Feeds Sept 2016 by Feeds

Director (IC) Dr.G.Kannabiran

Dean ( Students’ Welfare ) Dr.A.Venkataswamy Reddy

Faculty Advisors

Dr.V.Sathyaraj Dr.V.Vinod Balakrishnan Content Developers: Ashwin, Swathi, Diptisikha, Neveditha, Kaushik, Ashwin S. Nived, Sriram, Adityan, Srishyam, Adith, Tania, Trisha, Harshini, Mayank, Saif, Sarath, Anantha, Deeksha, Sripradha, Maanasa, Sai Prashant, Sandeep, Yuvan, Balaji, Gautham M, Shreejaya, Kavya, Snigdha, Cover Story: Srishyam, Sruthi S, Abinesh, Sriram, Anupama, Diptisikha. reative Writers: Suriya, Arvindmani, Sandeep, Advait, C Porvika, Anupama, Nikita, Keshore. Illustrators: Siva Prakash, Maadhav, Ayush, Pradhiksha. Designers: Arun, Thilak, Arun Kumar, Abhinaya, Abhijjith, Swarthika, Rahul, Rajkumar, Revan, Dinesh.

Editor

Abinesh Kumar

Co-Editors

Swathi Chandrasekhar Sandeep Krishnakumar

Associate Editor Shreejaya Bharathan

Founders

Abinesh Kumar Editor

Time marches on as it inevitably must, a force that even nature is forced to bow down to. Progress is said to be inevitable as well, though it suffers from a key fallacy. Progress is only subjective. As it stands, we’re in a global scenario where the gap in income is only widening. In 2016, the wealthiest 1% of the world’s population owned assets equivalent to the remaining 99%. With globalization now an irrevocable part of the world economy, countries are moving en masse to form multilateral forums of commerce and trade cooperation. BRICS, SAARC, ASEAN, OPEC, G7, G20, the list of acronyms goes on and on. Even the now Britain-less EU rose out of the ashes of a war-scorched continent as a convenient path to establishing closer economic ties. Trillion dollar deals such as the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) by the US, and the One Road, One Belt (OBOR) initiative mooted by China are modern examples of the scale and ambition of trade agreements between nations. When the deck is stacked so that one economy depends heavily on another, the effects of a sudden disruption cannot be understated. It was not a small punishment that Russia meted out to Turkey, when the former placed an embargo on the latter as retaliation for shooting down one of its fighter planes. Similarly, the economic threat dangled by India, of snapping economic ties with Pakistan was not an idle one either. And just as countries grow closer to each other, and influence one another, so do communities. As individuals, we are often unaware of this. But our very presence within a community of consumers has more impact than we realize. By choosing a product over another, we are not only promoting its growth, but also negatively affecting its competitors. We subconsciously fall into the paradigm where the consumer is king, and only he can decide if a product lives or dies. A student of 2016 may believe that the current Shopping complex is the only one that had existed. But that was not so; the SC went through numerous changes starting from 2004 onwards, until 2009 when the current line-up stabilized. Some shops survived, and some didn’t. But that was only because we, the consumer chose. Because, like everyone else, we are uncrowned kings carrying empty wallets.

Creative

Sandeep, Suriya, Shyam

Creative

Tania, Swathi, Harshini

Feature

Anantha, Trisha, Saif, Deeksha, Arvindmani

Fake news

Wi-Fi to be replaced by carrier pigeons to boost speed

In a bold move by the administration, the campus Wi-Fi network is soon going to be replaced by a group of specially trained and highly motivated pigeons. This was the outcome of an emergency meeting held by the Computer Support Group (CSG), prompted by a barrage of complaints from disgruntled hostellers. It is predicted that this will increase throughput by over 47%, and widen the radius of coverage substantially. While speeds may vary in proportion to the temperament of the pigeons, it is still touted to be an improvement over the status quo. To alleviate any worries regarding collateral feces, the administration has decided to replace the defunct routers with pigeon shelters, equipped with flickering green lights to preserve the aesthetic. From an economic angle, this move will finally provide work to hundreds of pigeons that are currently living in poverty.

