Student's Blogs
Maggi in a kettle"
The first
time I entered a hostel was when I joined my post-grad program at XIME Kochi.
It was an entirely different experience because there were no parents and I was
having fun 24/7 with my friends. Oh, what fun!
However,
a particular thing that really pissed me off was no midnight cooking (sobs), so
I could not satisfy my midnight cravings. Yet, desperate times call for
desperate measures, one of which is the famous kettle maggie.
No rocket
science involved here, just a lot of burnt fingers and wandering around the
hostel knocking at each and every door looking for a packet of spicy masala.
Water is poured in, boiled, and all kinds of spices are added, followed by the
noodle tastemaker and noodles. The tricky part is to keep your fingers away
from the scalding steam without burning yourself. If you leave it closed, you
might burn your dish, if you don’t, your dish might not cook properly, so,
between all this tension, you need to keep stirring and make sure your finger
doesn’t get scorched under the steam. What a hassle.
It is,
therefore, necessary to be careful, stir, switch off, switch on, and repeat. It
is a long and laborious process, the entire tagline of ‘just 2 minutes noodles’
turned into a 30-minute task. Although the whole effort is worth it because the
drool-inducing aroma wafts through the hostel air.
Hence,
this is a story of the famous kettle maggi, which is mostly made in the morning
during exams when it’s hard to keep our eyes open and minds alert, so this
spicy little dish helps wake us up. Our only problem is cleaning up, but we
manage to do it
It will
be very difficult to leave the hostel without missing the late night talks, the
running away from the warden in the stairwells, the blasting of music and the
famous kettle maggie.
Do you have
any such recipes that you keep close to your heart? Feel free to share them in
the comments and get in touch with me. You never know, you might just save my
midnight cravings in hostels.
This
concludes today’s post, I hope to keep writing and keep entertaining you with
more snippets from my life! Thank you and Lots of love!!
______________________________
Diya S Chandran (2021-23)
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LOCATION ....
Does location matter while choosing an MBA or
PGDM college! To most of you the answer would be NO or MAYBE but for me it was
a YES. Choosing college is tough but for an average student it is much more
tougher. I am not a person who likes to travel a lot but when it came to
choosing my college for PGDM I decided to choose the furthest institution from
my hometown and joined XAVIER INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
(KOCHI). I have spent almost a year and I still remember when I entered the
college for the first time, I noticed that the campus was not very big but it
was fully equipped with all amenities. Days were going good, with a mix of both
fun and pressure. One fine day in a casual career discussion with my friends I
came to know that PGDM colleges are not chosen on the basis of location but on
the basis of ROI (return on investment).
The question that kept striking my mind was
whether I had made the right decision! I remained worried for a few months,
running from one senior to another senior for review of college, faculty and
the most importantly ROI. Finally all my questions were answered once I
witnessed the first placement drive of my seniors. So far, by January itself,
more than 80% of them have been placed with an average package of 8.06
lakh. It did give me a sigh of relief. Thus my decision of choosing a college
with respect to location did not prove to be a blunder!
"Not all who wander are lost"
Dheeraj Patel (2021-23)
______________________________
My Life Decisions........Roller coaster
My life decisions are really a roller coaster ride. I was interested in medicine but I selected mechanical engineering so I could get a job easier. Later I realised that engineers are good at everything other than engineering. Eventually I was not happy with what I was actually doing - machines, grease, designing, coding etc. were not my cup of tea.Lotheti Siva
Jaswitha (2021-23)
______________________________
LIVE PROJECT WITH KSUM
After joining XIME Kochi, when I walked through the beautiful office of
Kerala Start Up Mission during my second term as part of the Industry Connect
programme, I never expected to receive a chance to work with them as part of my
live project. I have only been working on my live project for a few months, but
I’ve already learned a lot. Being an entrepreneur has always been a goal of
mine, and now I can see people from all across Kerala coming up with creative
ideas and pitching them. It’s been a great experience connecting with and
keeping in touch with aspiring entrepreneurs. The first task I was given was to
contact the applicants and explain them about the Idea grant, which requires
them to pitch their ideas to an expert panel for evaluation. Later on, I had
the opportunity to serve on other panels, scheduling meetings with candidates
and listening to their product grant pitches. The ideas and experiences of the
people I connected with were incredible and I was able to acquire information on
a variety of fields that I had hardly been aware of earlier. A student like me
needs to have high growth as I shape my career and expect my progress to go in
the most productive path possible. I believe KSUM helps me with the same. However,
it was a great pleasure to work with KSUM and be a part of such a vibrant team,
and I look forward to working on more projects with them for the rest of my
internship.
