Invigorate 2.0

A group of students from Dr. Sudhir Chandra Sur Degree Engineering college constituting the auto expo group The Invigorate conducted their most awaited event Invigorate 2.0 with an inauguration ceremony on the 12th of April in their college premises to provide technical and educational experience for budding engineers. The college is one of the three automobile colleges in Eastern India and is the first of its kind to host an event of such grandeur where demonstrations and marketing strategies were provided by personnels, wholly on student's initiative.  Invigorate 2.0 commenced with a few words from Mr. S. Bhattacharya, the Principal who welcomed everyone including the company representatives and students and declared the event officially open. The Head of Department of the Automobile Department, Mr. Syed Abdul Nafis and the Adminstrative officer, Mr. Ritayan Chatterjee were delighted, enthralled and thankful to all those who had made it to the event withstanding the atrocious conditions of the roads and the remoteness of the locality.

The SBK group

Invigorate 2.0 amazed the crowd with the fastest accelerating bike ever - Kawasaki H2.  The bikers of Kawasaki were the first to be introduced to the crowd and exchanged a few words of gratitude and emphasised on the importance of safety and biking morales. It escalated to the introduction of companies and officials who came up and introduced the specialities of their bikes and the new launches. It started with Honda who had an entire range from scooters to outroading bikes. Rajesh Pandey from Bajaj, the company procuring 55 percent of the fastest sports bikes in India urged the audience to make way for the most awarded bike of the year - Pulsar RS200 and also showcased Avenger Cruise 220 and Pulsar 220F. Next on the list to take the audience by the cheek was Yamaha, one of the most popular sporting names of the country who had RM and R1M along with R15's special edition on display to treat your eyes. The other companies like the Austrian beast KTM, Suzuki from Japan, European legend Benelli interacted with the crowd and TVS overwhelmed the crowd with their new launch Victor Plus. Even the Royal Enfield, a name captivating every household had their new launch Himalayan, a special bike made for outroading on display. The company which has completed a whopping seventy years in four wheelers had their travelling bike, absolutely stunning with its features and pretty affordable when it comes to your pocket- Mojo on the display. Mojo along with their exclusive range belongs to none other than the Mahindra group.BP Roadies held an exquisitive and exclusive range of accessories from helmets to jackets. The South Korean bike Hyosung powered by DSK also had great bikes to treat your eyes.

Prof. S. A. Nafis, honorable HOD of Automobile Dept of DSCSDEC

Prof. S. Bhattacharya, Principal

Mr Ritayan Chatterjee. Administrative Officer

There was a small session on the importance of riding safely in this era where road accidents, mainly overspeeding take three hundred lives per day. An official member from Honda adviced remaining within the range of 45 km/h to 55km/h as this range not only was safe but highly economical as it provides the maximum mileage.

Mr Akash Sinha, active Invigorate team member

Member of the SBK

The inauguration ceremony came to a close with the students delivering a thanking speech to the entire faculty for their tremendous help and support. A special mention to their professor Supriya Dhara was made as he is the one who spearheaded the entire event and without whom, it's no exaggeration to say, this event would have been impossible. Talking to the man himself, this event was his dream as a teacher and a biker. He believes in exploring the new always and wanted this event to bring the students closer to their big futures by giving them a glimpse of what they are meant to be. He gave all his credits to the entire team of students for pulling this event off so successfully. Satyajit Mall, one of the core team members at Invigorate shared with Express magazine, "I am more than happy that the outcome of this event has come so good.Its the first  time that all biking  companies  that market  their products in kolkata  were under the same room displaying  their  products and this is also the first  time that SBK and BFR has been associated  with a  college  event. Stay tuned. We are coming back with more next year. "

SBK Group

Speaking to Mr. Vivek Sharma representing Triumph exclaimed how glad he was to be a part of this event and how it would be a big boost to the company. Being a part of the group called Rider's Assosciation of Triumph, for him biking is his passion. He believes in spending his life in more of riding and exploring far flung areas of the country. Almost all companies we spoke to were extremely overwhelmed to be present at this event and claimed it to bring them good branding and a lot of advantage. The Kawasaki biking community, in an exclusive exchange of words with us, thrust importance upon the uses of their gear - helmets, gloves and the like for maintaining their safety as well as pedestrians. They believe in riding to refresh and also take active part in charity programmes. On being asked about the demand of bikes in the Indian market, Mr. Arnab was indeed happy to exclaim that it's going up steadily and the youth plays a major role in it. Mr. Abhijit from Mahindra explained to us how this event had exclusively aided them in their ventures as today's India's demand in bikes is chiefly attributed to the youth. Mr. Rahul from DSK Benelli thought the students of the Invigorate group had done an excellent job and provided them with learning opportunities to come and connect with the youth.

