Dear junctionites,

On the Forbes list of the best countries for doing business, India stands at 98 among 145 nations, the lowest among the other BRIC nations. It has cited poverty, corruption and discrimination against girls among the challenges facing the country. The ranking was conducted on eleven different factors – property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance.

I believe businesses are run by people and the responsibility lies with the people to act upon these eleven parameters and finally take ownership of them. I wanted to share this with you because at mjunction, we are running a business as well, and would have contributed to the way India

stands with regard to this ranking. Having said that, I also believe that we have it in us to rise to the occasion and take corrective measures. I feel confident that all of us together will be able to inculcate accountability in the way we do our business. Everything, I believe, begins and ends with ownership and that is what I want each one of us to practise here at mjunction.

In fact, the theme of our recently concluded half-yearly conference was “Push the pedal to the metal,” which means that mjunction is now expected to stretch its performances as an organisation, which automatically extends to all its people. A high-performance organisation is what I envision mjunction to be.

It is only when there is ownership do we gain the trust of all our stakeholders. In fact, a survey by Equitymaster has put the Tata Group at the top as readers have voted them to be ‘The Most Trustworthy Corporate Group’. Equitymaster is a leading independent equity research initiative and a total of 14,107 votes were cast in the survey that was conducted on its website for a week.

mjunction has, since inception, worked on gaining the trust and faith of its internal as well as external stakeholders. The cornerstones of mjunction’s philosophy – efficiency, transparency and innovation – have also remained the same over the years. However, what has changed is the way we look at ourselves and adopt a new nomenclature to do so. In today’s fast changing world, business models are evolving as also what they are being called. I believe mjunction has always been a business process management company, long before the term was coined to describe business models that focus on transformation, outcomes and creating value rather than on lift and shift, arbitration and offshoring. And that is exactly what this new emerging business model seeks to present. It means the entity becomes a full value service provider instead of being a player in the lower end of the service spectrum.

mjunction, which has always trained its sights on outcomes and end-to-end service, thus can now officially adopt the name of being a business process management company. We are also well poised to take advantage of the capabilities we have developed over the years and the myriad opportunities the market presents.

In the last issue of Beyond Barriers, I had mentioned the Incubation Cell, which is a cell that has been set up to nurture and execute new ideas. I had also mentioned about sharing some of its successes with you in this issue. One of the earliest successes of this cell is the business of estimation and detailing of construction material for the steel industry. This business has now come into its own and has been hived off into a separate business unit. In fact, we are in the process of zeroing in on a name for the unit which will best reflect what it does and stands for. Some of the other projects that the cell was running have also been successful and have gone live. One business improvement project that I would definitely like to mention here is the “supplier offer site” developed for the Tata Global Beverages, which was looking for an IT-enabled solution to automate its private tea buying process. The project has been made operational and we are even looking at expansion possibilities.

Like every time, I will share some ejunction milestones with you. One project which deserves special mention is the Hoonur se Rozgaar project of Indian Hotels in Kolkata in partnership with the Indian Institute of Hotel Management. ejunction has tied up with this project and 18 boys and three girls from different centres of ejunction have been sent for a six-week training programme on housekeeping and kitchen services. I wish them all the best.

Wishing all of you and your families a happy and peaceful 2014.

Regards,

Viresh Oberoi

December 2013Volume V Issue IV

WHAT’S INSIDE

mj at Vigilance Awareness session 2Mock safety drill at mj premises 2

milestones @ mjunction 3straigtline.in: Gifting an experience 4TBEM: A quest for excellence 5

mj officials address IMT students 6Client speak 13mjunction achieves CMMI Level 5 7

Travelogue: Kashmir 10Know your junctionite 11mj annual picnic 12mj in T20 tournament 13

Spot awards and new faces 13New borns 14Wedding bells 15Quiz corner 16

From the MD

BEYONDBARRIERS

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

2

FROM THEEDITOR’SDESK

Editorial TeamMadhuchanda Dasgupta, Gayatri Sehgal

DesignDebal Ray, Sobhan Jas

For suggestions, feedback and queries, please write to beyondbarriers@mjunction.in

Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the prior permission of mjunction services limited. Please inform us if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed.

Disclaimer: This document is for information purpose only. Certain information herein has been acquired from various external sources believed to be reliable. While we have taken reasonable care to compile this report, we in no way assume any responsibility for any error or discrepancy in regards to information contained herein. Readers are requested to make appropriate judgement without any prejudice or compulsion.

Visit us at www.mjunction.in

Dear Readers,

What are the five, or ten, or 21 qualities that a good leader should possess? Are you a born leader? What is your leadership style? Can leadership traits be acquired? One can write reams and reams on leadership. However, one trait that sets a good leader apart from the rest is perhaps ownership, without which all other qualities come to nought. Leadership is synonymous with responsibility and ownership, and that is exactly what our managing director Mr Viresh Oberoi stressed at the half-yearly conference which was attended by senior leaders of the company.