The ECE department, apart from its unparalleled technical excellence, has also been a supporter of exploring alternative methods of communication, biological or otherwise. This new initiative will probably boost their funding, increasing their chances of finally landing their own department building. This new move is not free from criticism, however. The single residents of Opal have not taken the new method of communication in stride. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If they really want to talk, make a phone call, man. Do you realise how hard it is to wash your hair and clothes every few hours because you get blessed by the birds?â&#x20AC;? This development is expected to add a new dimension to the alternative uses of Wi-Fi connectivity in the campus, as it is not possible for a single SonicWall to handle the plethora of pigeons. By and large, students are enthusiastic and welcoming of the radical change, and eagerly await its implementation. Pigeons were not available for comment at the time, uttering coos of unconcealed disdain.

Stealth Shiva

Creative

Maanasa, Advait, Sai Prasanth

Feature

Gautham, Sarath, Deeksha, Harshini

Just for dummies

Sambu, Keshore

Feature

Sarath, Tania, Sripradha

Creative

Balaji, Mayank, Saif, Dipti

Feature

Yuvan, Sripradha, Sai Prasanth

Club page

Sriram

Cover story

STUDENT-DRIVEN ECONOMY Online Retail

Shops in Trichy

Have you ever wondered if something mundane, like buying food, booking a taxi, etc could set off a chain reaction that affects the lives of numerous others? In the blur of our lives, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop to consider how we, a community of 7000 living miles away from civilization, fuel progress in any meaningful way. As students, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re constantly in want of basic necessities such as clothes, stationery, and most importantly; food. And there is never an end in sight. Our demands have only risen over the years, encouraging the emergence of several businesses to cater to our needs. In this cover story, we will explore the intricate web of consumers and suppliers, and the studentdriven economy

FRANCHISES IN THE CITY To understand how NITT shapes or affects businesses in and around the campus and the city as well, a variety of franchises and shops were approached. Each franchise has evolved in a unique manner over the years and the experience that the people running these franchises have had are intriguing.

DiMoRa “We were giving NITT students 5% discount off the bill, two years ago. I’d requested the management to sustain this offer for you students, but it wasn’t implemented.” was what the manager in-charge told us. One of Trichy’s exotic places, DiMoRa with its scrupulous food has made it everyone’s favourite restaurant. When the restaurant was started three years ago, the owner hadn’t realised his franchise would flourish this well. DiMoRa and NITT have developed a very good rapport, primarily because of the discount mentioned. Also, as the restaurant started hosting the end-semester, dinner and lunch treats, the management realised that their business enjoyed excellent profits owing to NITT students.

Prince Stationeries The Architecture department students have a very interesting and unusual list of stationeries in demand. Items like Snow white sheets, Amercian sheets, rotring pens, T-scales, Staedtler pastels that can’t be purchased at any random stationery shop. Prince stationery at Chatram deals with all these and more. “We are proud suppliers of art supplies to Architecture students, right from when your own professor was a student, some 25 years back. We guarantee that we can find you any sort of sheet or poster or pastel you want. In fact, a few final year students from your college had made a catalogue of all the supplies they would need.” they said. They receive orders from outside Tamil Nadu, also. Such a shop is not affected by online retailing.

Domino’s Pizza Domino’s entered into business in Trichy nearly six years ago and has started catering to NITTians from the past three years. “ We realised NITT was a good and promising place to invest in after we set up a stall in your campus”.After associating with the college through Fests and by giving offers like Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO) to students, the manager at Thillai Nagar branch agreed that, a considerable spike in their sales has been observed. NITTians happen to account for 90% of the Delivery Orders. Interestingly, business from us makes up more than 5% of their Daily Sales, and on Fridays we account for at least 5% of the BOGO orders.