Yamaha YZR R1

Kawasaki Ninja H2, the fastest bike on earth

Hero Moto Corp & Bajaj hosted a quiz respectively where they gave out prizes and accolades to the winners on general knowledge about bikes. Mahindra provided tokens of appreciation to the Principal, Mr. S. Bhattacharya and Supriya Dhara, the man behind Invigorate 2.0 and its success. The Managing Director of JIS Group Mr. Taranjit Singh and Mr. Saurabh Bose of KTM made guest appearances and took a stroll to have a look at the bikes, accompanied by the principal, professors and students. Honda and Royal Enfield towards the end had another surprise for the audience who had the patience to stay bearing the scorching heat - free  test drives were offered within the college premises. Riddhiban Mukherjee, a bike enthusiast present told Express Magazine,"I'm glad I came here in spite of the heat cause it has been all worth it. This is for the first time such an event has happened in Kolkata and especially it's free and open to all. The best bikes have been showcased on one platform and as a rider I am overwhelmed. This event was a great success. We would be looking forward to it next year. "

Here are a few glimpses of the event...

The Harley Davidson Street 750

DSK Hyosung GT 650R

DSK Benelli TNT 600 GT

 

Triumph Daytona 675 R

Suzuki Hayabusa

Suzuki GSX-S1000

Yamaha YZR R3

- An ExPress Magazine Coverage
Text by Gargi Ghoshal
Picture courtesy- Souvanik Seal

Meet the A-Team

Are you a dancer or someone who appreciates or enjoys a good dance performance? If yes, you HAVE TO read further. 

Just recently, I happened to interview this brilliant dancer from my college who, along with his team has been stepping the stones of success for years now. Meet Alexander Joseph and his dance crew, The A-Team. Now, if you are from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata; this name is not new to you. The A Team has been making us Xaverians proud with their exuberant performances. They have been the winners of most dance based events in college and well, that’s not it. Having students from St. Xavier’s only, they have also taken part in national level championships and risen to fame.

The very talented Alexander Joseph

In an interview with Alexander, I managed to ask him a number of questions about himself, his team and their further plans. For Alexander, dance is his way to channelize his emotions. What he feels, he expresses it on the stage. For him, dance is not just an art but a form of living,

⦁ How was the team formed?

- Basically, when I joined the team, the name was ‘Team A’ because there were a lot of western dance teams already. After that, we actually started working really hard and people came to know about us. That is when we changed our name to ‘The A-Team’ and then we took over, one step after the other. The team was formed in 2012.

⦁ What are your most memorable achievements?

The A-Team at Spring Fest, I.I.T Kharagpur

- We started with college events and once we were successful, we felt a lot more confident and took ourselves to the national level. We were runners up in the 2014 Hip Hop International, India Finals in the Mega crew division. That was a very big achievement for us. Apart from this, we have also taken part in the IIT Kharagpur fest in 2013, 2014 and 2016 where we secured the 2nd and 1st positions respectively.


⦁ Why don't you shed some light about the members?

The A-Team in one frame

-  A-Team was originally founded by Sagar Sharma and Ananya Chatterjee. It was taken over by Vincent Sammy Gomes, Ahaana Mahanti, Arjama Das Gupta, Raj Mathur, Debjyoti Saha, Zoe Dominique Subbiah, Rohit Nitin Kispotta and me. Arjama left college the previous year and this time it is our turn. The crew will now be headed by Raghav Nevatia. The rest of the crew members include Roshni Banerjee, Udisha Agarwal, Sunandrita Chatterjee, Gairik Dutta Paul, Reuben Lama, Mohit Daga, Suny Minj, Tanmoy Das and Prakash Ganpat, the team’s manager.



⦁ What's the genre that you like to follow the most?

-  Our team is essentially a Hip Hop crew, but everyone puts in their own moves and styles. We follow the urban dance style.

Alexander Joseph at one of his workshops

⦁ What in your opinion makes your team stand out from the rest?

-  I believe we have an out of the box thinking. When it comes to our performances, we do not use the same theme twice. Our ability to come up with novel themes is what makes us different. And sure if you were to follow our Facebook page, you would find it in our bio!

 ‘...we live our moves and in doing so, leave a bit of our volcanic energy for the crowd to feel and remember!’



⦁ You, along with the other core members, are leaving college. Would you come back again to preside over the upcoming auditions and participating in the upcoming fests?