It was a successful conference which we will cover in detail in the next issue of Beyond Barriers. The focus was on growth-oriented performance and all senior leaders were urged to be on high-performance track.

The country seems to be at the threshold of exciting times. At the same time they will be challenging times as well on all counts as far as India is concerned. Economically, politically and socially. As a company, mjunction has always taken its social responsibilities seriously and will continue to do so, whether through the responsible way in which it does business or in the way it reaches out for larger social causes. And that is the way it will continue to be – pursue excellence notwithstanding roadblocks.

Beyond Barriers presents a small capsule of our life at mjunction. There is a lot of work and sometimes there is a lot of play. There is social awareness, a continuous and accountable process of giving back to society and there is a constant focus on our customers, who at the end of the day form our backbone. In the last quarter, a huge feather in the cap was the CMMI Level 5 certification and mjunction celebrated with gusto. The year-end picnic was also an occasion when everyone got together with families to have a good time.

In our next issue we will cover the last quarter of FY14, which will mark the end of an eventful financial year. We look forward to your suggestions and your feedback.

Madhuchanda DasguptaEditor

Mock safety drill at mj premises

A fire, safety and e m e r g e n c y e v a c u a t i o n

mock drill was held on November 21, 2013, at the Godrej Waterside premises of mjunction. The drill was initiated around 10.30 a.m. and all junctionites and visitors took part.

The evacuation was completed in standard time, after which everyone assembled at the Assembly area at ground floor between Tower I and Tower II. The vice-president Mr Vinaya Varma conveyed to all the

importance of safety and a brief report about the drill was given by Safety Officer Capt. Rama Shankar. Capt. Rama Shankar also provided training and demonstration for firefighting with the help of fire extinguisher.

The Chief of Administration Mr Korak Saha provided the concluding remarks.

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

3

valuejunction helps sale of scrap from pharma co

A pharmaceutical plant at Mohali in Chandigarh sought valuejunction’s expertise in helping them to dismantle and sell of around 3,561 tons of structural, platform, pipes (MS&SS).

Objectives

� To obtain maximum price realisation;

� To complete the auction process in just seven days.

Challenges

� Client’s name could not be disclosed;

� Auction on Rs/ton basis instead of lots in absence of availability of exact quantity categorically.

Strategy adopted

� Successful marketing of the online auction;

� Thoughtful selection of bidders through its huge bidder database;

� Searching and contacting relevant ferrous and non-ferrous scrap dealers;

� New auction strategy using weighted average basis.

Key achievements

� Price realisation: The auction saw good price realisation that exceeded the client’s expectation.

� Negating location constraint: In spite of the plant location being Chandigarh, bidders from all over India participated in the auction. Bidders from Kolkata, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Chennai and Delhi, among other places, participated in the auction.

� High bidder participation: The auction saw high bidder participation of more than 10 which is more than thrice the requirement for a successful auction.

� Time stipulation: Team valuejunction completed the entire process in just seven days.

� Implementation of client-specific strategy: Considering the entire client’s requirements,

the team developed a new auction strategy. Total material quantity was not known. Client wanted the auction on a per ton basis and a single customer to purchase all the material. Thus the bidding was calculated on a weighted average basis. It is the first time that such a strategy was successfully adopted and implemented for a single client.

valuejunction aids sale of scrap BTS for Tata Teleservicesvaluejunction, the mjunction business unit responsible for the sale of idle assets, has helped Tata Teleservices to sell 755 units of scrap base transreceiver station (BTS) which had been lying idle with them for over three years. BTS is an equipment that facilitates wireless communication between user equipment (mobile phones, computer with Internet etc) and a network (GSM, CDMA, WAN, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc).

Tata Teleservices provides end-to-end telecommunications solutions for business and residential customers across the nation and internationally by offering telephony services- data services, value added services and infrastructure services and media and entertainment services. It is a pioneer of the CDMA 1x technology platform in India and also has a significant presence in the 2G GSM space.

The business challenge

� The BTS could only be sold as e-waste;

� The BTS could be sold to only registered e-waste recyclers with available finance;

� Only a few local buyers were available. However, they were not registered as e-waste recyclers and neither did they offer a good price for the BTS.

The solution & strategy

valuejunction met the challenge in a systematic, efficient and innovative matter. They first enlisted interested e-waste recyclers with a capacity to finance the buy of 755 units of BTS. Since the BTS could only be sold to e-waste recyclers, valuejunction decided to sell the BTS units as per their weight. The market survey pegged the price of the BTS at Rs 110 per kg.

A forward auction with 22 qualified e-waste recyclers was conducted. The bidders bid competitively and valuejunction achieved a price

of Rs 136 per kg. The 755 units of BTS weighing 240 tons were sold at a price of Rs 326.4 lakh.

Results & achievementsTata Teleservices received significant benefits due to valuejunction’s assistance:

� Conversion of idle asset into capital: The BTS units were lying idle and hence accruing costs. valuejunction was able to unlock the value of the idle units by selling them at a competitive price.

