VSIT organizes Degree Certificate Distribution Not just magnitude but also the direction! event Reader Engagement Initiative …pg 2 Volume 11 R.K. Laxman – A Living Memory Issue 05 …pg 3 March 2015 Circulated free to students Spotlight on team of Vidyalankar (For private India circulation only) …pg 4 In association with VERVE 2015-A COALESCENCE t has been well-established over the years asm. The first prize was bagged by Ra- that academic progress should be well hul Tiwari from I.E.S College. Icomplemented with co-curricular activi- 4. BIZZQ A Business quiz competition, ties for an individual to develop holisti- the event saw 18 teams participating cally. Thus, it is imperative for the insti- and competing with each other in their tutes to ensure that the students are quest to become numero uno. encouraged for “out of the box” thinking, 5. PREZCON The ‘Prezcon’ was themed which helps in facilitating conceptualiz- around to mimic a press conference ing, rationalizing and strategizing. such that the panel addressing the This year, VIT’s MMS Department in press is made up participants and the collabora- role of tion with the press the Engi- is played neering by judges Depart- and audi- ment con- ence who ducted a would be Technical asking and Man- them agement ques- Festival tions on VERVE the topic 2015 A they have COALES- been giv- VIT celebrates Verve 2015 CENCE on en at the Verve, the vibrant festival of joy and vigour 11, 12 and begin- 13 February 2015, with a view to enhanc- ning of the event. The knowledge and his is a student recently On Day 2, I walked around col- tag, we went to the props for a ing the horizons for the students from all skills of the participants would be back from a Verve high! lege a bit during the day; played nice photo session. By the time perspectives. This year’s theme was to tested thoroughly in this event as they TVerve, an annual fest or- at the casino. (Needless to say, I we reached the main stage the have fusion of art, culture, literature, find themselves responsible and liable ganised by the Student Council came out broke!) But that wasn’t dance performances had already sports and brainstorming management to answering tough questions from the of VIT, is a three day affair the highlight of the day. Having started. As the dances came to an activities which was perfectly evident press. packed with cultural, literary, put my name in for geo-catching, end, I was also determined to try from each and every activity that was con- 6. Mummies Alive Mummies Alive was technical and sports events organised by ACM, I got to race and shake my leg. And why not, ducted throughout the three-day festival. all about rebranding of an old (dead) among others. An action-packed around the entire city, looking it was finally time for the main The major competitions conducted by product. Here a product was given to affair with dance, music, drama, for clues. It was exhausting, but event. It was, after all the DJ MMS during Verve 2015 were: each team and they had to prepare a and even a casino, it is bound to fun. Never have I appreciated night! The time when people of 1. Casennials – Casennials was a Case tagline, logo, short description and make you want to retrace your sugarcane juice more than the all ages, classes and departments Study Competition where participants costing of product. The contestants steps every year. The subtle maj- one outside the Oval ground. By come down together on the floor; were given a caselet and were asked to were allowed to perform a skit and do esty of the event itself is the time I returned, it was al- the only time the faculty and the make a presentation on the problems everything to rebrand their dead prod- astounding. ready time for the day’s main students compete together to and recommendations in the case. uct and make it alive. The highlight of the first day event, the Fashion Show. All the rule the floor. And I enjoyed eve- 2. Plan Setters - Plan Setter was about All the six Management events turned was Gondhal, an ode to Marathi exhaustion from the day van- ry moment of it. Not just the DJ presenting a Business Plan competi- out to be great successes. The passion and culture. Really a beauty in itself, ished in a moment at the sight of night, but every moment of tion where the participant teams were enthusiasm of students was simply worth- Gondhal is fully written, choreo- those beautiful soles walking up Verve. If I ever get a chance to supposed to present their business watching. Students successfully learnt