Sunday, July 12, 2015

Followership (A Workshop on Leadership)


Article Written by Dimple K Mathew (III MCA)
Conducted by Jibrael Jos
They say something's can’t be taught and they also say something's you need to experience to learn better and so it was on 3rd July 2015 when we had one good day full of high quality edutainment, where we did not just learn but also enjoy every bit we learnt.
The day began with reflecting that how nature ­ with every living and non ­ living thing inspires us, from the waves that rise in the sea displaying it’s strength to the dragon flies that soar over the waters and A light house that is a “ A ray of hope “ , and a rock that said “never let it go”. Everything that is around us teaches us a lesson.
 
As we went down with the flow we understood how important it is to listen, because everyone can speak, but how many do listen? We had many entertaining sessions like every group had to memorizing couple of countries and capitals in a minute and then choose correct option on the question paper. Also we made a bridge with newspaper it was a group activity again, we solved the jigsaw puzzle of a world map in group and understood the importance of group work, like quote goes “united we stand and divided we fall”.

We also were given various tasks group-­wise where we had to in act that we are in a train or in a fruit shop without speaking and the others had to guess . Then JJ sir taught the Steven Covey concept of interdependence, where we can remodel our lives from the state of dependence to interdependence(via independence), it is where we need to break ourselves and make ourselves into something more valuable. He elaborated on the seven habits which can help us be more effective people.
For some Life is a complex concept where you need to achieve success with enormous formulas ,for some it is a song you just sing it and life passes by, but for few Life is all about giving and attaining happiness , because the feeling of being selfless is over all the success you have achieved.
We all had a pizza lunch together. Next was a video featuring Robin Sharma a specialist. The leadership traits as per him are :
I    ­Innovation
M­  Merchant of Wow
A­  Authenticity
G­  Guts
E­  Ethics and Excellence
The day’s last task was a mime where the students were divided into 2 groups and they have to act on the various situations. In all it was one of the most fabulous day we had at Christ University, and we will cherish this memory all through our lives. Thank you Sir for all that you did and you do.
In the morning when I left for the college I was envying my roommates as they were sleeping, but now I realize the day was all worth it. One of the best days in Christ University!
Some Feedback
"After yesterdays workshop I was all puffed up with energy. I took up your advice of writing journals and started a blog" Jonathan Fidelis Paul
"It was an awesome experience sir. .thanks a lot" Sindhu A
"It was an AMAZING session sir!!!" Tony Mathew 
"I am not the same person I was yesterday :-) I feel happier" Vincy L

Monday, May 11, 2015

Why travel so much !!!

(Last Updated May 2015)

In last 7 years I have traveled to 

 Rajasthan
Ajmer Udaipur Jaipur Chittorgarh Jodhpur
 Maharashtra
Raigarh Pratapgarh
Pune (5) Mumbai (2)
 Karntaka
Hampi Aihole Badami Patadakal Belur (4) Halebiddu(4)
Tala Cauveri(bike) Mysore(5) Chikmagalur (4)
Kemmangundi Kodachadri  Udipi Jog Falls Honnavar
Bekal Mangalore Karwar  Vellore Madikeri  Treks(5) Monolith Climb(6)
 Tamil Nadu
Ooty Munnar Chennai Pondicherry, Kanyakumari 
 Goa (3)
 Kerala
Thrissur(4), Trivandrum, Munnar, Idduki(2),  Battery Manathwady (bike)
Kottayam, Thodupuzha(3) Kannur, Kozhikode, Haripad
 Delhi (7)
 Kolkatta 
 Orissa
 Puri Konark Bhubneshwar

Travel Abroad : 1999 - 2007
London Cornwal Lake District Brighton Hastings Bournemouth Isle of Wight
Paris, Disney
Rome Venice Florence
Brussels Antwerp 
Amsterdam Hague Rotterdam 
Glasgow Cardiff Oban Fort William Inverness Isle of Skye
Bern Zurich  Geneva Laussane Lucerne Interlaken Wengen Jungfrau Neuchatel
New York Houston Dallas Seattle Detroit Chicago Washington DC Arkansas
Toronto, Niagara Falls

Himalayas
Mussorie(3), Dalhousie, Dharamshala, Mandi, Kullu, Manali, Khirsu, Landsdowne
Nainital, Palampur