� Good price realisation: There was a 23.63% increase in the final price the BTS was sold at.

� A large bidder base ensuring competitive price: 22 bidders took active part in the auction, resulting in competitive bidding.

metaljunction facilitates coal tar sale in SAIL units

metaljunction was given the mandate to sell 3,000 tons and 4,000 tons of coal tar by SAIL ISP and SAIL DSP respectively.

The objective was to bring down the inventory level in the plant premises.

Challenges

The challenge for the metaljunction team was that, with major steel units coming up with installation of the new coke oven battery, the supply of coal tar exceeded demand, and hence the quantity booked in the initial auctions held was almost negligible.

Strategy adopted

The metaljunction team did a buyer profiling of the entire coal tar buyer base. The buyers were approached individually to convert them from their regular market to participate in these auctions. The higher start bid price was also discouraging buyers to participate in the auction initially. The metaljunction team decided to start the auction at zero price to discover the right price in the market. The team earned the buyer’s confidence by removing the restriction of a tight start bid price.

Key achievements

The total quantity booked from the auctions was 6,800 tons, after which the material was lifted within the stipulated timeline. The client was satisfied as a suitable market price was arrived at. Also, the material was evacuated at a very fast rate.

milestones @mjunction

www.valuejunction.in

© mjunction services limited, 2011. This document remains the property of mjunction services limited and must not be copied or distributed in hardcopy or electronic form without the prior written approval of mjunction services limited. For more information, write to us at: contactus@mjunction.in

www.metaljunction.com

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

4

www.straightline.in, the online shopping store from mjunction, has metamorphosed and undergone a complete transformation to serve its customers better. Identifying an

ocean of possibilities in the emerging online gifting market in India, and recognising the void, it has gone right ahead and transformed itself into a specialised gifting store. It has made a beginning and is gearing up to position itself as India’s largest online gifting store.

What’s new and found only in a fewstraightline.in has a brand new layout, and a rich user interface which is bound to ignite and hold the interest of its users. The attractive interface and user-friendly navigation will compel users to explore the site. The site has been re-designed in such a way that it provides effective gifting solutions for all segments of customers.

The issues have been addressed by segmenting the categories of gifts so that the user does not have to rummage through the entire site and spend hours finding out what he needs. The new-look and re-designed straightline website is equipped with a handful of smart filters that will showcase the right gifts within seconds!

The new search filtersWhat are the prime factors that we consider while looking for a gift? The occasion, relationship with the one we would like to gift, his/her age, the type of gift we want to buy and of course the price. These are exactly the filters that straightline has introduced, so that the customer does not have to worry one bit about finding the right gift for the right person within the right budget.

Quality & experience above priceIn today’s thickly populated market of online shopping, there is always a neck to neck competition in pricing. However, not everything can be measured in terms of money. However clichéd it may sound, a son living thousands of miles away or a couple who are away from each other on special occasions, will prefer reliability and quality over only pricing. They would look for a service which will make their loved ones feel special. A service that gives them something extra. straightline thus would like to provide a “shopping for gifts” experience which is enjoyable and which will be backed with good service. When it comes to gifting a loved one, a person would tend to overlook a little difference in price and deliver a special product with love.

At straightline.in, we accord top priority to the feelings that are attached with the gifts and go that extra mile to make sure that your special occasions and moments are marked with special gifts and love. In fact straightline will not deliver just a gift. It will deliver a complete gifting experience and the price that it will charge for it will be commensurate with the service! straightline wants its customers to make that choice. Whether they want to look for the least possible price or whether they want to focus on the quality and the experience that is being delivered along with the gifts. After all, a gift is a material object, but the experience one creates around receiving it, is what makes it special.

Reliable gifting experienceThere are numerous factors that together determine the success or failure of a new venture. straightline.in has been making continuous efforts to make sure that it gradually evolves as an online gifting giant in India and caters to the demands of an average Indian buyer. Each stride is being backed by streamlined technology and effective market research, and it believes it is carving out a strong niche for itself in the Indian e-gifting market. It believes in delivering reliable gifting and that is what it is promising to its customers.

We seek your inputs and ideas to make it more exciting for consumers so please share your suggestions and thoughts at straightline@mjunction.in. Of course do visit www.straightline.in for a complete gifting experience.

: Gifting an experience®

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

5

mjunction’s Guiding Force

At mjunction, we have evolved from conducting forward auctions to providing business process management

(BPM) solutions to our clients, which essentially means we deliver outcomes rather than simply services. We are now a Level 5 CMMI organization managing business processes for Indian and offshore clients on both sides of the supply chain. This journey has taken us a little over a decade, and apart from investments in time, we have spent our energies in fortifying internal processes to deliver superior services.

The frameworks we followed are ISO and the Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM) and these standards have helped us in achieving stable core processes that today deliver growing

business results at the same time ensuring customer satisfaction.