LEKSHMI VIJAYAN
(2021-23)
______________________________
My SUPA Experience
I have always been fascinated with the kind of work NGOs do for people in need. I have always had this desire to somehow get involved in NGO work so that I can also contribute something to people in need. But I did not know how to get in touch with an NGO and never had an opportunity to work with one. Thanks to my college XIME Kochi, I got the opportunity to work closely with an NGO. The NGO I am working with handles various projects such as tree plantation project, daily feed project, Educational Scholarship Programs and building and handling old-age homes. They also arrange blood on regular basis for government and private hospitals. I learned a lot in the two weeks I spent with them, they are available for people 24*7. They are always ready to help people in need. Recently they have taken the responsibility for a HIV Aids positive child by providing all the financial aid required for medical treatment and for nutrition. This week there were two “FEED” projects. One thing that I like about this project is that when they serve the food, they give importance to children and teenagers first, they always take care that those children and teenagers are getting enough food. So, I really like their approach. Basically, working with NGO gave me a new perspective of life. There are lots of people who are underprivileged, and we privileged people are always complaining about our lives. I feel grateful for the opportunities I have in life. It makes me appreciate my life. I feel lucky to have got the opportunity to help these people as much as I can.
Monalisa Chowdhary (2021-23)
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Why I love my hostel life in XIME Kochi
Life in hostels during college days is a totally different phase of life.
Each day is a new experience. Now let me tell you what made me fall in love
with XIME hostel….
Lifelong connections: Amenities are not my concern. What I care most
about are connections and friends. I found a lot of amazing people who never
let me feel homesick.
Opportunities: I explored new places and met new people. I got to
explore new things which I would have missed staying in my hometown, Andhra
Pradesh.
Time management: Whether you excel at any other thing or not, managing time
is a necessity. From the gossip sessions to studying, you learn to manage time to
be part of every activity.
Independence and freedom: Independence is something that most of us
barely get at home. In a hostel, you are accountable for everything from getting
up in the morning, to having meals, to washing clothes and what not. My hostel
life made be more responsible and independent in life.
Experience and Exposure: When you go out of your home to live in a hostel you really take in a great deal of nothings, in particular, making new friends, adjusting to a whole new environment, doing things on your own, taking initiatives and living with freedom. Experience comes with time, from the issues, distress, frustration and heartbreaks. This life brings out the real you and gives extremely valuable memories for life mostly priceless.
According to me “XIME hostel life is a place you can celebrate life..”
Hemanth Arjun Reddy (2021-23)
______________________________
A Kick-Start to my leadership Journey
After attending the physical
classes, we were able to grasp the concepts taught, in a much easier way than
online classes. That brought us to the end of a term with great memories and
fun. The second trimester started in the month of November and I was super
excited to meet new teachers and classmates. The term gave a chance to learn a
lot of new skills, not just from academic point of view but also in terms of
developing my interpersonal skills as well. This term was much awaited by the
students as it included Winter Internship Programme at Europe. But it was very
unfortunate to miss this Audencia Internship programme due the uncertainty of
COVID. Amidst this, a happy news was that I got an internship opportunity in
Kerala Start-up Mission, where I was able to polish my HR skills. The
internship was in the area of recruitment in a start-up wherein I was able to
explore and learn new techniques to gather talent pool and choose the appropriate
candidate for the required position. Thus, the second term also ended on a
pleasant note.
College is a place that lets
students dive deep into the ocean of new beginnings and possibilities. The
tagline of XIME suggests “Shaping future leaders”, which is one thing I am
eagerly waiting to experience and I am also considering this as the most
interesting phase of my life that will give me an opportunity to explore and
learn simultaneously, ultimately turning me into a leader.
Merin Sara Abraham (2021-23)
______________________________
My Experience in SUPA
My life has changed a lot lately after taking admission in one of the prestigious institutions, XIME Kochi for PGDM. XIME follows a rigorous curriculum and effective pedagogy calibrated by our beloved Founder Prof. J. Philip, who is also the former Dean and Director of XLRI and IIM Bangalore respectively. I just completed my 2nd trimester when our batch coordinator Prof. Sony Varghese held a meeting to convey some special projects and reports, which will commence with the 3rd trimester.
The journey started with the
announcement of our social project SUPA (Socially useful productive activities).
SUPA is a two-credit course that runs for three weeks over the winter vacation.
The goal of this course is to raise student awareness and comprehension of non-governmental
organizations that are working towards the social issues and developments. So,
all the students have to search as well as provide their services for the
NGO.
I found an NGO in my nearby city
named Gurudev Samaj Kalyan Samiti. I met my mentor Mr. Saurabh who told me how
the NGO works, and what all initiatives they do for the society. The NGO was
running a water testing drive in the nearby villages to educate the farmers and
school kids. Unfortunately, the testing came to halt due to unprecedented
lockdown in our state.
Next day I visited the school run
by NGO where I met all the teachers who were taking the online classes and the
Principal seemed very curious to know about
my college. I told them about
PGDM and student life in XIME Kochi and that SUPA is an important part of our
curriculum.
Next day my mentor gave me some
files regarding their recent projects and asked me to read and make a report of
them. While reading the files I came to know what the NGO actually has been
doing from previous months. They were running various projects regarding rural
hygiene and sanitation in different villages near the city. They were testing
the quality of water and presence of iodine in salt of different government
primary schools which is used in cooking mid-day meals.