graphed, acted and set up by the the ramp. The whole crowd en- relive these days, I would trade plan within 15 minutes. K.J Somaiya about different aspects like time manage- talented students of VIT. The joyed the event, be it the stu- anything for it. This being my team won the first prize and GNIMS ment, multi-tasking, team building, stress show is so beautifully set-up that dents, or the faculty. first Verve, I can safely say that team won the second prize. management, working cohesively in a it’s hard to hear the performance First thing on Day 3, I got my now I know what being blown 3. Mokstex A virtual stock market trad- group, etc. which will help them in their over the loud approval of claps. face painted. Other than that, I away means! ing called as mock stock where partici- transition into a effective leaders in the But before Gondhal, there also also had a bout of laser tag with pants had to invest in various stocks near future. were the final ‘class war’ perfor- one of our professors, and he to- Shubham Motiwale and maximize profit. Participants Sushmita Chahande mances of Bollywood Clash. tally shattered us. After the laser FE CMPN 1, VIT played this event with great enthusi- MMS, VIT VIT students excel at intercollegiate competitions niqueness lies in expanding be- aced in Standup Comedy, Solo Danc- till date participated in 17 intercol- Uyond the conventional. Vidy- ing, Poem Writing, RJ hunt besides legiate Sports festivals. All the teams alankar Institute of Technology has acquiring runner up positions in have performed exceedingly well in provided testimony to this, yet again. many other events. all the sports meets and have bagged A participating contingent at Mum- VIT has so far participated in a number of top honours. bai University fest EKAH -15, VIT has around 10 inter-collegiate festivals Hats off to the tremendous efforts earned laurels by winning various along with Ekah 2015. The perform- that VITians had put in these compe- awards, the most prestigious of them ing teams have come up with flying titions, given that students from a being the title for ‘The Best Contin- colors in the Fashion Show, Street technical institute harbour and nur- gent’ and ‘The Best College’. The VIT Play and Music Band competitions. ture exceptional talent in diverse contingent for Symphony 2015 (KJ VIT Fashion show team is carrying fields! Time and again VITians have Somaiya Vidyavihar) won the title of forward the legacy of victory with proved that their inclination towards Best Contingent here as well. their Greek Thematic Act. VIT Dra- technology does not necessarily In MU’s Ekah, the VIT contingent ma Team has consistently won in all mean departure from the various designated ‘The Mask’ participated the competitions that it has partici- other facets of life and they excel at in fifteen events among which they pated in till date. VIT students have multidimensional skills too. Not just magnitude but also the direction!
Tough times never last, but tough people do —Robert H. Schuller In association with March 2015 2 Industrial Visit to Delhi by VP students VSIT organizes Degree ndustrial visits have an im- portant role to play in stu- Ident life. These visits pro- vides all necessary facilities Certificate Distribution event required for the smooth and he occasion marked the first effective functioning of indus- time in the history of the Uni- trial training for all the final Tversity of Mumbai when Degree year students in reputed or- Certificate distribution was done by ganizations. In this context, the colleges affiliated to it. VSIT organ- the institute keeps regular ized its Degree Certificate Distribution contact with various indus- Ceremony on Saturday, 7 February tries through letters, tele- 2015 in two sessions. phones, e-mail and personal In the first session degree certifi- visits. Experts from industries cates were distributed to B. Sc. IT and other professional organi- and M.Sc. IT graduates of 2014. Mr. zations are invited for deliver- Arvind Ankalikar, Vice President ing lectures and seminars to and Head - Oracle & Microsoft Busi- the students to make them ness, Larsen & Toubro Infotech Lim- aware of the latest develop- ited was the Chief Guest for the first ments in the industry. Entre- session. Mr. Ankalikar spoke about preneurial awareness camps the advancement in Technology and and workshops are organized how the wave of technical progress to encourage students to be- has taken the world by storm. He was come competent entrepre- happy to acknowledge