The TBEM is a process improvement framework modeled upon the Malcom Balridge Quality Programme, vastly popular in the USA. mjunction has been participating in the annual TBEM assessments for some years now, improving on its score each year, to reach a total of 486 out of 1000, in the last assessment completed in 2013. A score of 486 is defined as “good performance” in the TBEM parlance and means that key work processes at mjunction benefit from fact-based evaluation and improvement. It also means that process approaches are aligned with organisational needs.

Process Excellence is not a destination – it

is a journey by itself. The immediate goal for us is to cross the 550 score band which brings with it the badge of “emerging industry leader”. This can be achieved by a concerted effort in practicing excellence as individuals, in all that we do each day.

At the organisational level, various interventions are being planned around the themes of High Performance, Customer Centricity and a “Technology Driven Approach” to name a few. A dedicated core team of about twenty junctionites including old hands and juniors will be at the helm to steer mjunction to its goal. In this endeavour, we need all junctionites to contribute through attitude, intent and commitment. The shore is very near, only the water is torrid. Thus we keep on rowing…..till of course we reach the shores.

Tata Business Excellence Model:In the quest for excellence

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

6

“On behalf of the LP Group of BSO Bhilai, I wish to thank Mr Madhurendra Kumar and his team for their continued support.I look forward to continued support from the mjunction team.”

Neeraj MittalAGM (M-LP) & Branch Manager,, SAIL , BSP

“On behalf of the BCCL Sales and Marketing Division, I would like to thank Archi Choudhury and his team for successfully conducting spot e-auction of coal and coal products. The mjunction team has been of great help and we hope to receive continued support in future as well.”

Samrat Chatterjee Sr. Manager (Sales & Marketing), BCCL

“SAIL BSP had floated OLFA for plate cutting Cat-B (FA-10100129). This material was offered for the first time from BSP through the metaljunction platform. We received 100% participation from customers due to proactive follow-up of the mjunction team, and we were able to sell the material at good realisation value.We would like to recognise the proactive support of your Client Relationship Management team, especially Mr Madhurendra Kumar and Mr Niraj Kumar Vaishnaw and team in this case.”

R.K. Tewary DGM (M&BP), BSP

“The Rourkela Steel Plant has earned a revenue of Rs 13 crore through the successful auction of precious metals and the entire sales cycle was completed in a span of 15 days.In this regard, we appreciate the special efforts put in by Mr K. Manivasagan, Mr Somnath Mukherjee, Mr Rajib Nayak and the entire team of mjunction.”

S.K. ChhabraGM Marketing, RSP

“mjunction services conducted 14 spot e-auctions for SCCL where SCCL offered 2,980,200 tons. Of the total quantity, 2,313,842 tons was sold. The total revenue gain for SCCL against the sale of e-auction quantity by mjunction was Rs 147.79 crore over the reserve price.Every effort was made by the mjunction team to improve the bid price. On behalf of SCCL, we thank Mr Archi Choudhury and his team for their effort.”

SureshEx CGM (Marketing), SCCL

“Mr Kaushik Mitra and Mr Abhijit Bhattacharjee took an interactive session of appraisal of e-auction with the Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) executives. It was an interesting session and evoked lots of queries and interaction among the participants.”

Partha Mishra Sr Mgr/Course Coordinator, HRD, CCL

Client speak

mj senior officials address students at IMT Nagpur

In November 2013, the Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Nagpur, invited two senior officials of mjunction to address its students. While the Chief of Marketing and mjunctionedge Mr Linus Lobo

spoke on "Marketing Strategies in the Digital era," the Head of Corporate Sales Mr Anirban Sarkar held forth on “Evolution of Supply Chain as a Function.”

In his 90-minute lecture, Mr Lobo said the world has changed from watching TV or reading newspapers and magazines to now where the media is in the hands of the audience in the form of smart phones and tablets. Content is freely searchable and watchable whenever the audience desires rather than when the publisher desires. However, he also pointed out that the content clutter has brought down the attention span of human beings to less than that of a goldfish, which is less than 8 seconds. Thus it is becoming increasingly challenging for marketers to ensure recall of their brands with their customers.

Mr Lobo shared with the students cases where brands had spent

crores of rupees on conventional TV and print advertising but did not embrace digital marketing in their strategies and how competitors seized the opportunity that this company had left open.

He also spoke about why is it important that as marketers we should create markets where others see none, especially in a country as populous as India with such large segments not in the economic mainstream. He pointed out India’s enormous potential and showed how China has grown economically because it had mainstreamed almost all of its population, considering them and treating them as an asset rather than a national drain. The lecture was followed by a 30-minute interaction with the students.

In his session, Mr Sarkar took the students through how supply chain has evolved as a function, its criticality and how it can be a real opportunity for young managers. He touched upon the evolution of the sourcing and procurement industry and mjunction’s sourcing and procurement strategies. He also elaborated on how mjunction is creating value for its clients.

Mr Sarkar ended with elaborating on opportunities in this field for young talents, what young managers should do and how careers can evolve in the sourcing and procurement vertical.

