Vote for...

FAME, like a wayward girl, will still be coy
To those who woo her with too slavish knees,
But makes surrender to some thoughtless boy,
And dotes the more upon a heart at ease;

"Two Sonnets on Fame", John Keats

IIMK Campus, especially the first year, is abuzz with the election excitement. With a number of committees coming up for elections in the next month, nominations and support requests have started to flow. The apparent and potential leaders (refer to my last post for details) are both up in arms and the stage is well and truly set. The concept of popularity or fame, as Keats calls it, is being re-defined every other day. There are announcements and then, there are some more announcements.

Fill up the industry contacts, ho!
Go for the new laptop, ho!
Here is the deal for desktop, ho!
Get the loan for which you opt, ho!

To top it all, it is not just a bi-party politics that is promised to the students of IIMK. There is the third side, the dark side (more dark for their purpose than intent), that promises to make the contest more exciting, or at least divide the vote and make it difficult for the leaders (apparent or potential). The two committees at the top of reckoning are the all-pervasive Students' Council and the glamorous PlaceCom (Placement Committee for the slow learners). Talking of these two committees, I couldn't help but overhear that traditionally, there has been quite a bit of tension between the two. I have no idea as to how our seniors have handled this supposed conflict but as someone said, "there is no smoke without fire".

Coming back to the activities, Student Council nominations are already closed and there have been 18 nominations received in total (11 from Section B and 7 from my section, Section A). Having had my fill of politics and responsibilities at college, I did not want to be a part of this madness but am nevertheless into the fray, representing the dark :-) side. I have not communicated my intent to the entire batch a la the other nominees who have followed a mail to SCon by another to the batch asking for support. Even if I do campaign(!!!), it is going to be a bit more subtle (remember the dark horse funda???). A firm believer in the philosophy behind the first four lines of this post, I am going to play it smooth, if at all I do not change my mind and decide not to play at all...lets see...Ravi had asked me, almost cajoled me into filing this nomination but I don't really know if I am up to it.

In the meanwhile, having thrown myself headlong into the various interest groups, I have a lot on my hands nowadays.

For Konsult, the consulting interest group, I am going to present the strategy Infosys adopted to counter its dipping employee satisfaction. This might take place tomorrow.

Also for Konsult, I am a part of a team of five that is working on a launch strategy for Haier, a refrigerator manufactureer from China, into the Indian market. This might be shifted to next Wednesday.

For Omega, I am a part of a team of two that is working on a book review of 'Straight from the gut' by Jack Welch. This might happen next Thursday.

For Atharva, I am planning to organize a Bollywood (Hindi movie industry) Quiz. This might happen next Friday.

For Mpower, I am planning to make a presentation on the increasing brand advertising through Hindi movies. This might happen on a Monday two weeks from now.

For PlaceCom (not an interest group but a full fledged well-fought-for committee), I am working on the Summer and Final Placement Brochures. I am not too sure of my role in this and don't really know what is happening. I should be meeting Richard, the senior who is co-ordinating this activity.