Experiences define us. They mould us. They make us. The experiences of others show us the way. They help guide us in the right direction. Thus, we present to you XPeerience, an initiative from Illuminatix, the Media and PR cell of XIMB. Through this newsletter, we plan to bring to you some of the latest happenings in and around XIMB, in a light and informal tone. Along with this, the featured section of every edition of this newsletter will have two interviews of two XIMBians who have seen the better part of one and a half years at this institute. We hope this initiative will help us know our peers better and get to know the persons behind the various persona here at XIMB. The different sections of this newsletter would be as follows : 1. What’s Up? – This section would deal with events which have taken place

in XIMB between the previous and current editions of this newsletter. This page would replace the Preface page from the next edition.

2. Carefree Whispers – The featured section of this newsletter containing interviews of eminent XIMBians.

3. Who’s that Xpeer? – A ‘Who am I?’ type contest section where a distorted image of a fellow XIMBian would be included. Readers are encouraged to send in their responses.

4. Campus Buzz – A look into the latest gossip, jokes and rumours going around in the campus. This would mostly be audience generated content, so we would love to receive all the low-down on your present life here at XIMB. We will include this section from the next edition of XPeerience.

5. Through the Looking Glass – This page would have events of note coming up in XIMB over the next couple of weeks. This page will be added from the next edition.

We plan to include contests and surprise elements from time to time in this newsletter. We would also like to introduce our Mascot, Peerie . Look, he says‘Hi!”. He will be asking the questions around here! More on Peerie in the coming editions of XPeerience. We hope this newsletter would be a welcome addition to the plethora of XIMB initiatives already in place. To a new beginning…

Name the person/people without whom you think your XIMB journey would be incomplete.My block-mates, classmates, the faculty, mess bhainas, practically everyone that I have interacted with till now. If you are looking for any specific person, then I am afraid I would have to disappoint you.

The whole Potnuru Ji persona, give us your take on your rising popularity?It's flattering as well as humbling. I have some crazy and great friends who have a rather unique way of showing their love. I mean nobody creates a fan page for their friend. At times it makes me more conscious about myself, like what if I do something wrong or what if other people think that I have changed. But my friends help me keep my feet on the ground. Any reason or event which sparked off this fan page?Even I am wondering now why or rather how it all started? To tell you the story how it all started, we were at my friend’s room and doing some bakar, and suddenly out of blue moon they decide to make a fan page for me. Don’t know what was on their minds and now this page has 4 Admins! I am just going with the flow. 

The number of ‘Likes’ on the Potnuru Ji fan club page is on the rise, with people even from outside the institute contributing to the number. Your comments.

Well for this again I thank my crazy friends and their relentless efforts. If it is outside the institute, I guess they have taken a vow to make it a national phenomenon. Some of my naughtier relatives have also

joined in and are keeping a close watch. They like my pictures and sometimes put in some comments here and there.

Potnuru JiA person about whom we have heard so much. He even has his own Fan page on

Facebook. He dances, he dazzles. Yet, when he sat down with Peerie for this half hour interview, we understood that he was the most down to earth, genuine person and

friend one could ever meet. He smiled and laughed his way through the interview and into our hearts. We’re sure he’ll reach yours…

What is your signature dance move? (Yes, we have seen the video from last year’s Maxinations!)I don’t consider myself a dancer. Dil se jo bi ata hai I try to do it. About the Maxinations dance performance; I hope you liked it because we had put in a lot of effort as a team. It was a great experience and we had a lot of fun. I love dancing during JLTs; One of my best memories at XIMB. You never realize the time until the DJ announces the closing.

Tell us something about your interest in sketching? How do you find the time for it?If you are interested in something you can find time for it. This hobby has been with me since I was a kid. I thought of putting it online because I am very excited about it. My paintings in my old note books were getting damaged so I decided to digitize them and I also get some good comments which helps in improvement.

Your comments on being called ‘Systems God’ in Kurukshetra.I would say God is an overstatement. I was in the Systems module and Systems in Kurukshetra is intense work. I was not the only member in this team, I was the POC. We were a great team. We had a great time, sometimes having night-outs working under tough deadlines. People from outside our college come to play expecting Excel sheets and when you give them a game with a proper UI, it is a great feeling. 

Who do you think will win the ‘Biggest Fan of Potnuru Ji’ contest on Facebook?

It's just a fun activity. Earlier I used to feel awkward but now I am enjoying it. I hope that everyone is enjoying it as well. I think the Admins are the right people to decide about the winner .

That one moment (or moments) when you first felt you were an XIMBian?It was on the third day of Xpressions. We were checking passes of everyone coming to the campus for fakes, shouting at the top of our voices, preventing people from breaking the barricades. Another moment was the JLT held in the Auditorium on the last day of Expressions, which was very difficult to handle. We had to work a lot as a part of the SAXIM committee but we enjoyed a lot as well.

Name the person/people without whom you think your XIMB journey would be incomplete.I am a very sociable and love making friends. My journey at XIMB would have been incomplete without my friends. The list is quite big, so I won’t be able to name them.

The story behind the two nicknames – ‘Happy’ and ‘Sadhu’.‘Sadhu’ was a character in a famous joke my friends and I used to share. Somehow, the name 'Sadhu' got linked with me. Even during my engineering days, my teachers and friends used to call me with this name. The nickname 'Happy' was given by one my friends, Gunjan Rana. I guess it is because I am always happy, ever excited.

The inspiration behind the romantic status messages on Facebook.

There was a girl during my graduation days and the romantic status messages on FB are kind of an introspection of those days. There is nothing specific to XIMB.

What is so special about your roll number – 22?In Punjab, we call our friends, elder brothers, etc. as 'Bai' and we

write it as 22 in short form. So I am happy that I have a roll number(22) which holds significance for me.

HappySomeone who justifies the nickname given to him by his friends. You would rarely see him not having a good time and making the best of the moment. However, as Peerie got to know him better, and found out what makes Harshpreet‘Sadhu’ Singh tick, we

discovered a person fiercely dedicated to his heart and to his friends. Here’s what Peerie asked him…

How was the XLRI Valhalla experience, being the head of the S & C (Sledging and Cheering) committee?It was a good experience indeed. I was not participating in any of the teams. I had gone there as a motivator, to keep up the energy level of the people participating. I was present at all the matches that XIMB was involved in. We cheered, we sledged and we enjoyed ourselves a lot.

Your role as a member of SAXIM.PUNCH DOCTOR: I only do things that I want to do from the heart. In SAXIM, there have been so many changes this year and we as team SAXIM are very proud of that. Earlier we had no cash, so now we have introduced the membership rule so that we have some liquidity. We have taken many decisions which have turned out really good for us. Earlier the JLT's were not an ownership event of SAXIM but now it is the responsibility of SAXIM.

We had a very grand SAXIM launch. What was the idea behind it?The idea was to make it spectacular. SAXIM is a committee which doesn't give you something which you can put down in your CV. You don't even get appreciation from people till the time they are drunk! So we wanted people to like the committee. May be would want to know what SAXIM is and what SAXIM does. Also, there was a hype created for SAXIM by Mithun during the committee launches, about a totally different kind of launch, not accompanied by any PPT and it not happening in the Auditorium. The launch had to justify our General Secretary’s words.

The way he matches his turban color to the event? It is my hobby. Currently I have around 50 turbans with me,

mostly of bright colours, so I manage to find at least one turban to match every occasion. I had worn a green one for Gramotsava.