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

7

mjunction services limited announced that its Technology department has been appraised at Maturity Level 5, the highest maturity level of the CMMI Institute’s Capability Maturity Model®

Integration for CMMI®-DEV (Development) Version 1.3. An appraisal at maturity level 5 indicates that the organization is performing

at an “optimizing” level. At this level, an organization continually improves its processes based on a quantitative understanding of its business objectives and performance needs and this also reflects its strong commitment toward process maturity and service quality, ensuring an experience of certainty for its customers.

The CEO and MD of mjunction services, Viresh Oberoi, said: “This assessment is a significant achievement for us and this manifests the existence of robust development, maintenance & project management processes in our Technology department. I am sure this achievement will help us in aligning Technology to the overall organization’s focus on measurability and predictability of our outcome. With this coveted rating we have made our mark in the list of a select few companies globally.” He added that, “This now provides

our Technology team the opportunity to offer their services not only to our internal business units but also to external customers. I look forward to the Technology team building their pre-sales capability (with our two CST teams) which would enable them to get external assignments as well.”

Rajarshi Das, a Certified High Maturity Lead Appraiser from Greenfield Solutions, during the final findings presentation said, “mjunction’s

Technology department has processes in place that are as good as the best in the world; it should believe it can also compete with the best when it comes to working with external customers.”

mjunction’s in-house Technology team has over 10 years of expertise in developing innovative and reliable e-commerce solutions. Its agile architecture models help mjunction to support a multitude of domains and business models. Along with developing the most reusable and plug and play products, it has over the years invested heavily in developing a state-of-the-art infrastructure that has a 99% availability and is 100% reliable with built

in failover. Compliance to ISO 27000 makes all its data handling 100% secure.

With this new feather in its cap, mjunction is committed

towards providing highly acclaimed solutions to the emerging needs of businesses around the world.

All junctionites celebrate achievementJunctionites let their hair down at a

party on December 17 to celebrate the Technology division's CMMI Level 5 certification.

The evening began with the Chief of Technology Mr Amit Kumar Khan addressing the large gathering at the poolside of the Pride Hotel in Rajarhat of Kolkata.

Mr Khan said the CMMI journey began way back in 2008 and the present achievement has been the culmination of a number of smaller milestones. It is time to look forward and improve upon internal processes to make them more robust, he added.

The CEO & MD of mjunction, Mr Viresh Oberoi, while congratulating the Technology team for the achievement, said that mjunction will continue to invest in people. Mr Oberoi then gave away souvenirs to all members of the Technology team who had played key roles in obtaining this certification.

Cocktails, dance and dinner wrapped up the fun-filled evening.

mjunction achievesCMMI Maturity Level 5 quality standard

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

8

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

9

Some congratulatory messages received by the mjunction MD Mr Viresh Oberoi

Congratulations on the achievement. I wish you continued success in all your endeavours.

Noel N. Tata,MD, Tata International

I would like to congratulate you and

your team for this achievement.

Sudhir Deoras,MD, TRF Ltd

Congratulations on the

achievement. Under your able

leadership, I am sure mjunction

will add many more feathers to

its cap.Chanakya Chaudhary,

Group Director,

Corporate Communication & Regulatory Affairs,

Tata Steel

It is indeed very encouraging to know about the rapid strides being made by mjunction. I am sure this achievement will motivate the team in its journey towards excellence.

Congratulations to you and your team on this achievement.

Dibyendu BoseGroup Director (Investment),

Tata Steel

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

10

A visit to Kashmir is a dream for most Indians, and my husband and I decided to make it a reality. With all the planning

and the excitement, the snow-clad mountains, the tall trees of Chinar, the lush green plains and valleys were beckoning us even before we started out.

We embarked on our journey on a foggy November morning and reached Srinagar in the afternoon on the same day. The weather was pleasant and from there we made our way to the Chesmashahi JKTDC hotel, with the Dal Lake to our left with the famed shikaras. In Srinagar, some of the places we visited and which are worth a mention are the Shankaracharya temple, the Kheerbhawani temple, Nishat Bag, the Mughal Gardens, PariMahal and Hazratbal. What struck me the most is that modern life blended easily with natural beauty in this town, which did not wear a typical Third World country look. It was a modern city with all modern amenities.

A word here about Kashmiri cuisine. The roadside kebabs, tender pieces of lamb roasting on charcoal, are lip-smacking. This is their

speciality and the most delicious kebabs are available at small stalls which look like roadside chai shops.

Our next destination was Gulmarg. We took the famous Gondola ride on the roapway till Khilenmarg, which is about 12,000 feet high. It was a feast for the eyes as every nook and corner was covered with snow. The snow was knee-deep in some places. The weather was bright and sunny with a bone chilling breeze. The next day we woke up to a chilly morning and not a single drop of water in the tap. It was all frozen and all we could get was a really thin line of melted ice. The view outside was a pleasant shock and breathtakingly beautiful, like a deserted land of frost. The beauty shone in the bright sunlight and the snow white mountain ranges looked magnanimous in the reddish sunlight of dawn. We felt blessed and felt we had touched divinity. With heavy hearts we bid farewell to Gulmarg and left for Pahelgam.