that many stu- neurs and professionals. dents from this institute had pro- address, Prof. Venkatramani spoke rum was maintained to the best pos- Vidyalankar Polytechnic always trial visit has been organised to vari- cured placements at Oracle & Larson on how the youth has the responsibil- sible extent. The vote of thanks was encourages its students to relate ous companies in Delhi which in- and Toubro. He stated that he would ity to take this country forward and delivered by Prof. Asif Rampurawala their classroom studies to the out- cludes MTNL, TERI, Parallel Dots be happy to meet them at their work about giving back to society in every coordinator of B.Sc. (IT) and Mr. side world in terms of industries and Toss and Play Ltd. The commit- place in the future. which way possible. He narrated his Ashok Seth, Dean, Administration and companies to broaden their ho- tee had interaction with these com- In the second session degree cer- life experiences and motivated stu- in both the sessions respectively. rizons. To fulfil this purpose, the panies through Purple Squirrel Ltd. tificates were distributed to Com- dents to help educate under-privi- It was a proud moment for the B. Industry Institute Interaction Com- The visit was planned for all the final merce & Management graduates of leged sections. Sc. (IT) and M.Sc. (IT), BMS, BAF, mittee arranged an Industrial visit year students of both first and sec- 2014. Prof. K. Venkataramani, Regis- The Principal of VSIT Dr. Rohini BBI, MMM, MFM and MHRDM stu- where students of Vidyalankar Poly- ond shift students of all branches. A trar - Padmashree Dr. D.Y. Patil Vid- Kelkar gave the welcome address in dents to receive their degrees at the technic are required to undergo field total of 136 students had enrolled yapeeth was the Chief Guest for the both the sessions. The occasion was hands of such eminent personalities visit under their prescribed syllabus their name for this visit from across second session. In his convocation a solemn one and dignity and deco- on their own college premises. of “Professional Practice”. Indus- all the branches. Marathi Bhasha Din arathi Bhasha Din is celebrated Mon 27 February to commemorate the birthday of the great literary per- sonality Kavi Kusumagraj and Vidy- an Din is celebrated on 28 February to inculcate a scientific temperament. Dr Rohini Kelkar, the Principal of VSIT, conceived a novel idea to cele- brate these two days together under the title ‘Vidnyan Katha Kathan in Marathi’. The event was organized by Marathi Vagmay Mandal of VSIT. The invited guests for this function were Mr. Sule who related a humor- ous story of Bio (Biology) and Geo (Geology) departments of college at war, Ms Smita Potnis who took the audience to the past life with the help of her ‘time and kept the audience spellbound till the end. It machine’ and Ms Megharshi Dalvi who chose the proved the fact that Science and Literature go hand romantic vein by relating a story of space travel by in hand. The programme was followed by an interac- a couple. tive session where many interesting queries were The Katha Kathan programme was very amusing put forth by the audience.
ed with the villagers about their problems; they also performed a street play to create awareness about de-addiction from liquor, NSS Camp cigarettes and tobacco. With the he NSS unit of VSIT along India. The volunteers followed a motive of giving something in re- with 45 volunteers and three strict schedule from 5:30 am till turn to the Smarak volunteers Tteachers, Mr. Vijay Gawde, 11:00 pm which included morning made a shoe rack and a shade to Ms. Rohini Gaikwad and Mr. Vi- exercises, 5-6 hours of rigorous add to the facilities at that place. nayak Karande went on a special field work, lectures/sessions by Overall it was a great learning seven-day long camp to “Sane Gu- eminent speakers on social topics experience for volunteers and ruji Rashtriya Smarak” at Man- like global warming, de-addiction was different from their day to gaon in Raigad district. The basic etc., traditional Indian outdoor day urban life. They enjoyed the motive of the camp was to bring games like kho-kho and personal- experience at the camp, under- students out of their comfort zones ity development activities like ex- stood their strengths and weak- and make them aware of real life tempore. The volunteers visited nesses and learnt valuable les- problems faced by people in rural houses in the village and interact- sons of humanity. Not just magnitude but also the direction!
Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. In association with —Carl Bard March 2015 3 The 2015-16 budget recipe towards transformation of the country
he Indian economy has turned retirement planning, employee new gold coin. around dramatically in the last can switch from PF to equity- Tnine months with the real GDP heavy NPS THE BIG IDEAS:- growth expected to accelerate to 7.4%, l 50,000 tax deduction for NPS in- l Small Businesses gets big help via making India the fastest growing vestment and hike in mediclaim new bank, MUDRA and a fund for economy in the world. deduction to Rs.25000; transport incubating startups. Presenting the General Budget for allowance rises to Rs.1600/month l Welfare Focus, bigger alloca- the year 2015-16, Union Finance Min- tions & better delivery. De- ister Arun Jaitley said macro-eco- CONSUMERS fence allocation of nomic stability has been restored and l Phone Bills, bank charges, air- Rs.2,46,726 conditions have been created for sus- fares, restaurants, will cost more l Big public spend - a tainable poverty elimination, job as service tax goes up. booster. Rs.70,000 Cr creation and durable double digit eco- l Service tax increased to 14%; may spend on Infrastruc- nomic growth. go up more if FM Jaitley imposes ture sector this year. 2% Swachch Bharat cess later. l Two more IIM’s, IIT Budget Highlights l Imported mobiles, mineral water/ and AIIMs drinks, cigarettes will be dearer announced. What It Means For… on higher duties. The budget for competitiveness is INVESTORS BUSINESS bold, growth-oriented and inclusive l No Capital Gains tax for mutual l Corporate tax reduces to 25%. and has taken care of almost all seg- fund investors in case of scheme l Big opportunities in infra and ments- Business, education, health, mergers. manufacturing as government senior citizens and youth. l SEBI gets power over more mar- spending rises and “Make In In- In summary, the focus of this budg- kets as commodities regulator dia” gets a tax boost. et is on presenting a stable and pre- FMC is merged with it dictable environment. There is also a l FIIs, biggest drivers of the stock ECONOMY concerted effort to improve adminis- market, to cheer the fact that they l New law on black money; strin- tration, encourage are out of the MAT. They have also gent punishment for those stash- investments and en- been permitted to invest in AIFs. ing funds globally and locally. hance quality of life l GOI-RBI team-up for a monetary through a long term TAXPAYERS policy framework agreement; tar- investment and de- l Abolition of Wealth Tax but addi- gets 6% inflation. velopment led tional 2% surcharge for the in- l Big move to lower gold imports, approach. come above Rs.1 Cr. unlock gold hoards via bonds, l Old-Age comforts. More choice for loans and Ashok Chakra minted By Pranali Shah
chant for drawing since his school continued even as he returned R.K. Laxman – A Living Memory days, he often plunged into the il- back to work after recovering from lustrations in magazines such a paralytic stroke in 2003, which doubt there is anyone who as “Punch”, “Tit-Bits”, “Strand” incapacitated his left side. In a fit- has understood and por- Welcome to society, and “Bystander” and came un- ting tribute to the “Common Man” Itrayed this hypocritical We hope you enjoy your stay, der an early influence of world who attained a cult status, a com- society better than R.K. And please feel free to be yourself, renowned British cartoonist Sir memorative postal stamp was is- Laxman through his car- As long as it’s in the right way, David Low. sued featuring it in 1988 on the toons of the Common Man. We’ll tell you that you’re worthless, Overcoming the setback of occasion of the 150th anniversary That you shouldn’t make a sound, Considered by many as one his father’s death and subse- of TOI. And then cry with the all the others, of the greatest cartoonist As you’re buried in the ground, quent rejection to Mumbai’s JJ Among the honors bestowed ever, he was an institution And you can fall in love with anyone, School of Arts, he graduated on the cartoonist are the Padma unto himself, indisputably As long as it’s who we choose, with a Bachelor of Arts from Vibhushan and the Magsaysay the uncrowned conscience And we’ll let you have your opinions, University of Mysore. He en- award for Journalism, Literature keeper of the nation. He But please shape them to our views, joyed the freedom of his college and Creative Communication conveyed the pulse of the Welcome to society, days as he illustrated brother Arts. A 16ft bronze statue of the country and unfailingly We promise that we won’t deceive, R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi stories. “Common Man” was unveiled in And one more rule now that you’re here, delivered powerful mes- His first political