P.R.Books Most of the second hand book stores in the Mainguard Gate Market have been in the line of trade since REC times. Now, most of us would assume that these book shops definitely make a lot of business when we, NITTians, purchase books there, at the beginning of every semester.. However, it isn’t so. This is what the manager at P.R. BOOKS , a well known outlet, had to say “In the past 5 years, our sales has dropped. I could say, nearly by 50%. Previously, a lot of students would buy from us, in fact we would take bulk orders from NITT students for particular authors. Presently, I get a handful of students placing orders for books.This must be a consequence of online shopping.”

G.V Electronics “Our father started this business 26 years ago. From then till now, it has been good going for us. We supply to many colleges including NITT, Sastraa, and colleges all over Tamil Nadu, for their symposiums, workshops fests and even outside competitions.” Online retail companies have not made them obsolete. They are, in fact, very confident that no one else can match their rates. “We have also established a high degree of trust with our customers.” they claim proudly.

FRANCHISES IN AND AROUND THE CAMPUS Seakings A recent ice cream parlour chain, Seakings rose to fame in a very short span of time and a very interesting advertising policy. According to the owner of this chain, Gunapalan, they don’t believe in advertising via conventional methods. “We don’t set up stalls anywhere else. You may have noticed that not even a notice sign is there out in the highway to direct customers here. We rely on word of mouth for any publicity. It is our owner’s policy, you see.” said the shopkeeper at the Balaji Nagar branch.

Opal Shops Businesses looking to expand took no time in realizing the immense potential that lay beyond The Wall. Curfew and the seclusion in which the Opalites live in gave rise to the establishment of a line of shops inside Opal. Chellas beauty Parlor, Thozhar Xerox and the Laundry Shop have seen a good return on their investment, in spite of there being similar services outside Opal, simply due to their ease of access. The sweet tooth for Angel Bakery helps it make enormous profits, while Lakshmi Night Canteen is indispensable in saving Opalites from their late night hunger attacks, the owner makes a very small profit, nevertheless she says, “ All I want to do is help the students.”

CCD CCD’s only branch in Trichy is within our campus, confirming the dependence of its sales on its student customers at NITT. People from the city travel all the way to our campus to treat themselves at CCD. The cafe with its flexible 24/7, cosy ambience and NIT subsidized rates makes it a popular student hangout. In spite of the subsidized rates, CCD earns reasonably good profits over the year, in fact there has been a substantial rise in the percentage of profits for every month compared to the last years’ records. Also, it witnesses a spike in sales at the start of every academic year when the freshers arrive.

Roshans’ When started six years back in Balaji Nagar, it was quite a little shop. “We were able to grow into what we are today because of the constant support that many people, especially the student community, give us. We make it a point a set up a stall in each and every one of your fests, and sometimes even symposiums.” Their primary concern was to serve up hygienic food because cooking meat in the right manner is a very difficult task. “Now we are able to dish out many different dishes - from prawns to chicken.”

Trendy Foodie A few years ago, when Emthias and his wife decided to settle in Trichy, they were perplexed by the lack of sufficient professional delivery services in the city. This further led them to realise how difficult it might be for the students at NITT, located in the city outskirts, and in a dire need of efficient door delivery services. In 2014, the couple launched Trendy Foodie, a door delivery service, that provided for our cravings for variety food and the rare stationery supplies and even project materials, for the students of the Architecture department. Trendy Foodie, after studying the market on campus, ventured into purchasing and delivering goods on demand, in good faith and speed.

Shopping Complex The SC is filled with shops offering everything you will possibly need, from food to groceries and stationery items. In the early years, it was brimming with students, until it was “decentralized”, with shops offering the same commodities sprouting up at more favorable locations. Although, there always seems to be a good consumership and crowd at the SC, the profit made by even Juicy is marginal, they are here to provide for the needs of the inhabitants of our campus in particular.

POLLS AND SURVEYS Faculty Poll This poll was conducted among the faculty members of NITT as they have been on campus for a significantly greater amount of time as compared to students and thus have a better perspective of the facilities and trends that have developed over the years. How much do you think the EATERIES within the campus have changed over your tenure, in terms of number and variety?

