hope to see the new

elected members bringing

in new flavours to BP.

So friends, have a dekko at

the contestants for this

year’s student and profes-

sional committee, and

what they have to say to

you. We hope this will help

you in deciding the candi-

dates of your choice. Go

ahead and vote for the

right candidate.

Till later...

Panchi Goswami- Editor, 7’oclock

Dear Friends,

This special issue of 7 O’

Clock has been conceptu-

alised to introduce the

contestants for this year’s

Bharat Parivar (BP) elec-

tions and publish the ex-

periences and views of the

presiding student com-

mittee members. Concur-

rently we announce the

start of a new chapter in

our organisation’s jour-

ney.

Just as a planter beams

when his tree bears fruits

and just as a couple prides

on the growth of their

child, we at BP are de-

lighted to inform you the

establishment of the first

BP professional working

committee. The elections

on 27th November 2009

shall ascertain the flag

bearers of the new student

committee and the first

professional committee.

The idea behind having a

separate professional

body is triggered by the

growing and positive par-

ticipation by professionals

in our events and activi-

ties. We at BP increasingly

felt the need to provide a

common meeting place

and platform where pro-

fessionals can socialise,

network and have some

fun. The professional

body would also be a

source of guidance and

advice for BP’s student

members as experienced

by some of us during a

professional – student

meet.

The combined effort of

both these committees

could pave a new path for

our organisation and we

W e l c o m i n g T h e N e w

7 O ’ C l o c k7 O ’ C l o c k7 O ’ C l o c k7 O ’ C l o c k

I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e :

P - P r o f e s s i o n a l

N o m i n a t i o n s 2

C o n t d . 3

I n t e r v i e w s o f

B P S C _ U o B 0 8 - 0 9 4

C o n t d . 5

B P S C _ U o B

N o m i n a t i o n s 7

A B h a r a t P a r i v a r N e w s l e t t e r

A n E l e c t i o n I s s u eA n E l e c t i o n I s s u eA n E l e c t i o n I s s u eA n E l e c t i o n I s s u e N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 9

achieved.

I am a team player to the core and also

genuinely believe that someone who is

not a good team player will never make

a good leader ,The position of the co

chair definitely needs someone who is a

good leader Personally I will be open to

any new ideas and innovations that

might help the performance of the

Group. I do listen constructively to my

members and prioritize issues that need

to be tackled. I will always help mem-

bers of the BP to coach, direct, support

or delegate as is appropriate, rather

than the approach “Let me show you

how" as this is probably just to get the

Post: Co-Chair Nominee: Karthik Kamalakannan Dear Members, I would like to

nominate myself to the post of

the Co chair of Bharat Parivar

Professionals as I could bring

my passion and enthusiasm to

attain the overall growth and

development of the BPP’s main

objectives. According to me a

chair /co chair is someone who

provides guidance, instruction,

direction, leadership to their

group at the same time moni-

tors the quantitative and quali-

tative result that is to be

work done rather than help the

members develop their skills

N o m i n a t i o n s f o r B P P r o f e s s i o n a l

Post: Finance Officer

Nominee: Anandan Kumar

First, extending my thanks to BP for this opportunity to submit this nomination. I join the list of nominees for

BP professional and at the moment for the role of Finance Officer. So far I do not have much experience in simi-

lar role except bit of academic base, let me try to serve to the best of BP's interests. I have been part of technical

conclave organising committee during my graduation days and I also served as Placement representative. So

with that brief spell, I hope to serve to the best of my ability. Hopefully, I can use some of the Business School

learning!!

As I am aware that the BP is growing at a faster pace with more and more new members joining the family I would

like to introduce myself as Sudhakar Sagi working at Aston University. I would like to nominate myself for the post of

marketing officer of the BP professional committee. I have been living abroad since 2001 and to admit very frankly I

have never come across any organisation or association like BP. I have lived in Germany for close to 7 years and al-

ways felt away from home. After coming to Birmingham, I have never realised that I am away from India (thanks to

all the members of the family). I take this opportunity to thank everyone for their friendly gesture.

Post: Marketing Officer

Nominee: Sudhakar Sagi

Nomination for Post of President : Ketan Sharma

Nomination for Post of Administration Officer: Shagun Bawa

Worst: nothing

As the president of BP, how far do you

think BP has gone towards achieving its

goals?

As the president I think we have

achieved a lot in this year.

What do you think the to-be-

committee must do in order to carry

the torch forward?

Amshika Amar – President

What do u think were the best

and the worst things of BP in

the last one year?

Best things: we had a vey ac-

tive year with loads of different

events popularity of our soci-

ety increased manifold the

professional body expanded

The next committee should keep

up the good work and also try

achieve more coordination

amongst its

members

takes.

