BITS, BYTES N BAKAR

Where bakar prevails

Volume 18, 22nd January 2014

KAHANI AB TAK
Aaaaand 2105 is here! Oops, sorry! I meant 2015 is
here. (New Year L Square hangover is still on! :P).
January has brought in two types of chills with it:
The lets-snuggle-under-the-blanket chill and the
Its-Term6!-Lets-chillllllll,
the
latter being
endorsed by PPO holders and the PGP2s who got
placed left, right and centre in the laterals with
enviable offers. Those standing at the periphery
+`
and watching are the freshers, who constitute the
Bottom Of the Pyramid the last 25%-30% of the
batch to get placed and have to bite their nails
anxiously till the middle of February. (Yes! This
piece has been penned by the sadist Secretary of
Expressions who is a fresher herself!)
IIM Bs sports contingent experienced a third type
of chill in Lucknow during Sangharsh 2015, both
literally and metaphorically. We got to see more
Parathe Waali Gali pics than winning shots. So, to
save them some grace, we have followed the
Sangharsh piece with a 2 pager Sangram write up.
After all, sab apne hi toh bande hai :D!

SANGHARSH 2015
Writing Credit: JC Kruba who was finally made to
work on something by the Secretary!
Well, as some random faceless stranger once said,
Success is walking from failure to failure without any
loss of enthusiasm. So this piece is not a legend about
how we walked into an alien land, conquered the
elitestest (Im a fan of superlative degree) inter IIM
tournament, and walked away with Hans Zimmer score
in the background. Lots of misfortunes, disappointments
and f*ck this sh*ts, but lets face it, a winning streak is
bound to be broken and it does feel goddamn boring to
be winning all the time. Now that I have disguised our
failure to look like one of those legendary war defeats,
let us take a peek into what happened in Lucknow.
Any other IIM feels like a Shawshank prison after
spending considerable time in IIMB. So, bad weather, a
A TOP
not so good accommodation
and poor organization skills
made sure that Day 1 of Sangharsh was hard even
outside the field. The first match loss in volleyball
against IIMC came as a shock to everyone as we had a
strong team. Nevertheless we fought back like heroes

PICTURE OF THE EDITION

winning the next 2. Since it was a league format, the top

2 teams qualify for finals. In a dramatic turn of events, A,
B and C were all fighting for the top 2 spots with each
team winning the same number of matches and same
number of sets. It came down to the number of points
scored in total and we lost to C and A by 1 point.
There were just 2 golds in the entire tournament Mens
badminton and Girls basketball. The gold in Mens
Badminton was kind of obvious as we were easily
stronger than any other IIMs by far. Six consecutive
golds in the past 3 years, this team really deserves a
round of applause. Splendid work by the basketball girls
team as well, in a tight final match to bag that gold. They
conquered Sangram as well as Sangharsh.
Silver in cricket, tennis, mens basketball and girls
throwball, and bronze in mens football, table tennis,
volleyball and girls table tennis did help move the points
tally up. However a no medal show in other sports made
sure that we finished at position 3, which kind of sucks
as there were only 4 teams and IIML doesnt really count
as a team. Special mention to the cricket team as it was
sheer misfortune (read as lots of run-outs) which threw
them off the gold race.
Wrapping things up, it was a good experience overall and
this trip did bond the Sangharsh team stronger than the
first week orientation program. Cigarettes and alcohol in
the final day... well blame the weather. The bus ride from
Lucknow to Delhi was fun with each and every person
trying hard to prove why he is not the mafia. Confident
after the wins and wiser after the losses, IIMB is bound
to kick some ass in the Sangram 15 and Sangharsh 16.

Edited by Expressions. To contribute, please contact expressions@iimb.ernet.in

Sangram 14: A golden weekend!

Basketball

Vibha Menon

This time last year, we had resolved to take vengeance

of the harsh sledging and the embarrassing match at K.
Considering K our biggest rival we practiced in
whatever little time we got post placements, putting
together a team amidst rains, assignments and injuries.
In the process we just didnt figure out how much of a
fight we would have to put up against T!
To begin with, we didnt want to play our match on Fri
evening as the court was wet due to the untimely rains
and hence slippery and dangerous. But there was little
we could do about it and so were compelled to play.
And so the game began! We put our strong defense on
Reeti and Jayathi, their best players based on our
experience last year. However Jayathi turned out to be
a pain for us and quite a delight for the spectators! Our
offense strategy was not working either. By the time
we figured out their strength and speed, we were down
0-7 by the end of the first quarter! Thats when thanks
to our own Kabir Khans Anurag and Tabish- we
figured out how to crack the offense. We tightened our
defense, started pressing them full court and rose from
0-7, 2-7 to finally winning at 20-17! We had to fight
every minute of the game, and we did it brilliantly!
Meanwhile our other rivals were watching us keenly,
noting down our weak points, strategizing against usplanning to fowl us out. But right from the start of the
game, it was close. There was a lot of confusion in the
beginning as to who would defend whom, but once we
settled down and identified their main players our
defense got tighter. This team again had two star
players Prakriti and Bhavna, but we were able to
break their coordination. They however were
restricting our offense, with our controller, captain
Akanksha being checked too tightly! But with the
timely help from the team, we cracked their defense
open and once our captain started getting a chance,
there was no stopping her! And thats where we did
brilliantly as a team, each person playing her role to
the tee. We guarded well, assisted brilliantly, and
applied screens when needed. And won 22-17!