How much do you think the GENERAL SUPPLIES SHOPPING on campus has changed in terms of number and variety?

How much do you think the STATIONARY facilities on campus have changed?

How much do you think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve shifted to buying online for your academic and miscellaneous requirements?

*1 - Not at all & 5 - Drastically

Total No. of teams that have printed t-shirts in the given years:

Do you think NITT creates opportunities for the development of small scale businesses and the economy in, and around the campus and in Trichy?

Discounts Discounts are usually offered by enterprises to lure consumers into buying their products or using their services. The fact that NITT is viewed as a potential market can be established from the fact that most of the shops located in Trichy and a few e- commerce websites offer discounts to the students of NITT during fests. In the last two years, there has been an increase of 10.8% in the number of such discounts. As can be seen from the graph, the number of t-shirts being printed has increased almost four-fold in a gap of 3 years (from 2013 to 2016). In 2016 a staggering number of T-shirts have been printed, some for small events such as celebrations of one-day festivals. The significance of T-shirts in any team is immense. They can be looked as cultural symbols, an indication of pride and solidarity within a group. As student organizations have grown over the years, the number of T-shirts being printed has increased. This in turn has improved the amount of business for T-shirt printing firms.

Disclaimer: Statistics for t-shirts and discounts have been derived from field data.

CASE STUDIES A few trends can be noticed about the businesses done by the shops over the years.

The Rise of E-Commerce: The advent of Flipkart and Amazon meant that, not only smartphones and laptops, but even clothes, stationery, and even bicycles suddenly became just a click away. With the stimulus of discounts and freedom of choice, there has been a drastic shift towards the online market - but one with consequences. Physical shops offering similar products have unanimously reported a decline in sales. For instance, textbooks used to be bought by students from the second-hand stores in Rockfort at the start of a semester. 3-4 years ago, this was a business that caused students to turn out in hundreds. Presently? Only in the dozens. Specialised goods services however, have held their ground better against this online onslaught. Prince Stationery and GV Electronics at Chatram have supplied to art and electronics students for years, specializing in products that aren’t easily available in generic stores, keeping them safe for now.

Market Opportunity: Prior to the opening of a Naturals Salon within the premises, it was common for students to visit the branch in Balaji Nagar. Most would assume that the new branch was an extension of the old, and would have thought it being good business for them. However, it turns out that the new branch belongs to a different franchise and has a different owner. The opportunity that lay within the campus was spotted by these other individuals, indicating that even corporates view our campus as an untapped market. As for the old branch, their customer base used to comprise of 50 NITT students per hundred - a number that has since dropped to just 5.

Reforms by Emergency Help Centre: The Emergency Help Centre has been responsible for handling several initiatives for students. The Passport Mela drive, organized once a semester, has trended upwards since its first iteration in 2014. Organized under the auspices of the regional passport office of Trichy, the number of students to successfully obtain a passport through these means increased from 60 in 2014, to 240 and 360 across two sessions in 2015. In 2016, the odd semester edition has already yielded 380 passports to students. Notable among the Help Centre’s efforts are the anti-monopoly measures taken by them in the case of lab records. By procuring quality record notebooks at competitive prices for the students, they were able to force on-campus retailers to lower prices as well. Also in the pipeline is RECycle, a subscription-based cycle service that can be availed by students. The EHC can be said to be an interesting example in a market that grows, while finding ways to feed itself as well.

CONCLUSION Outlets present in our campus, such as Aavin, Gurunath, and the Shopping Complex with its Xerox shop, Laundry, Juicy and Chintamani originally came up to fulfil students’ needs. But sheer demand prompted the subsequent development of their competition: the Coke Station, ‘Friends’ Xerox shop, Buhari, and more. Over the years, our demands have also diversified. We began to clamour for facilities that also have an aesthetic appeal to them. Café Coffee Day and Naturals, the beauty salon are direct replies to these specialized demands. This sea change isn’t just restricted to within the campus. What goes underestimated is the effect our 7000-odd community has on a city of more than 800,000. The most striking aspect that we uncovered was that our student community has inadvertently fashioned an assorted array of variety in demand, paving the way for an open market throughout the city. This has resulted in an abundance of opportunities for enterprising entrepreneurs, as well as provided students with myriad choices.