I love traveling, what can I say

Monday, May 4, 2015

Photon on the Go



There is a girl I know, like a photon on the go
Nimble as a feather, predictable like weather!
Her personality is such, that earth gravity is not much
The earth revolves around her, around her 

She paints, She acts, She dances … are facts
An inspiration to many, perspiration to “Maharaj Shani”!
Persistent like a wave, ever giving like a flame
Like a gentle breeze she is, she is

When kids her age are getting a grip on life
She has understood the crux, like a butter thru knife  
She is a star, grabs opportunities near and far
Friends to many, chai wala, cleaning lady, security guards … so many so many

She does things Mountain Dew drinkers will dare not do
Breaks boundaries, barriers and riti riwaaz too
Everything is a story, Everything is a song
Drama runs in her blood stream from the day she was born

Where does she get all this, Maybe from her dad I guess
Maybe it is her mom, but let me not digress
Happy Birthday Dear Nithya

May God Bless you ya,


Half my age, Half my weight … but
      Double the zing, Double the grace
Great to have a friend like you … but
     Don’t go overboard with all this praise
Happy Birthday Dear Nithya

May God Bless you ya,

Friday, May 1, 2015

Short & Sweet Theatre Festival Finals 2015

Nithya's Story ... well yes
     but when Ratnakar scripted the play it became his in a way
          when Jibrael acted as a Muslim Shopkeeper it became his in a way
              when Deepti lent her beautiful voice to it it became hers
                  when the talkative Sudharshan played a silent char it became his
Well its our story now but come watch and it may become yours
A melody of 10 wonderful plays on May 2nd and May3rd 2015

A Malayali Catholic Professor is acting as a Muslim Shopkeeper with Hyderabadi accent
When I lose myself in the character, I guess like many others I found myself, 
      Well that is the beauty of theatre

Salaam Namaste
Katharsis Productions
Playwright - Ratnakar Baggi
Director - Ratnakar Baggi
Cast - Nithya J Rao, Jibrael Jos, Sudarshan Basrithaya, Ratnakar Baggi, Deepthi Bhaskar
In the midst of a volatile situation in the old city of Hyderabad two individuals are able to transcend barriers and find resonance with their human identities.

Out of 60 plays ..
Our play got second place judges choice,first place crew choice,
Ratnakar best script and second place for director,
Nithya second place for actress and ..
I got third place for actor !!
Wonderful feedback from audience ... very satisfying

Best Actor Male
Aaron Punnen- Dog Bites Man- 6 votes
Ashank Bhandari- Wish- 3 votes
Jimmy Xavier- About Me- 3 votes
Jibrael Jos- Salaam Namaste- 3 votes

Best Actor Female
Meera Parmesh- Wish- 6 votes
Samanvita Shetty- Keeping Annabelle-4 votes
Nithya J Rao- Salaam Namaste- 3 votes
Best Emerging Artiste: Jueeli More- Murder In the Title
Crew favorite: Salaam Namaste
Best Ensemble: Bobby's Brain
SPIRIT OF SHORT + SWEET 2015!!
Santhosh Nandivada
Ashwin Sharma

Anitha and Team, thanks for Short & Sweet. You are in the business of touching hearts and changing minds .. Keep Flying


The other plays  in The Grand Finale : May 2nd and 3rd 2015

 Diagnosi
The Non-conforming Non- conformists
Playwright: Harikesh Subramanian
Director: Harikesh Subramanian
Cast: Vandhana Rajgopal, Harikesh Subramanian, Alok Bhatt ( guitar)
"Medicine still can’t explain so many phenomena of the complex human body, like why some kids fart when we pull their finger."
Bobby's Brain
Emocrats
Playwright : Bruce Kane
Director : Swati Vittal
Cast -: Ashwathi Iyer, Bhumika Sahani, Gayatri Swaminathan, Swati Vittal, Mohit Budhrani, Bishnoo Ananth,
Rajashekar K, Kishor VP
Unravelling the delicate intricacy of a man's brain
Keeping Annabelle
What's In a Name Productions
Playwright: Rachel Welch
Director : Aaron Julius Punnen
Cast: Samanvita Shetty , Sreecharan Rachakonda
What would YOU do if you were trapped with nowhere to go?
The Kill
Random Play
Playwright : Alex Broun
Director : Ashwin Sharma, Santhosh Nandivada
Cast : Ashwin Sharma and Santhosh Nandivada
An ugly turn of events off the cricket pitch.
Wish
Three Wishes
Playwright: Bokkie Robertson
Director: Kusum Punjabi
Cast: Ashank Bhandari, Meera Parmesh
She's thirteen, she's sassy and she's dying. He's famous, he's arrogant and he's her wish!
Murder in the Title
The Paper Moon Company
Playwright: Anjani Balu, Aiswarya Jayamohan, and Kavya Srinivasan
Director: Sreecharan Rachakonda
Cast: Jueeli More, Kavya Srinivasan and Sreecharan Rachakonda
"The most gripping murder mystery since Dame Christie" - N. Owan Ever
Dog Bites Man
Linked productions
Playwright: Cerise De Gelder
Director: Judith Roby Bidapa .
Cast: Aaron Julius Punnen, Arun Nair, Samanvita Shetty
So why do dogs do what they do? Watch to find out!