How would you rate the relations that BP

has with other societies in the Guild of

students in comparison with the last

year?

I do not have any particular statistic or

figures to show the relations of BP with

other societies in this year as well as last

year, but i can say this that reasonable

number of events were organized in co-

ordination with other societies. The anti-

terrorism discussion and other events

were organized. The relations of BP with

other societies were always cordial and

friendly.

Gopal Poruri – Vice President

What do

you think

are the

best and

worst things

of BP in the

last one

year?

I would rather say there were 2

things which were really best for

BP. One was most innovative

society award and the Republic

day function. These are the hall-

marks of the BP in the year 2008-

09. Whilst Holi gave us the

chance to learn from our mis-

Did BP in any way help you in your

career or just to develop as a per-

son? If so how ?

Being in BP developed me to be

more collaborative and be a part of

a good team. It also helped me to

understand the different dynamics

of a team , which comprises of dif-

ferent individuals with different mind-

sets. It has been a good experience

to work as part of this team and from

my experience of working in corpo-

rate teams and student teams like

this,

group functioned.

Backdraw-

Lack of communication had occurred

couple of times which led to one of our

events getting a bad name in the Uni-

versity.

I think many a times it becomes ideas

and suggestions of maybe one individ-

ual rather than the board / group func-

tioning as a whole. All events have not

seen involvement mainly because ad-

vertisement was not done well in ad-

vance, I think we can improve on that.

As cultural coordinator what do you

have to say about the quality of events

at BP?

I personally think the quality of events

has been good, but there could be

much better events. With the launch of

‘Tammanna’ , I am sure the quality will

increase in leaps and bounds.

Debasmitha Sarkar –Cultural

coordinator

What do you think were the best

and the worst things of BP in the

last one year?

I think the past year has seen BP

grow enormously and achieve

tremendous success in all its

events. Every student society I

think faces different phases of

ups and downs,

The best things that have hap-

pened in BP was The Republic

Day celebrations, where we

had representation from the

Indian Consulate.

-Extension of BP as BP-Liverpool,

at the University of Liverpool.

-Organization of the Sports

week.

All these reflect on how well the

If the rate of growth remains the

same, how long do you think before

BP can perform at national events?

Performing at National events will

require much more co-ordinated

efforts, dedication and time from

the organizers and performers. We

have been having very good events

but most of it has been spur of the

moment activities. A lot more is re-

quired if we are to go national…..but

I think we will soon be there.

What BPSC_UoB 2008-09 have to say? Dhivya Raj

worst thing I would recall is the Holi

event, where things went awry.

The best part of being in BP was to get to

know people from different back-

grounds, bonding with them and having

fun together. All these guys are wonder-

ful. I love being part of this family. I can't

see any cons here.

As the finance officer, what would your

comments be about the financial status

of BP?

Currently, BP has GBP 170 in its A/c. Last

year was quite a profitable. We organ-

ized several functions that helped us

gather funds, though during most of

events we broke-even. I would like to say

that with this status we can positively

move forward. Guild would be facilitat-

ing with rolling-grants (per sem) if we

proved that we need the money for

events that promote the image of BP

Viraj Joshi – Finance officer

W h a t

do you

t h i n k

w e r e

the best

and the

w o r s t

t h i n g s

in the

past one year?

The best things about BP when it

comes to occasions and func-

tions include the Republic Day

Celebrations, The Independ-

ence Day Celebrations and,

The Discussions on Terrorism Fo-

rum that were conducted last

year and of course launch of 7

o'Clock. All these occasions

turned out to be much better

than originally anticipated. The

and UoB.

Did being the treasurer help you de-

velop yourself in any way?

First of all, by being member of BP, I

got to know many fellow students

who have become good friends of

mine. In an alien country, I feel this

helps make oneself comfortable and

I really thank BP for it.

As treasurer, I understood the under-

lying financial facts that engrossed

BP. It helped me understand the fi-

nancial requirements of a commit-

tee and how the fund needs to be

raised. It facilitated me to develop

commercial acumen towards han-

dling the money that's needed if we

want to keep BP Accounts green.

have a long way to go before we can

achieve the aims of the society...

What do you think should be the prime

focus of the new committee ?

The prime focus for the new committee, i

think, should be to popularise our society

among other societies and have col-

laborative events...so that we can get to

know other cultures, interests, practices,

etc ....

On a scale of 1 to 10 , how would you

rate BP in terms of following health and

safety rules?

Vnothini Shankar – Health and

Safety Officer

What do you think were the best

and the worst things in the past

one year?