We left behind the magnanimous snowed hill range, undulating green valleys with traces

of snow in every shady nook and tall pine trees standing upright into the

blue sky. It was four-hour drive from

Gulmarg to Pahelgam. We travelled the highways full of BSF Convoys and security check points. In most hill towns we had travelled to so far, we had noticed that marketplaces are dominated by women vendors. However, this place was different and men were the dominant vendors. As we reached Pahelgam, we could easily negate the fatigue of the four-hour drive with a picture perfect view of pine forests, snow white mountains, lush green meadows and the open blue sky.

All streams were frozen thanks to the sub-zero temperature and grasstips with snow on them transported us to a different world. Local sightseeing included the Aru valley, Betab valley and Chandanwari. Betab valley is a magnificent manmade park and its beauty was accentuated by the paved walking tracks, dotted with street lamps, small wooden bridges over the small springs that meets river Lidder. Rugged mountains or ice-capped peaks formed the backdrop as we then finally moved to Chandanwari, which is the gateway to the Amarnath yatra. At Chandanwari, River Lidder flows down from the high hills, and the entire river was frozen, and covered with fresh white snow. We did not really attempt to cross the river. Did not make sense to risk a fall, when the bridge was just a tree trunk covered with snow.

Kashmiri gastronomical delights include Goshtaba, Rista, Kashmiri Lamb Biriyani and of course kebabs.

My account will not be complete without recounting my experience

of living in a houseboat on Dal Lake. From the deck

one could see designer shikaras plying from

one end to another all day long.

K a s h m i r changes its colours

every season and it is beautiful all year long. As

it was time for us to leave, the image of maple leaves scattered on the grounds

stuck to our minds. We had indeed made a trip

to Paradise and back.

Debanjana Dutta, buyjunction

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

11

I have been in mjunction since:March 2006

The three words which describe me the best are:Dependable, reliable and flexible

My childhood was spent at:Haripal, Hooghly district

My major in college was:Commerce

If I was not working at mjunction, I would be:A businessman

My greatest strength is:My adaptability and honesty

My biggest weakness is:My family

My favourite movie is:Saptapadi & Suryavansham

My favourite singer is:Sreya Ghosal, Kumar Sanu & Nachiketa

My favourite food is:Any food prepared by my wife

My favourite sport is:Football

My favourite book is:Lotakambol by Sanjib Chattopadhyay

If I could have tea with a fictional character, it would be:Phantom (Aranyadev)If I could have candlelight dinner with a celebrity, it would be:Hrithik RoshanMy dream travel destination is:Kashmir and the AndamansThe three things I would definitely do on an ideal day are:Going on a long drive with my family, lunch in a famous restaurant and shoppingMy family consists of:My mother, my wife and my sonMy source of inspiration is:My mother, who stood beside me in calamities after the demise of my fatherIf I was in an island alone for a day, the three things I would definitely carry are:Camera, music system and lots of good luckThe one thing I miss about being a child is:My world of fantasyThe most important event of my life so far is:The birth of Surjo, my sonMy favourite style icon is:None other than the ‘Big B’- Amitabh BachchanAfter a hard day’s work, I unwind by:Playing with my sonMy philosophy of life is:Live and let liveMy vision for myself is:Never flee away from responsibility

Nirmalya Ghosh

I have been in mjunction since:February 2004The three words which describe me the best are:Friendly, helpful and honestMy childhood was spent at:DurgapurMy major in college was:ArtsIf I was not working at mjunction, I would be:Working somewhere elseMy greatest strength is:Honesty and hard workMy biggest weakness is:My inability to say noMy favourite movie is:Hum Saath Saath Hain, Paan Singh Tomar and Harry PotterMy favourite singer is:Kishore Kumar, Lata, KK & Shreya GhoshalMy favourite food is:Idli, masala dosa & mixed chow with chilly chickenMy favourite sport is:Cricket, badmintonMy favourite book is:Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

If I could have tea with a fictional character, it would be:TintinIf I could have candlelight dinner with a celebrity, it would be:Salman Khan and Priyanka ChopraMy dream travel destination is:SingaporeThe three things I would definitely do on an ideal day are:Gardening, listening to music and playing cricketMy family consists of:My mother, two elder brothers and two sisters-in-law, four nieces, one sister, my wife and my sonMy source of inspiration is:My parentsIf I was in an island alone for a day, the three things I would definitely carry are:Camera, mobile and headphoneThe one thing I miss about being a child is:My school daysThe most important event of my life so far is:Andaman tour, it’s really amazingMy favourite style icon is:Salman KhanAfter a hard day’s work, I unwind by:Listening to musicMy philosophy of life is:Be kind, generous, cooperative and honestMy vision for myself is:Good visions help in the creation of a common identity

K N O W Y O U RJUNCTIONITE

V S Prasad

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

12

The mj annual picnic

The last Saturday of the year gone by saw junctionites in the picturesque and lush

green surroundings of Ekanto Aapon, a beautiful picnic spot in Bibirhaat off Thakurpukur. It was a day spent with families and came alive with the chatter of children. Games, lip-smacking food and music made for an ideal and sunny winter day. A unique feature of the day was the theme, which was ‘Connecting to Mother Earth.’ In keeping with the theme, lunch was served in earthen plates and mugs while all junctionites squatted on the grounds to eat!