Freelance

R Abhishek

Cartoon

Creative

Porvika, Anupama

Feature

FROM PLACEMENTS TO PLACES In a month of mundane exams and endless cramming, you may have forgotten that life is one big adventure. To get you dreaming about the beauty of life one more time (you know, till you gotta cram again), here are some places we would love to see more of!

Trampoline parks

If you’re done bouncing between exams, Octa and your textbooks, maybe you’d enjoy a session of mindless jumping. With an endless array of trampolines lined up on the walls and the floor, people are left hopping from one sector to another feeling like they’re invincible. If you do make it to one, don’t miss out on jumping face first into a foam pit. Chill Out Can’t stand the summers in Trichy? Need to chill out? This is the place for you. From the walls to the seats, the tables and even the plates, this restaurant in Dubai is made completely out of ice. What better way to beat the heat? The construction itself is a feat of engineering done with technical inputs from Canada based company Iceculture Incorporated. Beanbag Theatres Beanies. Need we say more? If you thought lying in your bed at home watching that movie you love the four hundred twentieth time was bliss, wait until you place your posterior on the beanbags in the Beanieplex. Located in Indonesia and Malaysia, these beanies offer over 2 metres of leg-space and give you the truly immersive movie experience you’ve always desired. Once you go beanie, you never go back. Therpup A little closer to home, this café in Bangalore started by Ankur Jain is a dream for dog lovers. Whether you’re an enthusiastic dog owner who just wants to show their dog a good time or just a regular dog lover, Therpup caters to everyone. Offering a special menu for you and your canine friend, they add a scoop of adorable to the busy Bangalore startup scene. The café raises eight dogs of their own who everyone (and every dog) is free to play with and cuddle. What better way to escape the monotony of the dog-eat-dog world we live in? Paws your routine and grab a bite. Porvika, Advait, Suriya, Ashwin Krishnan

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talk about

Trisha, Ashwin Sridhar, Adith, Necro

Creative

Limerick story

There was once a boy named Ram, He came all the way from a farm, He tripped on a cow, Didn’t know how, And that’s how he broke his arm.

He really didn't know how to feel, He badly needed some time to heal. He wanted to go to bed, And try to wrap his head, Around how a dog could be a third wheel.

Ram had to catch his train, But he was in a lot of pain, He made a big fuss, Missed the bus, And that’s when it started to rain.

After the last turning, the last hairpin bend, His sad journey finally reached an end, "I'll miss you a little bit, But your dog is full of shit", Was the text he was going to send.

As he was drenched in the shower, He heard the sounds of the clock tower, "You're India's pride, boys!" Said the ethereal voice, Before the campus went out of power.

He entered the station, it was wet and very dim, That was the first time he laid his eyes on Jim, His heart skipped a beat, He couldn't handle the heat, Hmmm, maybe women weren't for him?

He got on to the bus, damp and cold, Squeezed near a man with a triple chin fold, Then he saw the girl, His heart began to swirl, He remembered the words his mama once told.

He was feeling very confused, His heart was already bruised, His head started to spin, As the train pulled in, Him or her? Whom to choose?

"Be a man! Talk to her, son! Who knows, she might be the one! Before she finds another, Get her!" said the mother, "Go out and have some fun!"

He then boarded his train to a land far away, Penning about the people he met that day, He cooked up stuff, took his time, Added a bit of rhyme, And wrote this down for an essay.

It took them no time to get talking, He found himself awkwardly gawking, He leaned forward for a smooch, Got bit by her furry pooch, And abandoned all dreams of lip-locking.

Porvika, Nikita, Keshore, Gautham