- That’s hard to say. I’m moving out of town so if I am present here at the time the auditions and the fests take place, I’d surely be a part of it. I have been in this crew since the past 4 years and never missed even a single performance and took part in some 41 performances!

The A-Team in action

⦁ Which upcoming fest is The A-Team looking forward to?

-  The team, being headed by Raghav will now hopefully be taking part in the Hip Hop Internationals, which will take place in Goa by the end of May this year. I really hope that we bag the trophy this time!

It was really fun interviewing Alexander and interacting with his team. You can follow the A-Team on their Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/The-A-Team-1410845089182271/?fref=ts , and most certainly subscribe to their YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/MrSammybboy to stay updated about this brilliant dance troupe!

The A-Team is an unstoppable force which has never, till date, failed to mesmerize their audiences with their fantastic moves. Express wishes The A-Team loads of success for their future! 

















P.S :- One of our many objectives is to promote the budding stalwarts in our society, regardless of any field! If you come across some similar remarkable organisation or person, try to document his stories, we would be more than obliged to publicise him/her! Your simple assist might just act as a much necessary boost for a creative mind! Thanking you in advance!








About the author :-




A student of English literature from St. Xavier's college, Kolkata, Eva R.Sachdeva is called "The Powerhouse" by many at the ExPRESS family! And true to her nickname, this aspiring Journalist and PR officer's enthusiasm and dedication is barely rivalled by anyone in our organisation! 

Things that you will learn after your first semester in college

So here you are. After braving through college applications, entrances, interviews, letters,

emails, scores and lists – you’ve found your college. Now, here are the few things that you will learn after your first semester in college:

College is a whole new world. You will not just find new and different kind of people surrounding you but you will also realize that YOU as a human being – feel new. You are open to growth, ideas and changes. You are in a new environment. And it doesn’t matter if you’re in the same city as you were in before, the world will seem like a different place altogether.

• The first few days maybe intimidating. You may feel like you need to be perfect and you may even feel like your classmates have their lives stitched up well and they know it all. That no one else is nervous or scared about their choices, their words or their actions. Well, you’re wrong. Go a bit easy on yourself. The girl who sits infront of you, is as clueless about the way to the girl’s room as you are on the first day of college.

• It is silly to compare school teachers and professors. Though their profession is the same, i.e. teaching YOU, they are different in more ways than one. You will forever be the little kid who grew up to be the wonderful person you are now – to your teachers. But to your professors, you are a responsible young adult with an intellect of you own. You are no longer expected to limit your thoughts and conversations because you are of a certain age. You are allowed to put forward your opinions and back them with logic. Much against the stereotypes, your professors are the ones who will make you feel at home throughout your first semester in college.

• You are older and the world expects you to not just act but BE a more responsible person. Starting from taking care of your habits, money and your academics, the world will make it clear that it is all in your hands. Gone are the days when a teacher will remind you about your assignment. Your professor will set the deadline and if you don’t meet it, its your fault. 

• You will meet a new variety of young human beings of your age. And you will realize that some are so different that you could not have imagined that such human beings exist outside of the cinema screen or the pages of a book. If you get lucky, you will find your gang and realize no matter how much you people screw up, these people will stay by you – for better or for worse.

• Only three to four people from school will stay in touch with you. And no one is to blame in this scenario. Some will move out of town whereas some will stay in town but will get busy with their new lives and new friends. Here’s where the magic lies – you can go back to them whenever. Just a phone call or a message will do the trick. This isn’t forgetting the people who meant the world to you – this is just adjusting to a new life.

• This is a fun fact. I salute you if you remember everything that happened on the night of your fresher’s party.

• Another fun fact – unless you have an atrocious luck, your seniors will be few of the most amazing people you will have met in college. They will know more and help you as much as they can and at the same time – they will teach you the trick to attend concerts two nights before your semester examinations and still pass in your majors.

• You will face a brutal truth. Now, I don’t know which one exactly as there are many brutal truths we face throughout our life. But you will face it and with time, you will realize that more than brutal, such truths liberate you from toxicity. It won’t be an easy ride but you will learn from it. I promise you that!

• You will not even realize when and how the first semester will pass by. Not because you will have amazing company and an amazing environment – but because College will make you fall head over heels in love with who you are. Your nuances included!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :- 

Priyadarshini Mukherjee from St.Xaviers college Kolkata is a dance enthusiast and a theater geek . She is a columnist for ExPRESS Magazine and is completing her graduation is Mass Communication and Videography. 