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

13

mj in T20 cricket tourney

mjunction has played three matches till now in the T20 cricket tournament and won all of them in the league stage. The tournament is being organised by the Excellentia Sports Management.

mjunction has played against CA Club, Genpact and WB Group and won comfortably against all three.

We wish mjunction all the best for the remaining matches.Sudip Roy is the mentor of the T20 cricket team. The team consists of Danish Zahir Ismail

(Captain), Satyajit Biswas (Vice-Captain), Abhilash Chaterjee, Anondo Dutta, Arijit Banerjee, Archi Choudhury, Asif Jamal, Dipankar Das, Mithun Kundu, Pradipta Chakraborty, Sai Vedula, Shamim Ahmed, Sreedip Chowdhury, Tanumoy Chanda, Avijit Mitra, Biplab Biswas and Rajesh Jha.

Spot AwardsOCTOBerKaushik Kr. Mitra, cjSrijan Datta, cjNilanjan Nandan, iaIndranil Karak, bjSourav Sinha, mjShivani Dwivedi, cjParomita Sen, hrRichika Sureka, vjK Md Hanif Zaman, bjAbhishek Sen, cjAvik Das, cjSiddharth Bhatia, straighlineSouvik Ghosh, cjAnanya Brahmachary, iaSatyesh Kumar Singh, bjSuddhasattwa Datta, straighlineSayantan Dutta Chowdhury, cjSagarika Bhattacharya, cj

Niraj Kumar Vaishnaw, mjAnkit Singhania, straighlineShirshendu De, cjRavi Goel, bjKamlesh Kumar Ghode, mjChaiti Mazumder, bjGitimoy Mukherjee, mjArijit Paul, cjBarnali Chatterjee, bjTanmoy Ray, mjChanakya Gupta, bjRiti Mukherjee, bjSudip Ranjan Giri, bjSangeeta Kesh, bjDibyendu Pal, icubation cell

NOVeMBerMoshahar Bayen, techTania Chakraborti, mj

Suvasis Paul, vjDipam Banerjee, bjShabbir Akbar Ali, bjRichika Sureka, vjSourav De, vjMoumita Dey, techHitesh Chaturvedi, bjJaved Islam, mjDevashish Jha, mjMonalisa Shaw, bjRudra Prasad Nag, fjRavi Goel, bjDipankar Das, bjJay Kishore Pandit, bjVishwanath Pandey, mjSanchita Pal, mjBarnali Chatterjee, bjTanmoy Pal, mjSubhashish Mukherjee, fj

Subhra Sarkar, bjSharmistha Mukherjee Paul, bjRiti Mukherjee, bjSoumi Srimani, bjTushar Jana, bjSudip Ranjan Giri, bjSuchitra Chatterjee, bjRahul Dutta, bjKumar Ravishankar, bjPreeti Singh, bjDebarati Bose, bjBingyasini Pradhan, bjSunita Kumari Yadav, bjDebika Dasgupta Paul, techPriyam Chatterjee, tech

DeCeMBerDilip K Singhal, corp accountsSatya Vani Burra, bjParomita Sen, hrSatyajit Biswas, bjAkhilesh Dwivedi, bjApurba Dey Singha, fjSreedip Chowdhury, bj

Sandipan Nandy, transaction processingTapan Kumar Ghosal, transaction processing Paromita Mondal, transaction processingSanjay Mondal, transaction processingRajkumar Maity, transaction processingSanjib Bala, transaction processingNepal Bhunia, transaction processingRaja Basak, transaction processingSatya Prakash Tarai, bjBarnali Chatterjee, bjSharmistha Mukherjee Paul, bjAyan Pal, bjNitin Kumar, bjSonali Chakraborty, bjAmlan Chatterjee, hr

HEARTIEST WELCOME TO ALL

New facesAbhi BanerjeeAbhishek ChoudhuryAmit KumarAmlan ChatterjeeAnuja PrasadArnab DasArvind Kumar

Bhabani SahaBiswajit MondalChandrani MajumdarDebjit MukherjeeGoutam ChakrabortyNirmala AnanthakrishnanPoulami Bhattacharyya

Rabin NandyRaghavendra MadduriRajat DhallSanjoy BagSayanti PalShubhrajyoti DeShyam Kumar Chaudhary

Simon WilkinsSoumyadip PalSourav BiswasSudip BhattacharyaSudipto Kumar MukherjeeSwarup Kumar DuttaTania Chatterjee

Gallery

The daily grind and the sublime captured through the lenses of Anirban Mondal of Marketing B2C

mjunction was the media partner at the CII Biz Bridge, Eastern India’s largest international Engineering & Manufacturing Exhibition & Conference held between November 13 to 16, 2013

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

14

The newborns

Satyaki, the little bundle of joy of Soumitra Bose of mjunctionedge

Precious Abhigyan born to Nidhi Bist of HR

Little Anwiksha born to Ayan Paul of Technology

Gallery

Nishant Deepak of the MD Office becomes proud father to baby Ananyaa

Trisha, the little angel born to Amit Banerjee of coaljunction

p

p

p

p

p

Glimpses of North Bengal from Subroto Mukherjee of Technology. These captivating images from Darjeeling and Kalimpong transport us to a different world.