cartoons ap- the premises of the Symbiosis There’s no way you can leave. sages. Laxman recently peared in the journal “Swatan- Institute in 2001 in the presence passed away on 26 January tra”, revealing his zany spirit. of its creator. The statue stands 2015 at the age of 93, but his ism, empty promises, and regres- When he took up his first full as a city landmark and an eternal Common Man is immortal. sive ideologies. No one, however time job as a political cartoonist at tribute to a cartoonist who re- His cartoons were streaked with highly placed, could escape his Mumbai’s Free Press Journal, he galed a nation with his penetrat- bonhomous wit and irascible ruth- shafts of irony. And through all found himself in the company of ing insight into the political sys- lessness. Laxman’s fellow feeling those decades when Laxman drew Bal Thakeray who to worked for tem, exposing the feet of clay of for the unknown citizen, mute and his daily reactions to local, nation- the same paper for a brief period. those who run it. powerless, was endearing. But you al and international news, no boss But Laxman’s legendary spell on Laxman often said that politi- also tasted a disquieting pinch of could leash him, no political re- the Indian newspaper reader was cians may have been bad for the salt; the destitution of the masses gime could tame him. Luckily, he cast after joining the Times of In- country, but they have been very became a harsh reality. For six dec- lived at a time when dissent and dia. Laxman also created a popular good for his profession. He said, ades, people saw Laxman’s Com- satire were not muzzled as much mascot for the Asian Paints group “My common man is omnipresent. mon Man with a balding head and as they are today. named ‘Gattu.’ His simple dhoti and checked coat bulbous nose, permanently silent A creative genius, the artistic The comic strip “You said it” could be anybody’s……..He’s been and perpetually bewildered by the bent of Laxman’s mind was seen started in 1951 unleashing his silent for all these years. He simply ludicrous paradoxes of the world even before he could read, with iconic common man – a silent wit- listens.” in which he found himself. Lax- him doodling using floors, walls ness to the shenanigans of politi- - Poorvi Rai man mocked vainglory, opportun- and doors in his house. With a pen- cians. His association with TOI FE CMPN 1, VIT Not just magnitude but also the direction!
“Ever notice that people never say “It’s only a game” when they’re winning?” In association with — Ivern Ball March 2015 4
SPOTLIGHTince last month, an amazing World Cup is ONRavindra TEAM Jadeja Sharma INDIA suffered a knee going on Down Under. The young guns in All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has impressed injury. Right-arm bowl- Sthe Indian team will be vying to make his- many with his perfor- er Sharma broke into tory this year. Although they will miss the likes mances in limited-overs India’s ODI team in of Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Harb- cricket since making mid-2013 after consist- hajan and Zaheer, team India has a formidable his One-Day Interna- ent performances in bunch of batsmen, bowlers and fielders. Can tional debut in 2009 domestic cricket. The they count up and take the ‘mauka’! against Sri Lanka and Haryana bowler will has secured his place as not affect his late inclu- Shikar Dhawan a key player in the India sion to have any effect The Indian opening batsman, nicknamed ‘Gab- ODI line-up. His athleti- in his performances. bar’, is one of the most cism in the field com- feared batsmen in the pletes the package. Stuart Binny world currently. This Fondly called “Sir” and Following in the footsteps of his father, former left-handed player had “Rockstar”, he contributes with all he can. This Indian allrounder Rog- scored a century in 85 is his first ICC Cricket World Cup. er Binny, Stuart Binny balls in his test debut has proven to be useful against Australia. He Ravichandran Ashwin in the same discipline was the leading run- Ravichandran Ashwin may appear quiet and since breaking into the scorer and the Man of unassuming but this first-class scene in 2003- the Tournament of 2013 off-spinner does plenty 04. His success has ICC Champions Trophy of damage with a crick- mainly come in limited- in England, which India et ball. He causes plen- overs cricket including won. Team India will rely on his attacking batsman hopes to leaves a mark this year. ty of trouble for bats- consistent performanc- prowess to defend the World Cup. men with his off-spin es in the Indian Pre- Suresh Raina and variations; particu- mier League and in do- Rohit Sharma Raina offers the batting stability in the middle larly with his carrom mestic cricket where his medium pace bowling Rohit Sharma is a right handed