From the Gasket of 'Goli' memories

From the Gasket of 'Goli' Memories
- Aritra Chatterjee

Asutosh College may not find its way to your parents' wishlist of premier institutions when it comes to the admission frenzy that accompanies Class 12 Boards. However, it does not fail to steal the hearts of sophomores-far from it ! To say that it steals your heart, would rather be an understatement. For the college legitimately ensures that your hearts are won over by the time you are in the middle of your first year of graduation. And as days snowball into months and months into years,the "rock-er" adda has already hit you like a bug and the college has become your second home in every true sense of the term.

No, this isn't any enterprising venture on part of a notorious senior to stray you away from academics or far worse,to entice you into the saucy potboiler of "Union Politics",as most parents would think of it. Hell not! It's a realization that you are envitably going to land on, sooner or later. Consider this article as  a  teeny-weeny reminder on behalf of a senior that it's high time that you stop whining over the scathing remarks of your parents,neighbours and relatives and start making the most of the three years of your stay at this institution.

Back to adda haunts! Well, where was I?
The "college-er rock"right? Technically speaking, a rock, as the lingusitic sanctions of colloquial Bangla permit, is an extension of the ground floor of a building. And taking into account the spacious mansion that the main building of the college is,it can boast of a sprawling rock,where you can sit and have a decorated conversation with your homies over sips of lemon chai intervened by occasional puffs to ignite the rust-laden folds of your grey matter.Odds are that your professor might well be walking by and you end up being caught red-handed with a lighted cigarette in your innocent and clean sophomore hands. Hence, master the art of fag-hiding to your own benefit. And just in case the lemon chai fails to satiate your  gastronomic delight,you can always enjoy an orange,pineapple or lemon slush for 20 bucks from The Garden Cafe, not to mention the lip-smacking fuchkas near JD Park Metro Station or the steaming hot momos or a cheese corn sandwich from the sandwich corner. And if the rains play spoilsport and the rock is too uninviting a mess,you have CCD for refuge.What is so particularly wonderful is that you have it all in one goli..all in the neighbourhood of a single metro station..tucked away like a fantastic never-ever land!

Space management is something one needs to learn from the Asutoshians. Never have I seen a goli so optimally used up. With the teeming population of the college eyeing for the rock,no wonder the rock fills up in no time. Space crunch has never been an issue with us. What's the footpath for? Further, if you are a stickler for hygiene,what are newspapers for? And if all these are to no avail,you can always secure yourself a seat on one of the unoccupied bikes and scooters that guard the pavement like a body of soldiers,though languid ones.

Walk into the goli adjacent to the college on a lazy winter afternoon and it is an adda zone in itself,bustling with young faces sitting on the pavement in circles,leaving just enough room for a passer by.While some are engrossed in their spread of cards, some drool over pretty faces or a hot physique.There are others who let their pen do the talking, and others still who would get drunk time and again in the psychedelic offerings of a newly-sprung romance or the first-timers of adulthood.Then there are foodies,the wise owl,the scandal-mongers and the list would go on like a interminable serpent of black smoke arising from the chimney-mouth of a factory,courtesy Dickens.

Oh, I forgot to mention the reading room, canteen, union room and common room! With that, I believe I have given wings to the explorer in you. And as for those unexplored adda hotspots-to-be, you, my sophomore,we are counting on you.

Asutosh College

Author's Introduction: Aritra Chatterjee is presently pursuing his graduation in Psychology from Asutosh College. He completed his schooling from South Point School, and is currently heading the column of Social Causes for ExPress. A fashion-fanatic by heart,he believes that men's fashion has still a long way to go and is less likely to flourish unless men become receptive to experimentation and innovation in fashion and lifestyle trends.So he tries to be the change that he wishes to be and has a wardrobe which he can justly take pride in.A regular follower of fashion blogs, he maybe someone you would like to ask for a genuine opinion on what to wear for the day.Fashion and aesthetics go hand in hand and the aesthetics of colour draws Aritra to painting as well.Rich in abstract symbolism,his paintings reek of colour metaphors where colours are not merely hues but represent singular energies and auras peculiar to the painting itself.When it comes to writing,he believes in individuality of style and expression,a hallmark of ingenuity that would set his writing aside from others.Writing, he feels, is yet again an art that needs to be mastered..that words must be placed in appropriate context so that they exist harmoniously in sentences and create a symphony of sorts.He has just completed his first degree graphology course from Kolkata Institute Of Graphology.Now not only do the words count...but they reveal personality traits by virtue of the manner in which they are written!To wind up,he aspires to make forays into the human mind and behaviour,conviced that it is going to be a joyride of a lifetime.His major makes enough room for it and as for us,we are waiting for a good Samaritan in the making.