The Best thing about BP last year

was the enthusiastic participa-

tion of the members in organiz-

ing, attending and enjoying the

various activities.. I also should

make a note of the fact that we

were able to start most of the

events on time which is an Hi-

malayan task by itself.. :) I

wouldn't say there was any

worst thing as such...But we still

I would say around 6 to 7 in most

events...even though we have had

a few where we fell badly and could

improve ourselves.. The fact that we

didn't have any serious injuries or

accidents during any of the event,

s u g g e s t s

that we are

managing

very well in

terms of

Health and

Safety of

the organi-

zation as a

whole...

pretty nervous during my nomination

speech in the Council Chamber in 2008.

It has been an eventful year for BP,

where we got a recognition from the

Guild and also had various events held

throughout the year. I feel proud to be

associated with BP and contribute

something towards its successful journey.

I held the post of Administrative Officer,

which was a very challenging job. I

hope I discharged my duties to the best

of my abilities. Contesting elections and

then taking up some post adds a lot of

responsibilities. It also helps you in your

day to day life. It makes you responsible

in every aspect of life.

BP is one family, and if it was not BP, I

would'nt have survived in Birmingham. I

found many friends, who were more like

Administration Officer:

Saurabh Kulkarni (Best Family

Member Award) Message from

Mumbai..

I hope everyone is doing great.

I read about the elections and

thought conveying something

from my end. BP elections was

something really big for me last

year. It transformed me com-

pletely. I still recollect, I was

a family to me. The fun we had and

also those innumerable get-

togethers, events and dance after

those events, cant forget. I hope the

new committee continues to make

BP as great as it has been since its

formation in 2006.

All the best for the new members

and Congratulations to the out go-

ing members, it was truly a joy work-

ing with you people. Stay in touch,

Missing Birmingham, Missing Bharat

Parivar, Missing all of you!!!!

Jai Hind !!!!!!

Nominations and Manifestos for BPSC_UoB 2009-10

Post: President

Nominee: Vinothini Sangaralingam

Hello Everyone, I am Vinothini Sangaralingam. I am currently doing my 3 year PhD in

Astrophysics. I have been part of Bharat Parivar for the past two years and found it to

be an organization, which has seen enormous growth and has the potential for much

more. Having been actively involved in its activities for the past year, I have encoun-

tered both its positive aspects as well the regions where it has scope to grow more.

With this insight, encouragement of its members and my enthusiasm, I would like to take this group the next step

of communicating our aims and objectives to others and reaching out to the larger Indian community in UK.

To this effect, I would like work towards co-operation among other societies in our university and Indian societies

of other universities. I would also like to co-ordinate with the Bharat parivar professional body in helping our

members take the next step after their graduation. I have been a part of various student bodies during my school

and college days. Recently as Health and Safety Officer of BP during the year 2008-09, where I had helped in the

organization of the various events, celebration of festivals, etc. throughout the course of the year. I am also the co-

founder and ex-director of the Astronautical Society of India - Students Chapter (ASISC), which is the students

division of ISRO, where I have gained much of my organizational experience working with students from all levels.

With your support and the vision of the founders, I am sure we can take this society to scale greater heights. With

warm regards and best wishes.

Second Nominee for the Post of President Vivek Malik

Hi Friends, I am Vivek Malik, student of MBA, Birmingham Business School.

I have been linked to BP from less than a year. BP provided me the much

needed support and confidence during my first week in UK. I will always

remember that first meeting, which provided me the joy and courage that

helped me to move on in new dimensions by leaving behind the thoughts of

home. I am Mechanical Engineer by profession and have worked in multina-

tional environment in past. I have marketed my organization to gain new

projects and have also handled financially live construction projects.

I have not contributed much till today to the society but now I would like to take a serious role so

as to give back to the society what I gained from it and to guide fellow colleagues with what I have

gained from my earlier experiences. Way back to my school days, I have been actively linked to so-

cial and voluntary works in villages. Under the due guidance of my favorite teacher I have voluntary

initiated First - Aid and Health & Safety programs by encouraging other school friends. I have al-

ways tried to learn from the community leaders and practitioners, and herein, I am immensely

touched by extreme enthusiasm of the BP committee members which have motivated me to stand

here in front of you and help the community to achieve goals and objectives. I hope that the BP will

find me worthy of letting me work close with each other so as to step forward together in this com-

petitive world with a confident face. Thanking you.

hair-cut! At a reasonable price etc.

During all these, the solace, guidance

and help I got was from BP. It also

shared my joys during celebrations of

Dussehra & Diwali. I therefore decided

to be formally a part of BP, so that the

same help & support I can provide to all

existing and in- coming students, which

I & many of you got from former office-

bearers of BP.

