaviour rather an interesting concept.  It apparently explains the reason why Job Satisfaction doesnt translate into better on the job performance.  Defined as (as best as I could understand it) the activities that one does BEYOND what is expected from one's role and yet beneficial to the organization, I guess it means everything you do for the organization which you are not required to do, hence there are no rewards or punishments involved.... Ooops sorry guys I got carried away.

The evening ended with a small get together with the Director of AHRD, Dr. Uma Jain, Director of XLRI, Fr. N. Casimiraj, Dean Administration, Fr. E. A. Augustine, Prof. Srinivas (who coordinates the relationship between AHRD and XLRI), Prof. ISF Raj, Prof. Srinivas, Prof. Madhukar Shukla and Prof. Mathai Fenn. The evening was fun and ended with a trip to town to have CHAI as part of the celebrations for having got through the VIVA.  Somehow I enjoy spending time with research students. Its fun to share the interest in theory.

Lonely Hearts Club?

Reality Bites:
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No not THAT kind of lonely hearts, but its first year first term...  Homesickness is high among students who have come to stay in a hostel for the first time. Its actually high for even those who HAVE stayed in the hostel before. The initial euphoria of joining is over and now "reality bites". Yet its so hard to f ind someone to talk to.  Everyone seems to be busy with their things. Everyone seems to have a happy life. Why am I the ONLY one to feel so left out? Maybe I am not strong enough?

Every year I hear this from students at this stage.  I wish there was some way I could get them in touch with each other....so at least they know they are not alone.  Hey guys and gals, say hello to that shy guy in the corner... or even to that popular girl... perhaps they need your help.  Maybe we should start a forum to discuss loneliness?

Mathai Fenn

The BM football match - Malhar Vadke (BM 1st year)

The match between BM A and BM B started with great enthusiam with all the team members and a grand crowd...of three present!  This was supposed to be a run up to the Ratanjee Memorial Tournament and a proving ground for all the budding footballers to make it to the grand finale, the mother of all football matches "XL-IIMC"!

The first goal of the match was scored by Gautum Dalal for BM A in the first half - this really set the "ball rolling".  Mohit Raina soon netted the ball to give BM A a second goal. Raina's amazing control of and accuracy with the ball through the entire match along with Sudhir Shukla's (BM A) talent for the game made it a combo BM B tried really hard to break through without any success. Combine that with Prithwiraj Deb and Richik Nandi (BM A), playing forward, sparing no efforts to give BM B as hard a time as possible with the the likes of Sumit Saluja(BM A) on the defense sealed off any hopes of the ball geting through to the other net.
Tejas Joshi, Himadri Shekar, Shailendra Barshikar and the goalkeeper Gautum Sood proved there was no lack of talent on the side of BM B, not mention Manish Kumar, the captain, who had to be pulled out due to an ankle injury. Gautum saved two goals and in the process complete devastation!

The talent on the side of BM B really did not have a chance to be on the offense with the full thrust of the BM A team forward with a policy of never passing the ball backwards, a change in that strategy could have been a change in the final result.

The last strike (literally) was by Richik (BM A) almost from the midfield! With that goal in the nets, and two minutes on the clock, the result was sealed, it was a resounding victory for BM A with the final scores being 3-0 !

Fresher's Nite - Report by Mononeeta Law

Following the age-old tradition, the seniors got their act together – literally! With Dracula (Dramatics and Cultural Association) at the helm, the talented seniors worked very hard and finally the magic was unleashed upon the juniors on Friday night as they were caught up in one entertaining performance after another.
 
The juniors were asked to assemble on the JLT, from where they moved into the Small Audi for the performance. And oh what a performance it was!
 
There was the Jive, with Sukant and Indira leading the rest which was a really well-coordinated dance (definitely as compared to the others). And then the fusion dance with “Phanaa”, the latest hit Yuva number, where Priya and Ashwini looked absolutely elegant in the traditional Indian postures. And then of course the YMCA, with Hari, Sukant, Jayan and Harsh, which had all the girls screaming for more. Jayan was as always out of sync with the rest… but then that’s Jayan for you.
 
And then there were the songs with the XL band backing them up. Needless to mention that no performance by them is ever complete without the powerful music from Payel’s violin, as they rendered a superb performance of a self-composition called “Last Mile”…christened so by Dhunta!.
 
And finally not to mention, a wonderfully written play by Pappu, the creative head of RadioSMAXI – there was wild applause all around, not to mention the catcalls thrown in.
 