Kho-Kho
-

Aswathi Sreedharan

Kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport - A simple game

that challenges both the body and the mind. Sangram
2014 posed a unique experience in that kho-kho
challenged us outside the match as well. As a team,
boys and girls felt very prepared. We had put in a lot
of effort, and practised well inspite of the cold
weather, chilly winds, and the rains that loved to spoil
our practices! Experiences from last years game at
IIM Khozhikode taught us that Trichy and Kozhikode
were quite good, and that the games would be intense.
Not to mention all the cheering and sledging that was
bound to happen.
Our first match was scheduled for the girls team
against IIM K on Friday at 3 pm. The anticipation upto
the game was both exciting and a little nervewracking. However, we were not meant to get it over
with. The rain decided play a little joke. Not losing
hope, we used sponges to clean the kho-kho ground,
only to be tricked again by another round of rain; this
time, more severe. The game was postponed- but by a
30 minute basis. This meant, we would be notified half
an hour before the game was to happen. In Rintus
words, Even if we have to play at 3 in the morning,
get your team ready! We were lucky to play that
night. And we won by an innings. For all of next day,
boys match got postponed. They finally played on
Sunday against Trichy and Kozhikode, winning both
the games by an innings.
During my stay at IIM B, kho-kho was one experience
that taught me how to really be part of team; to move
beyond myself, and become part of a single unit. The
victory was just the icing on the cake. It was the
journey that mattered for both Shubhankar and me,
one in which we went through the ups and downs of
putting a team together, and come out winning while
playing a game that we hold so close to our hearts.

Edited by Expressions. To contribute, please contact expressions@iimb.ernet.in

Cricket

Rakesh Mondal

was back on Trichy. With our most experienced

batsman Prakhar guiding him, the team moved to a
respectable total of 139 in 20 overs.
Trichy needed to score the runs off 18 overs to have a
shot at the gold medal. They sent a pinch hitter at the
top who began aggressively by hitting a boundary off
Parewa. Khetan was introduced in the 12th over and
in no time he ran through their middle order and tail
to bag a five-for. The catching was phenomenal with
Sooraj taking three difficult catches. Trichy was shot
out for 96 and we won by a more than convincing 43
runs.

It all started with IIM K Vs IIM T match soon after the

inauguration. Rain and foggy weather delayed the
match but the sky cleared up soon. IIM T collapsed
and made a dismal 117 runs on the board which was
chased convincingly by IIM K batsman. Harsh (IIM K
captain) played a gem of an innings and won the
match for K in the 19th over.
The next day, the toss went Ks way and it chose to
bowl. We had planned to bat first as well and two
overs into the match we held the upper hand with 30
runs on the board. However, a mini collapse followed
and in no time we were 80 odd for six wickets in 12
overs. Then Pankaj came to the crease who soaked up
the pressure, played out a over of their best spinner
Harsh and then took the rest of Kozhikode bowlers to
the cleaners in a knock of 38 off just 25 balls.
Meanwhile Khetan was holding the other end tight
with a sensible 25 off 30 balls. A six of the
penultimate ball by Nitesh took us past 150.
The bowlers knew they had runs on their backs when
going against the decently strong Kozhikode batting
attack. The new bowlers Parewa and Prakhar exerted
pressure and in no time the run rate required shot up
and the Kozhikode batsmen were falling like
ninepins. Once their captain Harsh, hero of the match
against Trichy, the chase was truly over. We won by a
convincing 22 runs.
On Sunday the weather was perfect, the sun god had
opened up and the pitch was a bathing beauty. IIMB
won the toss and chose to bat. Quick runs followed
without too many risks. They brought in their
spinner Rahul and he struck in his first over IIMB
captain went for a sweep to a full delivery. Just when
things were going well with Prakhar and me rotating
the strike responsibly, a bad umpiring decision, some
confused calling and a direct hit led to my run out.

