Fwd: OASIS'07...Inaug Speech by Chief Guest
mandar kulkarni
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nikhil Teletia <nikhil...@gmail.com>
Date: Oct 19, 2007 6:54 AM
Subject: OASIS'07...Inaug Speech by Chief Guest
To: anand rajmani <anandr...@gmail.com>, "Lohani, Rohit" <roh...@amazon.com >, Rahul Singh <rahul...@csr.com>, Nitesh Dahiya <nitesh...@samsung.com>, "Nikhil Mehta (nikmehta)" < nikm...@cisco.com>, Amber Kapoor <amber...@yahoo.com>, mandar kulkarni <manda...@gmail.com >, "Anand, Sandeep (IT)" <Sandee...@morganstanley.com>, maayur <ksm...@gmail.com>
S unit Rikhi's speech on the opening night of OASIS'07... Dont miss out on the poem towards the end
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OASIS 2007 was inaugurated on 15-Oct-2007 by Sunit Rikhi (EEE 1974-79)
Vice President, Technology and Manufacturing Group
Director, Advanced Design, Logic Technology Development at
INTEL Corporation
His speech delivered at BITS Pilani auditorium on the opening night of 15-Oct-2007 is given below.
There are two words that are being used for me tonight. I only like one of them - Chief. I am not a guest. I am a thoroughbred Bitsian. And I have come home. And just to show you how at home I feel…. (took jacket off)
Ladies and gentlemen, and I notice there are a lot more girls now than there were in my days. This is good - for both boys and girls.
Today, I bring to you warm hugs, love and good wishes from the BITS Pilani batch of nineteen seventy four through nineteen seventy nine. Back then, when we roamed these streets of Pilani, an overwhelming majority of you were not even conceived.
You and my batchmates may be disconnected by time, but we are joined together by the OASIS experience. My batchmates are not here, but they sense your excitement enough to have their own hearts race, as you begin your psychedelic exploration of the king of all cultural festivals - OASIS 2007.
It is an honor for me to be amongst you at this moment. I want to take a moment to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to those who made this day possible and also provided me with this opportunity. I want to thank the president and general secretary of BITS student association, people with the strange label of Stuccans, our Vice Chancellor, the president and vice president of BITSAA, the entire faculty, my fellow BITSians and all guests who have come from all parts of India. Thank you.
Oasis has always been the force that brings together young and talented students from all over India for a week of new excitement, new experiences and new relationships. It is a complex phenomenon that exceeds one's wildest expectations because of a very simple reason – the organizers and the participants put their heart and souls into it.
Back in my days of three decades ago, I remember the seriousness with which I took my responsibilities that ranged from welcoming guests, to bringing electricity to sand dune parties outside the campus. It was useful to see who was dancing on the dunes and what we were drinking.
I also remember the vibrant display of talent that brought both the souls of performers and the audiences together into a psychedelic experience like none other.
That word - psychedelic - the theme for Oasis 2007. Just pondering over its meaning is a psychedelic experience. On my way to this function today, I thought about how my life after Pilani has been nothing but a psychedelic experience. Somewhere between Ringus and Chirawa I captured that thought in the form of a poem. It is in Hindi. It goes like this.
Hur hava ke jhonke mein Pilani ki khushboo doondhta hoon
Hur bus-stop pe Nutan doondhta hoon
Hur talaab mein shiv ganga doondta hoon
Hur shamshaan mein shiv mandir doondta hoon
Hur mandir ke aangan mein ghas dhoondta hoon
Hur ghas par naachta moor doondhta hoon
Hur nayee seekh mein funda doondta hoon
Hur paronthe ke aas paas unda doondta hoon
Hur kursi mein BITS style cricket ki wicket doondta hoon
Hur oonchi deevar ke peechae Meera Bhavan doondta hoon
Wait...There is one more stanza left in this poem
Hur baat mein laccha doondta hoon
Hur mauke pe vellagiri dhoondta hoon
Hur vartmaan pal mein apna ateet dhoondta hoon
Tum subke khoobsoorat chehroan mein, mein apna chehra doondhta hoon
Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on being here this week and my very best wishes for the invaluable memories you are about to create for yourselves. May you return from Oasis enriched and may you never come out of this trance. Thank you very much.
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.......................................................Mandar........................
Manoj Yogi
Regards,
Manoj Yogi
Master of Computer Science
Texas A&M University
College Station
Texas
Ph: 979-324-5737
Akbar Kamal
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http://www.linkedin.com/in/akbarkamal