About Me
Jugaad Co.
Playwright : Amulya Shruthi
Director: Anna Thomas
Cast : Jimmy Xavier
I'm open minded, friendly and looking for a girl to spend time with till...

'WhatZapped Us'
ShadowLights Entertainment
Playwright : Vinod Kumar S
Director : Vinod Kumar S
Cast : Anirudha Srinivas, Naresh Babu, Prashant Kumar R, Raghava Thummapudi,
Ravishankar Ramamurthy, Varun Marichi

Monday, April 6, 2015

Department of Computer Science : Report 2014-2015


(Written for Christite Magazine 2015)

A year gone by and another set of students leave a blazing trail towards the horizon, seeking new adventures and with a will to make a positive impact on the world around. As these students leave, a sense of loss pervades the department. Students passing out is destined and we cannot change that but what is gratifying, is to see them transform, mold themselves to better human beings, honing their skills and succeed in different paths they take. 
There was a dash of color and exuberance as Revelation, Techleons, Interface and Gateways reached out to student communities across Karnataka and neighboring states. The impact is not just extrinsic, its intrinsic too as we see changes in our own students as they become better followers, organizers, artistic performers and leaders. Whether it is the dance performances or theatre productions in In-Bloom, winning Coding Competitions or Best Manager in other colleges, these wonderful students and their actions is what finally defines us.

There has been a strong focus on research this year, starting of the Journal Club and catalyzing research projects has been a great success. Project demonstrations by students were the highlights of the X-eBIT 2015 and Softex 2015 held on 26th and 27th February respectively. Some innovative ideas included quad-copter, soil analyzer, traffic mobile apps, home security system, human detector and biometric based applications.

Placement and internship has been very good and with BCA ranked as number one in India, there has been a great demand for our final year students with CTC going as high as twelve lakhs.

Under the “Corporate Connect” sessions students were able to interact with our alumni now working with top IT companies in Bangalore. We also had a series of sessions ranging from Computer Architecture to Cloud Computing, Android Development to Big Data.  Imminent speakers like Dr. Mathew Jacob (IISC),  Mosesraj R (VP) Brillio, Samson Selwyn (Volvo IT), Sukanta Basak and Reynold Pereira (RedHat) , Raghu Venkat (Evive R&D) were able share nuggets of knowledge and inspire students to reach greater heights. One of the judges for a project exhibit remarked that when they interact with Christites, they are able to take a lot of the vibrant energy and infectious enthusiasm back to their workplace. 

January 26th, Alumni Day 2015 saw more than a hundred computer science alumni returning to their Alma Mater, reliving their college days and yearning to give back to the system.
Some of our faculties represented themselves in Board of Studies in other colleges, as Session Chairs in conferences and taking sessions for corporates. Computer Science is a subject which cuts through most of the courses in Christ University and hence our faculty have taught in different courses. Some students and faculty have also played a major role in improving the IT framework and process flows in the University.

Department organized a National Conference on “Emerging Trends in IT” on February 26th 2015. The conference brought together Industry Professionals, Academicians and Research Scholars on one platform to share the rapid advancement in the field of computer technology. The year also saw student interactions with German and Korean University for some collaborative programs. The exposure adds to the existing diversity with our own international students.  

What we as a department represent and stands for may seem to get a bit blurred in the plethora of academic endeavors and cultural activities. Sometimes the bits and bytes that differentiates us is what defines us. Who says the rainbow has only seven colors? This is where the lines get blurred and science becomes an art form.