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The Horizon Conclave is a conference of experts in the industry organized at Mumbai usually as a part of the Industrial visit to the dream city of India. The IV includes a train journey between Coimbatore and Mumbai, visits to the organized and unorganized retail setups , informative sessions at World trade Center, Bombay Stock Exchange and Jawarhalal Nehru Port Trust as well a tour of the city for shopping, entertainment and fun.
Our students account on the visit and conference:
Mumbai is both the commercial and entertainment hub of India. It is the dream city to which people come from all parts of the country to fulfil their dreams of becoming ‘successful, famous and rich’.
We were so much excited as a class to make the industrial visit a memorable one. We aspired to learn a lot and have fun at the same time.
The train journey started off well on a bright Sunday morning. We grew more energetic as the hours passed by and I could say that it was the best journey I had in my life. We sang, played and ate together and the best part was enjoying it as a whole class.
Though our train reached Mumbai late by four hours, we had nothing to complain. First-timers to Mumbai were in awe of the big city and the rest were also equally excited. We checked in at Hotel Balwas in Mumbai Central. Then we had enough time to refresh ourselves and check out the malls in Mumbai.
We went to the Phoenix mall and the Palladium mall and just roamed around to get a glimpse of the various brands available and to understand the concept of organized retail.
On Tuesday, we were all set to visit the World Trade Centre and Bombay Stock Exchange. At World Trade Centre (WTC), we were briefed about the history and functions of a WTC. We also got a great idea about the facilities available at that building that would help to promote foreign trade.
At Bombay Stock Exchange, we got an insight of how the stock market functions and how one can develop a successful career through stock exchange. We were all inspired to open a demand account and take part in the growth of Indian economy. It was an informative session on the logical science behind Stock Exchange Market.
After such a wonderful session in the morning, we went to do some shopping in the “Fashion street” in the evening. It was really a different experience out there in the unorganized retail as we bargained and got things we wanted. Some of us enjoyed it while some of us felt disappointed.
On Wednesday, we were all dressed up formally in our blazers and awaited eagerly to attend Horizon, a CEOs Conclave organised by GRD SCIB at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel . This was the best part of the trip where we were lucky to listen to great people who shared their experiences and knowledge to groom us.
We had amazing speakers like Mr.Dheeraj Sinha, Mr.Rahul Narvekar, Mr.Suman Srivatsava, Rohith and Dr.JJ.Irani. We had a great learning on branding, marketing and entrepreneurship from these legends.
After an awesome session at Taj, we went to see “The Gateway of India” and Colaba market in the evening. We had some amazing photo sessions, shopped and tasted street food. The day was fulfilling.
On Thursday, we had to wake up early to travel to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). It was a two hours journey from the hotel we stayed. We were given a brief description about the port, its facilities and functions. We were also able to see the vessels, cranes, dock and the yard about which we had only a theoretical picture
Then we came back to the city and spent our last few hours in Mumbai at the Linking road which is one among the major parts of unorganized retail sector.
Finally, we reached the railway station with heavy hearts as we already started missing the Mumbai city. Though we were all not so energetic like we were in the beginning of the journey, we still managed to make it a fun trip back to Coimbatore.
We had a great trip and missed it so much that we started planning for the next trip!