Getting warmer...the continuation..

The trip to Puri was followed by a visit to the historic site of the Khandagiri caves and the Nandankanan National Park. The day kick started with an over excited bunch of young students...eager to set out and explore the rest of the city. The blazing sun could not lessen the enthusiasm of the students as they set forth for the adventure. On reaching the Khandagiri Caves...we were stormed by hawkers selling peanuts for the troop of monkeys that we were to encounter inside. After a refreshing drink of "nariyal paani" we entered the gates of the caves. The sight inside was mind boggling. The architecture of the place was a feast to the eyes. Something worth all the energy the increasing heat was draining out of us. As we trekked along the short path..among laughter and jokes from the guys and a photo session in between, many of us were exhausted. The faculty accompanying us were engrossed in narrating incidents from past experiences. The entire place was filled with a serenity that left us speechless.
We then headed on to the Nandankanan National Park, though honestly we were a bit less enthusiastic than before. The bus ride to the place was dull as most of us had unintentionally taken a short nap.
Once we reached, the park seemed quite appealing. It had a lot of natural beauty to offer, with its wide range of fauna. As soon as we entered, we noticed animals like deer, zebras and the likes. The terrific add-on to the thrill was when we were informed that there was a jungle safari in store for us...to look out for the greatest beasts of the jungle, the tiger and the lion...the only difference being that we were hunting for the white tiger..a rare species.
The guide did promise us that he would provide us with a splendid view of the beasts. True to his word, it was not even ten minutes into the safari when we spotted the gigantic white tiger, prowling freely in the open forest, hoping to get himself a drink of water. Commotion spread out in the bus as we were struggling to get glimpses and perfect shots of the tiger. I remember someone even commented "oh!!what a handsome tiger", truly, in my opinion no one had seen such a beautiful sight in their life.
With the impression of the tiger (and mind you...thats still imprinted on my mind...even as I type..I can feel the goosebumps..) still in our heads we went on to hunt for the "king of the jungle". Again, with our good luck, it did not take us long to spot the pair of lions eyeing us from behind a shrub. The amazement blew over all of us...adding on all the fun was the continuous chatter of the Guide who proved to be very informative.
Once out of the safari..we went on for a packed lunch and then continued to examine the rest of the place where we saw orangutans...caged lions..tigers...gorillas...monkeys..and a stream of a lot of other rare and common animals and birds. The interesting fact was that all the animals had been assigned names and birthdays. Names given were mostly Indian ( one tigress was named Rakhi Sawant as well...and she was a bombshell, i tell you..). A great effort was put in by the officials to make them as comfortable as they would be in their natural habitats. We left the park with little energy but a great experience.
We were also taken to visit the malls of the city...for which very less time was given..as we were told that these places could be visited every week..
To sum up..the entire day was a great one..with the memories of it still fresh in our minds.
We returned to the campus...exhausted and yet excited.

Getting Warmer

The Orientation had been successfully over and all the students of the institute were familiar with the names of each other.... More to a few than the others. Before the commencement of the programmes, there was a psychological gap between the students and the faculty; and among the students which needed to be reduced. So here we were, for the trip we were all waiting for... A trip to Puri, Konark and the Bhubaneswar city; and looking back at the events I must admit that it was the phase which brought us all closer.
The first and the foremost priority was to explore Bhubaneswar, the city of temples as the natives call it. There were some remarkable events which are carved in our memories through this trip. The traditional art and culture of the city were the centre of attraction for everybody. A noticeable thing among it all was the cleanliness of the city. People here are so much concerned about keeping their city clean. It might not be exposed to the western culture like the metros, but it maintains its own identity. We came to know about the handloom industries here which contributes greatly to the fabulous textiles and apparel industries. We also moved on to see one of the finest B-schools in India- XIMB. It was good to see the bonding which was formed between the students during all this.
By now, everybody started to know each other well enough to laugh freely and play some charades in the bus. The journey between the destinations were proving out be the best part of the whole trip. The Antaksharis, Dumb-charades, and the dares were the only things we could have done to make this journey more exciting, and most of us will remember it for a very long time to come. It was taking quite some time for the next stop. Nevertheless, we reached Konark just at the right time to have a look at the most amazing structure ever made in this part of the world- The Sun temple. It was awe-inspiring to see a rock cut temple which was carved out magnificently to portray the art and some interesting scientific facts on what was the Chariot of Lord Surya itself. A building made centuries ago and still standing tall with some dedicated work which went into it. For me personally, the carving in the rock were something like I could have never imagined. In short, It is among the most Awesome things I've ever witnessed. All hail Lord Surya!!!
The next stop was Puri, and trust me all the students were eagerly waiting to feel the refreshing sea waters at the Puri beach. We reached there just at the hour of the sunset to see the beautiful sun setting amidst the sea. We all entered the famous Jagannath Puri temple which was as magnificent as the Sun temple of Konark. It was really crowded. We could have just imagined what it would have been like the 'Rath-Yatras'. The environment inside the temple was totally different. We all felt like we were in the court of Lord. Simply devotional. The facts which we came to know about the temple were even more interesting. The only thing all of us could have done was to feel the ambiance of that place. Jai Ho!!
We couldn't have waited any longer to take a plunge in the salty waters of Puri. All the students, especially the MFM boys rode the waves as if there was no tomorrow. To some of them it was the very first experience of the sea. And it will be memorable since it was the place where all the NIFTians had loads of fun. The splashing of the salty waters, which threw us all away is still missed by most of us. We hope to get some time to visit the beach again.
Finally, when we returned to the bus, we were all exhausted but had that smile on our faces which we wanted to have since the time we got here. We made our friends, we were all wet and silent while returning because we knew, that the next day wouldn't be the the same. At last, we were all warm!! :))