I measure the progress of the
society by the progress of the women in a society - B.R. Ambedkar This
institution on a regular basis campaign for equal remuneration for females
working in informal sector especially in construction sites to reduce gender
wage gap as per the equal remuneration act 1976. They are also increasing
awareness about Self-help groups. To improve the conditions of women in rural
households, economic freedom is necessary for which Self-help groups (SHG) are
playing pivotal role.
Poverty is the worst form of
crime - Mahatma Gandhi. This institute constantly strives to educate and disseminate
the knowledge among the poorest section of the society. To fulfil the visions
of our founding fathers of the nation only education can resolve the problem of
population and can turn it into human resource with proper skill development
and training. Which is what this institution firmly believes and does by
imparting knowledge related to small scale industries such as manufacturing of
goods at local level.
Pushpendra Singh Raghuvanshi (2021-23)
______________________________
Live project experience with V-GUARD
On 21st September 2021 I received a mail which gave me immense joy and excitement communicating that myself and my friend Diya got selected for an opportunity to do live project with V-GUARD which I came to know about it after giving interview for the same few hours back. I was on cloud 9 as I was least expecting to get selected for the same. Being a HR aspirant and fresher in the field I was quite bewildered and uncertain if I would be able to understand the sessions and be of any use to the company as well. All my impediments and inhibitions were wrong as the process went with ease and not as I had imagined in my head. Joining as an intern with V-GUARD was my first live project experience though previously I had done few other internships, this was one of a kind and its lot more than I thought it would be and in the best possible way. So far, I was able to glance and absorb on various skills relating to sourcing appropriate candidates for the specific requisition on a given job portal and got an idea on managing a hotel project for the employees. I have been working with very talented HR team at V-GUARD and couldn’t be more than happy as they mentored and guided me through each and every step of my intern life, which they helped to nurture and mould me from the very grass root level. This live project gave me more of real-world experience and how a corporate works, as for my expectation for the rest of the internship, I am as happy as a clam to be learning more every day.
Maria Raphael (2021-23)
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Best restaurants near XIME Kochi to satisfy your taste buds.
NOTE: There’s no relative ranking with names and numbers.
1. Arippa: Arippa is a perfect place for having delicious food in a
beautiful ambience. You should bear with the rush and waiting a bit which is completely
worth. The Tamil Nadu style Rvathur Biriyani is a must try for biriyani lovers.
Kerala dishes like the Neymeen Molly cooked in Coconut based gravy, The flavory
Beef Kurumulagu with Appam, and especially the Arippa Beef fry will make you
visit this place again and again.
Location - Koduvathara Road, Palarivattom, Ernakulam
2. Dakshin: Dakshin is a saviour for all the people like me from the
Telugu states, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It helps us feel less homesick for
our native style biriyani’s and Andhra cuisines. Dakshin will be the best
option among few in hand to experience the spicy Hyderabadi style biriyani with
full of masala unlike the commonly available Malabar and Thalassery style
biriyanis in Kochi. Dakshin Special biriyani and Lollipop biriyani are my personal
favourites.
Location - Ground Floor, Asset 1 pulse, Thengode – Edachira Road,
Infopark P O
3. Ifthar – Edapally: Malabar style cuisine is unique in it’s own way
that belongs to the some regions in Kerala. If you want to try some authentic
Malabar style cuisine, Ifthar can be in the top one’s to opt for. It’s one of
the oldest and famous restaurants in Edapally. Mutton Biriyani top’s in their
menu for me followed by their special chicken kabsa and the fish mango curry is
a must try. Be specific with the location when you are ordering online there
are multiple spots with the same name.
Location – KK Building old NH47, OPP Pittappillil, Toll Jn, Edapally
4. AL – SAJ Kitchen: For people who likes trying new kinds of meat,
AL-SAJ can be a heavenly place. With wide range of items starting from
traditional dishes to Octopus, Oysters and lots of Arabian foods too. With a
beautiful riverside view and both indoor and outdoor spaces, it’s a place to be
experienced with your family and friends They also have boat dining available
for limited people. Evenings will be perfect time to visit for breezy vibe and some
live music.
Location – Mahilayalam Junction, Minerva Gardens, Aluva
5. Sree Aryas: Sree Aryas is a pure vegetarian south Indian hotel also
with some north Indian dishes, well known for its breakfasts like Dosa,
Uthappam, Vada and many. I’m personally a fan of their various kinds of Dosa
like Ghee roast, Podi Dosa, Onion roast and more. This one can be your choice
if you want a skip heavy meals items like biriyani etc, and to have a quick
bite delicious food.
Location – Mik Building, NH-47, North Kalamaserry
6. Chakkarapanthal: It is a nice space with outdoor seating and little
retro kind ambience, offering regional food. A perfect place to try if you want
to take a break from fancy restaurants and cafes and have some refreshment in a
rustic atmosphere. For a group of friends to sit and and some delightful time
having different and special foods. You can try the Kerala style rice meal
“Chatti Choru” served with seafood and meat in earthen pot. Also various kind
of fruit squashes available there are pure bliss.
Location – Kuzhikkattumoola Muriyankara road, Kakkanad, Kochi
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