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

15

wedding bellswedding bells

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?: Agniban, son of Anirban Sarkar of buyjunction, resplendent in Holi colours

Peace by the beach: Riju, son of Arijit Paul of coaljunction, in a mood to relax

Angana Das of Incubation Cell ties the knot with Krishanu

Beginning of a new innings: Sreedip Chowdhury of buyjunction and Amrita

Jaydeb Chakrabarty of buyjunction and Soma take the holy vows

Holy matrimony for Sudipta Kumar Das of Technology and Sangita Jaita Bose of metaljunction walks

down the aisle with Rahul

Subhankar Debroy of buyjunction weds Saswati

Volume V. Issue IV. December 2013

16

QUIZ CORNERThis quiz that we bring to you every quarter is just to help you

empower yourself with knowledge and also to engage you differently other than your daily work routine.

Please mail your answers to beyondbarriers@mjunction.in and you stand a chance to win 250 straightline points.

The winner of the last quiz is Amit Kumar of buyjunction

Congratulations Amit!Just as earlier, the winner of this quarter’s quiz will also be decided after conducting a lottery among the all-correct entries. The decision of the quizmaster will be binding and final in all respects of this quiz.Here are the questions for this quarter:1. Which Indian business community possessed assets worth Rs

1 lakh crore including 3 lakh acres land in Myanmar but were evicted by the locals in the ‘40s ?

2. Where has TCS decided to set up the world’s largest corporate learning centre?

3. Why are the Nigerian scams often called 419 scams?4. Which banking chief has quit her job in RBS in India to join the

Aam Aadmi Party?5. Which online store is giving an Aam Aadmi discount on jhadus?6. 90 minutes > 24 hours is the slogan of what?7. If Kolkata has its KC Das Rossogollas, Hyderabad has Karachi

Bakery biscuits, Coimbatore has its Krishna Sweets Mysurpa, Pune has its ___________ Chiwda. Fill in the blank.

8. Indian states are promoting themselves as investment destinations. If Gujarat is vibrant! then Punjab is?

9. What logo will the Indian cricket team, wear on their jerseys from 2014 to 2017?

10. Tony and Maureen Wheeler named this company after mishearing the “Space Captain” song. Their first compilation was released in Sydney in 1973. Which company is this?

If you have scored between:• 0-3 points -You need to keep abreast of current affairs• 4-6 points -You are on the right track• 7-9 points -You are ready to replace me• 10 points - Where have you been hiding?

The answers to last issue’s quiz are as follows:1. Apple & Google 2. Snapdeal’s Diwali Bumper Sale 3. Peanuts 4. Jessop & company 5. Heinz & Burger King are both owned by the same PE firm 3G capital. 6. Chicken came first 7. Vividha Bharati 8. Silent reading a 6 page note for 30 mins 9. Jade Blue Lifestyle India Limited 10. Indian pharma industry’s especially Cipla’s contribution to bring down cost of AIDS treatment in Africa.

Compiled by Debashish Mukherjee of Corporate Accounts and Abhishek Kar of Technology

The photography contest this time drew good response from all of you. The theme was “Colours of Winter” and we received creative and diverse entries. While some of you drew inspiration from nature, others looked for the colours in everyday life.

The entry which gets the first prize is a click by Avik Paul called “Cold Warmth,” which looks at winter on a non-descript city street. Congratulations Avik, you win 250 straightline points for this.

Candid Shots

Cold Warmth

Mystic Morning

Thus Flows the Indus

mj in finals of CMA Quiz

mjunction was one of the finalists at the Calcutta Management Association (CMA) Money Quiz 2013 on November 30 at the Williamson Magor Hall of BCCI.

The event was co-sponsored by Calcutta Stock Exchange, IDBI & United Bank of India.

mjunction, which was represented by Mr Debashish Mukherjee and Mr Abhishek Kar, emerged in the top six out of the 28 participating teams.

The event received wide coverage in sections of the press. Congratulations team mjunction.

The other two photographs which merit special mention according to our judges are “Mystic Morning” by Sanjoy Bag and “Thus Flows the Indus” by Kaushik Sarkar. Both these photographs bring out the colours of winter in its myriad hues.

Photographs are often a story unto themselves. Every quarter, we urge you to tell your story through your eyes.