The winning margins reflected the quality of IIM B

team when compared to the visitors. The regular
practice and match experience was clearly visible in
the way the team played on the ground. All in all, it
was a satisfying reward for the hard work the boys
had put in.

Chess
-

Rakesh Mondal

EPGP lounge, famous for its project workplace, was

crowded for a totally different purpose from 14-16th
November. Chess! It all started with IIM B Vs IIM T
boys chess match. Though it was a bit disheartening
losing the first set even after leading for 3/4th of the
match, it didnt affect our girls team.
Sohini and Preethi defeated the IIM K team in a matter
of time and took a huge lead. With Vijayalakshmi still
in my armor, it gave me immense confidence that
history was about to be scripted. In the next game
with K, she pinned her strong opponent down, well
before time got over. IIM B didnt give even a single
chance to eithers IIM K or IIM T to sneak through and
won Gold Medal for the first time ever in the history of
IIM B.

Surya, who had replaced Sandeep this match due to

an injury, was sent in and he very well seized the
moment. He counter attacked with two boundaries
over midwicket of their spinners and the pressure

Edited by Expressions. To contribute, please contact expressions@iimb.ernet.in

And now time for some Unmaad Publicity too! Or else, whats the use of being in
Expressions Team!!
- Vada Pao
Uncontrolled passion in its quintessential form- Unmaad
The largest B school cultural fest of the country is in the next 8 days. It draws participants from across India
and features events like dramatics, music, dance, quiz, debate, street play, professional concerts and the grand
Unmaad fashion show among many others. The event has hosted some noteworthy performances by artists,
such as Farhan Akhtar, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, KK, Kailash Kher, Lucky Ali, Strings, Jethro Tull and Indian Ocean.
The theme this year is A Comic Relief which revolves
around the underlying need that exists in all of us to break
free from the sometimes mundane, banal lives we all lead
and to live life some.
A number of exciting events and workshops are lined up at
this years Unmaad. Some of them include, Nihilanth the
unparalleled IIT-IIM quizzing fiesta of India, Haute Couture
a show to take you to the dizzying heights of fashion,
blending in your spirit and style to bring out the
supermodel in you, Footloose - the most awaited dance competition that makes you shed all inhibitions and
rock the world with your moves and grooves and many more. Unmaad 2015 is being sponsored by some
notable names in the industry including Van Heusen Power Dressing, Prestige Group, OLX, Micromax, Bru Gold,
MYRA School of Business, Max Infra Ltd and so on
Fourteen time nominee for the Film fare Award for Best Music Director, Winner of Asian Film Award for Best
Composer, Winner of RD Burman Award, the dynamic duo of the Indian Bollywood music industry -Vishal &
Shekhar are all set to perform at Unmaad this year on 31st January! The name today is synonymous with Indian
film music, and has everyone ranging from seven to seventy grooving to their peppy, upbeat tunes! The duo
have performed in more than 500 live shows/concerts over the past 7 years. One of their phenomenal tours
was the Unforgettable Tour with the Bachchans. Rohit Vasudevan Diaries will be opening the act for Vishal
Shekhar Live this year.
B-School of Rock (BSOR) one of the flagship events at Unmaad, has grown into a veritable Mecca for pro and
semi-pro bands across the country. With its vision of promoting rock music in India, BSOR in the past has been
the launch pad for several bands with nation-wide appeal today. Some of these include Chrome.O.Soul, Public
Issue, Inner Sanctum, Parvaaz, The Down Troddence, Clown With The Frown. Last years BSOR saw entries
from over top 100 bands across the country, with only a chosen few making it to the final event. The stakes are
as high as INR 1,00,000 this year! Ne Obliviscaris, a metal band from Australia is the headliner act and the
judges for this years B-School of Rock! This is the bands very first gig in India.
This edition of the mega festival will end with a live performance by the very funny and immensely popularly
comedians from the The Viral Fever Group or TVF as they are known on their YouTube channel. With close to
900,000 subscribers, they are Indias first and largest online entertainment TV network. Get ready for some rib
tickling humour with acts by Deepak Mishra, Vipul Goyal, Biswapati Sarkar and many more. What better way to
end Unmaad, than with joy and laughter all around and not to mention, the TVF Qtiyapa!
Spanning three days from 30th Jan to 1st Feb 15, with 30+ events and INR 10 Lacs up for grabs, Unmaad
provides you with a platform to flaunt your skills, an arena to gape at talent or just an excuse to come and have
loads and loads of fun. Visit www.unmaad.com or follow us on twitter @unmaadiimb to know more!

Signing off Kalpa, KG, Ra-Man, Sarkar, Vadapao,

Gill Sab, Lankesh, Subbu, Thundrebolt & Wacky Tabacky
Edited by Expressions. To contribute, please contact expressions@iimb.ernet.in