Experience

ALOHA SCINTILLATIONS 2010 JNC fest on 22nd and 23rd will be etched in our memories forever. it could be said that we Johnites, went, participated and conquered.
to start of with, the Mad med men juniors from the batch of 2007 took part in ice breaker. the determination to win was quite evident from the fact that jino roshan jobin davis came all the way from Kerala despite vacations to participate. after a few nerve wrecking moments where there were doubts as to whether we would even participate cos guitarist TP was stuck in his community medicine end off exam, we managed to pull of a performance that had the audience in their splits . honestly speaking we didnt expect to win this time and our chances took a further blow when we came to know that we had exceeded the time limit. but guess it was going to be our day as we were announced the winners. what a great way to start the fest and maintain our 100% winning streak in ice breakers.
well the following few lines may sound narcissist or gloating about self but please do pardon.4 events were clashing at the same time for yours truly. only red bull and ice cream saved me from collapse out of exhaustion. by the grace of god and the support of fellow johnites, i could pull of 2nd in JAM after a tough competition with Christ college and SJPUC. it was then turn for picto where my team consisting of avian chang, jeffrey lewis and myself and the team from the batch of 2009 comprising of jerry,brian royson qualified for the finals. after getting power puff girls in 3 seconds and guessing the names of songs and personalities we manged to finish 2nd just 5 points behind the winners of east point college. it was also fun to be carla bruni in aircrash and share the honours. henry and kurian from the batch of 2009 finished 3rd in a quiz. the evening was marked by the appearnce of kannada actor chetan which probably resulted in deafness for a few as the girls just couldnt stop screaming.
2nd day arrived. mad ads began with a twist. we had 2 new members in tilak pinto and jasbon andrade. moreover, the judge stipulated a new rule that we had to include a celebrity in our mad ads and we got the king himself-lalloo. nevertheless we wracked our brains and incorporated him into a scene. the cheers of the crowd egged us on to give one of our best performances. and in what was one of the stiffest competitions we have taken part in out of 15 teams we were adjudged 1st. best narrator went to jobin jose of our team and best actor to jino joy. jino continued his award winnig spree and had the crowd in rapturous applause for his rendition of Othello in Malayalam which was followed by a humorous take on the navarasa. no surprises that he walked away with victory.
being a medical student helps. in whats the gud word, we walked with a 1-2 victory. guessing the movie JAWS by the clue mandible, staccato from intermittent might seem a cakewalk for us johnites but other teams were spellbound by the ease in which we won. though we qualified for the DC finals, we couldnt make the most of it.
in the end we will remember the fest. we could not repeat the heroics of last year as we did not have representation in most of the stage events and a different points system. nevertheless we made our mark and our presence felt. a big thank you to Nikhil Dhanpal and the 2006 committee. and congratulations to all the winners and participants.

A three day cultural fest ‘COBALT SKIES’ was organized by BMC on the 22nd,23rd and 24th of October’09.
In keeping with the true Johnite spirit we were all eager to participate and put our best foot forward! Since the seniors were busy with exams,batches ‘08 and ‘09 teamed up and took part in most events.
All of us…the juniors of ‘09 were  eager to take part in our very first  inter collegiate cultural fest as Johnites…! It was a perfect opportunity for us not only to display our talents but to unearth some as well.

"Aagnya"

Encouraged by the accolades we received after the performance at ‘FAREWELL’,our dance team ‘AAGNYA’ participated in the Theme Dance event and depicted Indian Mythology.We competed against 8 other colleges,PESIT being our toughest competitors.However a bit of last minute improvisation and extra hours of practice(not to mention extra members…still don’t know how 14 of us managed to sync!)
seemed to pay off as we bagged the 1st place!winning a cash prize of 5k.We were exuberant!…more because our seniors told us their “baby juniors” had done them proud!
Students of ‘09 took part in other events too…Quiz,Personality,Jam,Western electric…The fest gave us good exposure and we gained a lot of insight.It was fun working with the seniors of ‘08 and getting to know them better.
We are really grateful to our seniors(especially the committee members) who despite their exams always kept themselves informed about the on goings.They were a constant source of help and encouragement…egged us on to go for a win…and of course..to have the time of our lives!(you bet we did!)
All in all it was an amazing first experience and all of us are avidly anticipating more fun times ahead!

Hi!

For those who don’t know me, I’m George K. John from the batch of 2003. Iv just been selected as one among the five Rhodes scholars from India for the year 2010.It’s a great feeling to be among illustrious company, being the sixth Rhodes scholar from St.Johns. This win is especially special because I’m the second person from the batch of 2003 after Rakesh Sharma to become a Rhodes scholar, a definite record of sorts.

The elaborate process of applying began in July with me running around getting references and testimonials. After that I sat down to write the thousand word essay which forms the heart of the application. I heard back from the Rhodes trust in the end of August saying I’d been short listed for the regional interviews. The total number of applicants vary each year and range from 400 to 600 of which approximately 200 are selected for the regional interviews held in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata.I was informed of my selection to the final interview during the end of September.

The final interview for the Rhodes Scholarship was held in Mumbai on the 11th and 12th of October. It has been a tradition of the Rhodes scholarships to have a dinner on the previous night of the interview for the candidates to meet the panel. The panel for this year was under the chairmanship of Mr.Ratan Tata and included Congress leader and parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi. Others on the panel included Mr. Nandan Kamath, Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal, Ms. Rakhi Mehra, Professor Vir Chauhan (the secretary of the Rhodes trust in India) and others.

The interview was a great experience and lasted for about 20 minutes. It was a real honour to be able to interact with people of the stature of Ratan Tata, Rahul Gandhi and the other Rhodes Scholars on the panel, all pioneers in their respective fields.

And after waiting for the longest time the results were finally announced. The Scholars for 2010 would be Baskar Bhusan who is currently doing an MSc in Chemistry from IIT Kanpur and will study a Phd in Chemistry at Oxford; Tanya Bhattaracharya who is currently in her final year of a BA in History from University of Delhi St Stephens College and will pursue a second BA in History, V Niranjan of NLSIU, Aditya Swarup of NALSAR and me.

I intend to pursue a masters in Global Health at the University of Oxford and to specialize in medical oncology later. Preventive oncology, especially screening and early diagnosis and treatment of the most prevalent cancers is what I am most interested in. I aim to come back to India after my studies and set up a community-based cancer screening and treatment program in the near future.

Although academic excellence forms the foundation to become a Rhodes Scholar, I think that should not become a hindrance to do what you really like and enjoy doing. The aim at least in undergraduate days at St.John’s should be to utilize the wonderful opportunity which is provided to us to develop as well rounded individuals.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my parents, my brother, my teachers at St.John’s and my dear friends all of whom have played a key role in moulding me as a person. I would like to express my special gratitude to the Mad Med Men, our team, and finally to God almighty without whose blessings none of this would have been possible.

I do hope that more Johnites will join the list of Rhodes scholars in the years to come. I look forward to my time at Oxford next year and hope that it will be an enriching experience.

Regards,

George K. John
Batch of 2003
St.Johns Medical College
Rhodes Scholar – elect, Class of 2010.