Of course, no Juniors’ Nite is complete without a sumptuous dinner. And so while the juniors sat at the tables, we ensured that they were dined adequately. It was almost 3:00 a.m when we called it a day.
 
Admittedly, it was a hot and humid night, especially now that the monsoons have started creeping into Jamshedpur and the juniors were all in suits and sarees, and there was an entire batch and half of another crammed inside the Auditorium and some of the juniors and seniors have a quiz today (including me!) – but that’s the bonding that will forever make XLRI stand apart.

Skill enhancement to tackle oligopolistic practices?

Auto rickshaws are an amazing invention, three wheels and a two stroke engine, I amazed at how they remain upright. Every morning I see one such vehicle, designed for three passengers (at most) and driver, overflowing with school children on their way to school. I suspect they must have an anti-gravity device somewhere to prevent them from toppling over when taking turns (I have seen these vehicles topple over on occassion). Yet it remains the preferred mode of transport for children from campus to make it to school. To top it all, Autorickshaws near XLRI have a monopolistic tendency. They will not allow other auto's to take passengers from XLRI. I have seen them blocking another auto and forcing the hapless passenger to board their own autos. Needless to say the local autorickshaw drivers charge more for trips from XLRI to anywhere. There is Rafeeq, the guy who can produce anything from car, to a bus on hire whenever XLRI needs it. There is Vasu, the stocky guy who is generally patient and well mannered, at least compared to Bala his brother a hot tempered guy who could give you a piece of his mind at the drop of a hat. There is also a Pillai who lives near by with a telephone and can come and pick you up by a phone call.

On campus I see that several faculty wives are taking driving lessons seriously. Prof. T.A.S. Vijayaraghavan's wife Sudha, Prof. Sanjay Patro's wife Sasmita and (believe it or not) my wife Jessy have taken to learning driving seriously. I suppose its also a mark of how little we faculty are available for the families when they need us. Do I see the possibility of a car-pool taking shape? Unnamed "SOURCES" say that there is no such thing and its entirely a fiction of my imagination.

South Korea, here we come!

Tuesday, 6th July, I made a new resolve: to learn KOREAN! I opened todays Hindustan Times ("Jamshedpur Live" section and read this):

Steel City to get Korean 'sister', courtesy XLRI

"..a South Korean city, keen on getting into an agreement with Jamshedpur to forge a "Sister City" relationship, is learnt to have expressed interest in forging a fruitful relationship with ....Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI).."

I often wonder if we didnt get the daily newspaper everyday in the morning, no one on campus would have any idea what XLRI is up to. WOW! Talk of local news! I wonder if this blog will seriously help in bridging the information assymetry?


Btw, for years we have been saying that XLRI is NOT Xavier Labour Relations Institute. At least not any more than B.P.L. is longer British Phyiscal Laborotaries.

Sravan leaves for Australia

Sravan, Prof. Venugopal's (a.k.a. the dean)older son is leaving for down under this afternoon. The family will see him off from Dum Dum (hmmm do two dums make one dumb?) airport later at night. Sravan after his 12th from Loyola School is going to take up studies in PSYCHOLOGY! Best of luck Sravan!

Jackfruit Season is here again

Once again, as is the case every year, there was an invitation from Fr.Augustine to everyone who wanted jackfruit. Between 12:30 and 1:00 the small garden between the Tome Residence and The Centre for Small Business was the focus of activity. There were cycles, scooters and Lawrence's car backed up while jackfruit was given away. Freddy was seen carrying one carefully wrapped in newspaper...perhaps to avoid having to share what he got?!

XL Campus Blog

Hi,

There is some talk of an "XL Family" intiative, which aims to rebuild a sense of community among all people who live on campus. The New Director and New Dean are working towards this. Though no formal announcement has been made on this initative, its a most welcome change. An important element of getting together is to have a newsletter of sorts. This blog is an online version of a campus newsletter. It is also hoped that people off campus too can get a feel for what is happening in campus as a result of this blog.

This is a unofficial blog intended for events that happen ON XLRI campus. I am currently looking for people who can contribute to this endeavour. If you are interested, please send me an email. While the editors of this blog will excercise a degree of editorial control, the opinions expressed on this blog are not necessarily the official views of the institute, or of the editors and all articles are written on a personal basis.

Currently we are looking for editorial material from students, faculty, staff and families who live on campus.