Comming back to the place itself, I had a good impression on Day 1 of my stay. It seemed to be a cleaner place than most of the rural areas I have visited (Gujarat, U.P, Punjab, etc.). Then eventually, I learnt more and here it is. Gobi is nothing more than a straight road…. hahaha…. believe me… our hotel-Vasu Palace, our office-Samruddhi, market comprising of small shops, bus stop, banks, etc. are all on a single straight road. This kept me bothering till late and then one evening I was supposed to visit few villages and shops. Will move a little away from this road at last, I thought. Hard Luck but, again our journey was only along the same straight road with a little diversion to enter the villages. Good for me though as am bad with roads and direction, so no more fumbles now.

Now time for what used to be major motivation all through my life-Food. As goes for the road, its the same for the food. I have tried 5-6 odd places. The thali or meals as they say, tastes the same where ever you go. oooohh…… sick nd tired of the flavour we decided to visit few bakery shops. Surprisingly, the cakes and the puffs whatever you eat and from which ever shop you buy, would taste the same Vasu Palace, our dinning hub…… you have south indian, north indian, chinese (well, they are proud to have it as part of their menu)…. every thing would taste the same

Now, am no good with Tamil. So whatever people say… it sounds alpha gamma beta to me. The people at office are more often than not on tours, interactions….. whats that??

Never thought how bland life can be. But Thanks to the telecom revolution- our phones work here. Talking to friends, family, near and dear ones is the only flavour that I can savour right now and hope to continue till I escape….

Let’s start with my story…I was not actually sure where and what kind of project I would like to do. Then, IFMR interview happened. All went good and I was through. Was excited… really was. At the same time I was free of that speculating game. Blessed I was I thought.Well, with that started my preparations. Chennai was supposed to be a new place for me. I was coming here all alone. Bit nervous… ya agreed I was.

14th of April was the D- day. Started with packing… lots of things intervened… finally boarded the train early morning. Could not sleep the previous night so slept as soon as I settled in the train. Newspaper, coffee, bla bla… but nothing did bother me. I slept slept and slept. Then around 2 I got up… a little later I asked the boy for lunch… Madam no lunch… time over was his reply. Ooohhhh…. Damn hungry I was… did not had breakfast as well. I rushed down at

Nagpur and got myself two alloo wada and two daal wada. I was so hungry that I did not realize how the first alloo wada tasted, just gulped it. Then the second one… man it was good!!!

Now I made sure that I ordered for dinner this time. But yuks… it was bad!!! Anyways had it and off to sleep again. I reached here the very next day. And then began my tryst with Chennai

With increasing levels of awareness, growing interest in heritage and culture and improved accessibility, and environmental consciousness, a new style of tourism of visiting village settings, to experience and live a relaxed and healthy lifestyle has emerged. This concept has taken the shape of Rural Tourism.

Rural Tourismis any form of tourism that showcases the rural life, art, culture and heritage at rural locations, thereby benefiting the local community economically and socially, as well as enabling interaction between the tourists and the local community for a more enriching tourism experience.

Rural India has much to offer to the world. Every rural community is full of folklore and indigenous craft. It has diversity of culture, tradition, language, food, festivals, history, literature, art, handicraft, nature and heritage etc. Those who have a craze about traditional ways of life, arts and crafts are attracted to visit rural India. Already thousands of foreign tourists visit rural areas in Rajasthan, Gujarat and south India every year. Thus, there is a huge potential for Rural Tourism.

Rural Tourism can work wonders as far as development of rural India is concerned. It will help in capacity building of village groups. It can be used as one of the major source for generating employment and promoting sustainable livelihoods. It will also add to the foreign exchange.

For the success of this concept involvement of NGOs, local communities and artisans, strong community-private and public sector partnerships is essential. The government should develop necessary infrastructure for facilitating rural tourism. Not only this, people should be trained in different aspects of hospitability, lodging and cuisine with a view to provide services of global standards with local appeal.