Introduction

Who says Perfection has a Limit?

The most apt title that could have been used to describe the newly formed NIFT at the city of temples, Bhubaneswar. It needs no more introduction. Potential speaks for itself. This paradise might be in queue to get a permanent location, but it already has its most important assets- The 61 Gems of the foundation batch.
The inauguration of the National Institute of Fashion technology in Bhubaneswar was a remarkable event as we know it. July 26th, 2010 has witnessed a historic event in the field of fashion, not only in India but worldwide. A pool of talented youngsters were blessed with the opportunity to be a part of this prestigious institute. It might be a newly established centre, but in no ways it compromises with the quality of the students. Some of the brightest minds in the field of fashion have just started to breed here.
Under the supervision of Mr. B.B. Jena, Mr. Sandeep Kidley, Mr. Santosh Tarai, and Mr. Siddartha Patnaik, the young guns of NIFT Bhubaneswar are grooming to be the Fashion leaders of tomorrow.
The Lucky ones who were able to be a part of this institute are:

M.F.M. :

1.  Akansha 
2.  Amit Chaudhary
3.  Anshul Saini
4.  Anshu Verma
5.  Anamika
6.  Arun Kumar
7.  Ashish Gherawada
8.  Ekta Shah
9.  Gireesh Bhat
10.  Kalpana
11.  Kiran Jha
12.  Komal Medha
13.  Kumari Priyanka
14.  Kumari Shilpi
15.  Manindra Sinha
16.  Monika Choudhary
17.  Naveen Heera
18.  Neeraj Kumar
19.  Niti
20.  Pallavi Khandelwal
21.  Pragya Jain
22.  Pulakesh Saha
23.  Richa Shah
24.  Shalvi Govil
25.  Shreyansh Shrey
26.  Shubhangi Agarwal
27.  Suramya Sood
28.  Swayam Prabha
29.  Tarun Bora
30.  Tarunendra Pratap Singh
31.  S. Vijay Kumar

T.D. :

1. Akansha Sarkar
2. Amprapali Chatterjee
3. Anjali Sinha
4. Anuja Raj
5. Anwesha Sen
6. Arvind Singh Rathore
7. Avilash Kumar Pandey
8. Deepa
9. Himanshi Tyagi
10. Juhi
11. Juhi Choudhary
12. Kumari Sweta
13. Kriti Kumari
14. Meenu
15. Nanduri Asha
16. Nidhi Sharma
17. Pallavi Kashyap
18. Pallavi Hembram
19. Pooja Singh
20. Richa Mohanty
21. Ritika Talwar
22. Sakshi Singh
23. Saloni Priya
24. Sangita Sarkar
25. Saurav Raj
26. Srikha Shruti
27. Shreya Gulati
28. Surbhi Bhushan
29. Surbhi Sabarwal
30. Swaroop Satyadrarshi

Lightening never strikes the same place twice. But it will strike countless times in years to come here at Bhubaneswar, as we strive to create history by taking over the world in one stride. Keep yourself updated for more happenings. There is more to come.....