During my UG, I was the industrial and

educational liaison officer of the depart-

mental community. The responsibilities

include developing contacts between the

department and the industries, organis-

ing the seminars etc. I was also the

Post: Vice-President

Nominee: Sandeep Koul

Hello friends, I’m calling your

attention this time for a specific

purpose. I’m standing for the

post of “vice president” for

BPSC_UoB for the year 2009-

10. I remember the time when I

came to Birmingham, five thou-

sand miles away from home, to

pursue my dreams. I had gone

through many problems like

looking for an accommodation,

looking for guidance, looking

for tips to find cheap transpor-

tation, where one can have a

member of the organising commit-

tee for various national level confer-

ences and technical project competi-

tions at my college level.

My idea is to keep our flag flying

high & I’m sure you’d be with me in

this endeavour of mine. Let us make

this a joint endeavour by putting

your aye to my

selection.

JAI HIND!!!!

Cultural Society at my college during my

UG and also won several medals for my

acting and voice modulation in Skits

and Drama events. I was also the Chief

Student Editor of my college magazine

and the Sports Secretary; a testimony of

which are the many major sports events

that I have organised at the district

level.

At the UoB, with a totally different cul-

ture and atmosphere, I’ve tried to be in

the thick of the things during the short

period of two months that I’ve spent

here. During this time, I have become

the Postgraduate Student Ambassador

of my School and also a member of In-

ternational Student Focus groups and

the Eco-Power Rangers, etc. What has

Post: Finance Officer

Nominee: Vishal Tewari

Hi! I’m

V i s h a l

T e w a r i !

Y o u r

treasurer

for the

next one

year (hopefully). I am an MSc

Electronic and Computer Engi-

neering student with more than

two years of work experience with

CSC and Motorola.

Well if that isn’t enough useful

information, then I must add that

I was the chief co-ordinator of the

been missing though, is the Indian

touch and our beloved BP is one

good place to get it back. By being a

treasurer here, I will have the huge

responsibility of ensuring that the

lifeline of this capitalistic world :

‘FUNDS’ are managed properly.

In return, I wish to garner your trust

in giving me this responsibility. To

those who’ve met me before, I am

confident that you consider me reli-

able and capable enough to do the

job. To those who haven’t, MEET

ME and find out!

Nominations and Manifestos for BPSC_UoB 2009-10

Post: Cultural Co-ordinator

Nominee: Abhishek Yende

Hi, my name is Abhishek, I am currently pursuing my LLM from Birmingham Law School and contest-

ing for the position of cultural coordinator at “Bharat Parivar”. Having been a University representative

during my undergraduate degree, I am well equipped to be the voice of Bharat Parivar.

Being a part of Bharat Parivar and representing fellow Indians by voicing their opinion as their

representative would be a great opportunity.I have won many national and college level dance

competition one of which was hosted by the MTV channel. I also run a dance troupe named “Zeal” in India. One of

my major achievements was organising classical concert by Zakir Hussein, Shankar Mahadevan and Kavita Krish-

namurti, this event was hosted by Nana Patekar in my university. I also had the opportunity to perform in Bharat

Parivar during the Diwali festival 2009.

Considering my above experience in the field of cultural events, I decided to contest for this post as it will benefit the

society in hosting future events. I believe I can help make a positive difference, once elected I will work closely with

Post: Technical Officer

Nominee: Deepak Manoharan

Hi folks, my name in Deepak Manoharan and I am currently pursing my MBA from Bir-

mingham Business School. I would like to contest for the post of “Technical Officer” at

Bharat Parivar -2009.

“Bharat Parivar” is one of the best Indian communities in the University and being a part of

its team and representing my fellow Indians is a great opportunity. During my undergradu-

ate degree I was a part of the Technical committee in organizing Fashion Shows(Finesse

2K1 & Finesse 2K2) in the university. The responsibilities included the arrangements of the instruments for the show,

selection of music, lighting and promotions for the show. Apart from these, I was nicknamed as the “Photographer”

and the “Gadget Guru” by my friends. Also a very socially active person, as you can find me on most of the social web-

sites (facebook, Orkut, Linkedin) and the founder of three very active groups (PSG_FT04, AMPIANS06 and Spinney

“The 11”)

With all my experience in conducting shows and being a very active person, I decided to contest for the Post of Tech-

nical Officer, which I feel needs a bit of experience and loads of enthusiasm. Once elected, I will work closely and give

all my support to the team in efficient functioning of the society.

Nominations and Manifestos for BPSC_UoB 2009-10

Post: Administration Officer

Nominee: Rajdeep