“Aathiti Devo Bhava” is inculcated in us or rather inherent in us. So let the world come and experience it… The traditional way of life will greatly enrich the visitor’s experience for sure!!!

http://india.gov.in/citizen/rural_tourismpolicy.pdf

http://www.exploreruralindia.org/

This time round I tried to be empathetic to one of the elite IIFMites… I whole-heartedly wished for the success of this person. I thought I was investing my time when I chatted for hours all together being an agony aunt of sorts, listening to all the confessions but then this was the reply I got-

“thank youuuuuuuu

from the deepest core of my burning nausiating stomach and from the darkest abyss of my noxious pale black heart

forever in debt of u r priceless advices and wishess

Well may be I could get it or may be not but yes I was zapped…

Few days have passed and another of the so-called elite IIFMite has again sent me the same words (barring few unintentional spelling mistakes)-

“dear——–”est”" neha,  thank u from deepest core of my burning nausiting stomach and the darkest abyss of my noxcious pale black heart that you have opened my eyes. forever indebt of ur priceless advices. “

 Am I still zapped or I pity people or I feel sorry for myself…

Still unable to comprehend…May God give me all the wisdom to do so!!!

Then we all grew up and life gave us tough competition.  We all were on some mission… struggle and rigour was all life had to offer. But then, the golden rule is survival of the fittest. One who has the strength to carry on can get the wings, to fly all over the world. Sky is the limit.

But that’s not the end because the horizon keeps stretching itself. Sometimes you feel you almost made it but then you realize it’s the other way round.

Years keep on passing and when your hands begin to tremble and eyes begin to dim you find yourself on a riverbank. You need someone to row your boat. You still have horizon as your destination but this time it does not extend. You reach the bank of eternal bliss. You are there where peace is… some say it is heaven!!

As of now there have been two terms each having two set of exams. In a span of say 8 months it was the 5th exam that we gave. huh… would be anybodies reaction.

But then its really not my reaction… coz it is the only time in IIFM that I manage to sleep for 10-12 hrs on a strech. Strange know but yes thats the way it is…. no assignments, no quizes, no classes, no worries at all.

Fresh mornings that you can cherish all your life, going to the mess with handouts in hand, gigling the way out as others feel tensed, and then the crucial golden hour before the exam…

Thats when things get on your nerves… mercury soaring up and then you realise life is so tough!!!

As paper comes in you release every thing. After an hour you are in canteen chai pe chai… preparing for another war… another exam… history repeats itself.

But then 5 ‘O’ Clock, best evenings of your life when you go for a walk with a friend to talk, ample time to hear birds chirp, to see the sun set…

I bet…

these are the best days in IIFM

I pondered a lot then I thought is it monetary gain or all that is vain. What if one has all the wealth but no good health… What if one is on cloud nine but relationships are not fine… What if lady luck is being kind but there is no peace of mind…

 Then I thought it would be better to have just a little bread and a thread… the bread helps u survive and the thread ties you with others- your kind, the loved ones… Gives you support!!!

But is that all??? You… you and all that’s near to you… Is it the only purpose that one has in his life??? Are we confining ourselves to ourselves only??? Should not we look beyond that??? The world asks for bounty… We can at least try …

Kalpataru is a week long fest that we have in IIFM. Its organised by the students for themselves, Faculties, Staff and the families.

This time round we have many events ranging from sports, cultural, literary and  adventure.

Baddy, volley, cricket… we play it all. The enthusiasm levels have reached an all time high as our events keep streching late till night. The thermometer keeps soaring as is the competition between two teams…. but survival is for the fittest…. more than that its your luck as you may or may not shine on the D-day

The literary club is on a hunt for a literary czar… The journey have several formal and informal hurdles. JAM, Extempore, Debate, Word fun game, Treasure Hunt…. are the formal ones and the informal ones include crossword, case study analysis and so on….

The most colourful is the cultural club where you fill colours to be on top…. as they offer poster making, collage making, best pic and bollywood events. But thats not all coz there list of formal events have not yet started. It includes Dumb Charades, all time favourite antaakshri, ADMAD, and the masti game.. Two 2 Tango..

Adventure club would make its presence felt by making the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE.

Most novel would be the Nature club who will try and bring smile on children’s face with there events for children.

Then is the Grand Finale on the 17th.

Lods of fun and masti to come !!

More often than not we have no good reason but this time it was diffrent. We had 35 odd, good reasons to cheer for….

Surprised!! Well do not be coz when its placement week at IIFM, Celebrations ought to be there

A whopping average package of 6.7 Lacs is like a dream come true. Though the fire is still there as are the debates regarding placement being synonynous with the Mandate, but still that was no hindrance…. and we were ready to have a gala time…

The venue was “THE RESIDENCY”, the day was 11.02.07…….

 The music was hot, food was awesome, great hospitality….

Really it was fun to be a part of…

Thank you seniors

And all the best for your future endeavours !!