batsman who overs. This left handed ball. Ashwin is also ca- has been combined with his big-hitting opens alongside Dha- southpaw is famous for pable of inflicting dam- abilities. wan. This Mumbai lad his attacking strokes age with the bat and hails from Borivali and and is a specialist in the was an opening bats- Mohammed Shami since the age of 20 was limited overs format. man before he took up off-spin. Ashwin was a Since making his one- considered as techni- Raina hails from Ghazi- member of India’s winning ICC Cricket World day international debut cally-gifted and hence a abad, UP. He is an inte- Cup 2011 squad but played second fiddle to at the start of January regular fixture in the gral part of the ODI Harbhajan Singh at the tournament. He will be 2013, fast bowler Mo- national team. Rohit is team since 2005 but eager to make his mark on the championship hammad Shami has ce- the only batsman to made his test debut 5 this time around. mented himself in the score two double centu- years later. He is also a India line-up, picking ries in ODI cricket. His part time spin bowler Axar Patel up 68 wickets in his first knock of 264 runs at who proves crucial at times. Not many people had heard of Axar Patel be- 36 outings. The bowler Kolkata will always be one of the finest. fore some excellent do- who plays for Bengal in M S Dhoni mestic performances in Ranji has some lethal Virat Kohli Mahendra Singh Dhoni is unarguably the best 2014 brought the off- pace combined with Many hail him as the next Sachin Tendulkar, captain in the world. He is the only one to win spinner to the attention swinging the white Kookabura in both ways. but Virat wants to be the T20 World Cup, ICC of national selectors. the first Kohli. He was World Cup and Champi- Patel, who was also one Umesh Yadav part of the 2011 World ons Trophy. Dhoni dou- of the key players in Umesh Yadav is a pacer from Vidharbha. He Cup winning team. bles up as a right-hand- India under-23s’ title started played cricket Easily the key player ed batsman and win in the ACC Emerg- aged 19. Before becom- for India this tourna- wicket-keeper. Many ing Teams Cup 2013 and ing a professional crick- ment, Virat will have hail him as the best fin- also the IPL, was cho- eter, Umesh Yadav un- more responsibilities isher of all time. But sen for his One-Day In- successfully applied to on his shoulder than Captain Cool always ternational debut against Bangladesh in June join the army and the ever. The Indian test sticks to his ground. Re- 2014. police force. He seems captain has showed cently, MSD was blessed to have a great attitude glimpses of the poten- with a baby girl in Feb- Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and most importantly, tial he has in the group stages. Virat needs to ruary. Dhoni will look to show his Midas touch Bhuvi is one of the opening bowlers for India. he’s a wicket-taking be at his best if India wants to have high hopes again. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowler. He’s got that this year. can cause plenty of raw talent, good pace Ambati Rayudu headaches for batsmen and can generate good bounce. He’s got a lot Ajinkya Rahane A talented batsman, Rayudu has performed with his ability to swing going for him at the moment. These abilities Ajinkya Rahane, another Mumbai boy brings solidly in his ODI appearances to date, securing the ball prodigiously shall supplement him in Australia and New much needed cool head- an average of 45.66 at both ways at pace. He Zealand. edness in the dressing the end of 2014. Having first made himself Suman Pandit room. The boy from earned a reputation as known playing for Uttar SE ETRX 1, VIT Dombivali got into the someone with the abili- Pradesh in domestic national squad due to ty to finish off games cricket when good form consistent performanc- from crunch situations, thrust him into the es in the domestic cir- Rayudu scored his sights of the India se- cuit with an impressive maiden ODI ton in No- lectors. He is also a handy batter in India’s average of 62.04. Ra- vember 2014 against Sri lower order. It is still early days for the bowler hane made his Test de- Lanka when he whose best is likely yet to come. but in the 2013 Border– smashed an unbeaten Gavaskar Trophy 121 from 118 balls. Mohit Sharma against the Aussies and impressed one and all. Though not featuring in the playing XI, he Mohit Sharma was a late inclusion in India’s Now, a regular, the right handed middle order should make a point given an opportunity. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 squad after Ishant
DID YOU KNOW? India’s Sachin Tendulkar is the leading run scorer with 2,278 runs in World Cup 45 matches and has scored the most centuries (six). He also holds the record for most runs in one tournament, 673 from 11 matches in 2003.