आKRITI ‘08
Let’s See What I Saw…
It’s been long since आkriti got over. More than a month by the time you read it. An interview has been taken (though Gary had asked me to write something about it). So Gary, this one’s for you. The question might arise “Why so late?” Well my answer is plain and simple. “It’s just too early to forget.” The two branches supposed to be on the far ends of the points table made it to the top together. There were some flip flops, most noticeably, the play-jam fiasco which almost screwed things up for me. But this is what all of you saw (Except Divya). Each one of you associated with it has a story to tell. I too have one. The only difference is it’s from the other side of the table.
It all started way back in the middle of August. Sports had just started. And the battle cry for the grand finale had already been made, at least in our minds (Div and me). We had started thinking about it way before the branches had. We were two very different people, brought together by fate, though we had a common goal in mind. No, don’t start judging as yet. It wasn’t just to conduct Aakriti. It was to conduct it with a difference. Scrapping the boring old events & replacing them with something new, make it absolutely unbiased by getting external judges, showing the score-sheets if possible, et all.
It all seemed too easy till a week prior to the event. It was shaping up well. Harsh had done his job, giving me a platform to be able to give the branches the option to turn the tables and undo their wrongdoings in sports. The groundwork had been solidly done. We were all very cool with it till the last week started. As the dates started approaching us, it seemed that days were getting shorter. Work seemed to pile up and the hands of the clock just wouldn’t wait. Daily meetings, to collect topics, prop lists, folk song beats, word lists, JAM video (for demo to the JAM master) and the list never seemed to end. Contacting different schools to send teachers and getting the alumni to come to the college as guests for various events they specialized in was rigorous enough. External Judges for as many as 14 events had been contacted. Everything was going just according to the plan. We had almost done what we wanted to do. Pencil sketching was in, poster making out. So was the case with quiz and what’s the good word? Newly drafted-in events were group discussion and visual terminal (non-competitive). The certificates had been redesigned, new joker rules implemented. The changes just never seemed to end. It all had to continue till a day before. And then the madness began.
A DAY BEFORE: Everything looks set, just the paperwork left. Div and me set out to get all the print outs compiled.
Estimated time : 2 hrs.
Time taken : 6 hrs.
That is when it struck that it usually takes longer than you think it will. And the rest to come still awaited us. Getting the buzzers made (not used eventually) for quiz was irritating enough. All permissions necessary had been taken. Stationary well stocked. The band for LIMs arranged for. Inauguration planned out. Could it have been better? Yes. If all this came along the way it seems here had. Teachers for different events getting changed. A3 sheets were not what the participants would have liked. Permission taken and permission granted was different. Nothing of it came out the way it was supposed to be, did it? If you are wondering what am I talking about, just follow me and you’ll get your answers.
DAY 1: I got up in the morning, ready to face the music. Two branches fighting it out to keep their jokers alive. Big day, I thought. And big it was as I was ready to face my biggest test of the year. Would I pass this test? Would I be able to live upto the expectations of so many people who had supported me?
I approached the, the venue for event 1, Rangoli, foyer having already toughened myself up for the first jolt that had to be given now itself. Two branches came in late and got penalized according to the plan. Compies were out to kill me because they were the ones under the hammer along with IT. Their topics not being considered, Rangoli went along as planned. Divya on the other hand got the BCJ decked up for the events to follow. Inauguration up next, where Aviral and Nalini did their job as told. Debate was to follow, and the first batch of external judges arrived. While one debate was going on between the participants at BCJ, the other was going on between the JD and me for the vehicles (permissions…..). It got sorted out, though not in its entirety, the way I would have wanted it. Debates got over and it was time for the first new event. Group Discussion. We were already 30 minutes behind schedule.
Now all of you saw the GD-master come and go, but was it not for Dhody sir and his swiftly driven swift, it would not have been possible to get him there. Already running late, the over enthusiastic GD-master put me an hour behind it. The teams for quiz which had been waiting so patiently finally got the chance to rankle their brains. The quiz master had not come as yet. Sandy sir, who had gone as far as PVG to get him, was a big help. The quizmaster arrived and gave us one of the best set of questions that we could have hoped for. E&TC keeping its joker intact, just edging out Comp, went to LIMs with heads held high. Special mention must be made for Manu, who skipped half the LIMs to drop the quizmaster back.
I tried to delay the start of LIMs as far as I could, but had to get it started during the final moments of the quiz, to keep the two shouting figures (namely Ms. Sushma Wadar & Mr. U.V. Awasarmol) calm. Till the start, the band kept the audience enthralled. E&TC sang their part out. Next came IT. Their drummer’s tantrums were far more than needed, though their line-up of guitarists was a treat to watch. Coming with the only performance of the evening with all four songs by musicians from our college itself, their branch had reasons to shout as much as they did. Comp was noticeable in parts, mainly for their western songs, but the surprise package of the evening was Mech. Their performance was to leave everybody gasping for more. And who could have done it better at that moment than a Mechie herself. Krutika ma’am took us back to Aakriti ’06 with a perfect rendition of what’s been labeled as ‘her song’ in AIT, Tu Mile. Personally, that was the best song of the evening for me. The big letdown that day was the cancellation of the performance by bose-kshitij combo, though later it proved to be a blessing in disguise. Day 1 ended. And what a day it was.
Certain people whom I would like to thank for helping me out on the first day.
Sandy sir and Manu for getting and dropping the quizmaster respectively. Shantanu sir who helped me out during debate and lending his bike for the transportation of the quizmaster. But I won’t thank Dhody sir as yet. He deserves more than that.
DAY 2: It seemed that all that could have gone wrong did on the first day and I would be better prepared for the second. Alas, I was wrong. It all started even before I got up. I got late for the first event, though Divya got there on time. Lucky to have survived the initial scare, Debate finals took place and got over sweetly. And that is where my misery began. I skipped Hindi debate finals to get the JAM mistress for the next event. The pick up point decided was Deep Bungalow Chowk. But, as luck would have it, her phone went out of coverage for nearly two hours. Dhody sir and Himanshu sir, who had gone along to pick her up, did what I never expected anybody would do. The three of us scanned each and every nook and corner of that place. I have failed, I thought. Desperation took over me and I would have broken down if it was not for the two seniors.
Meanwhile, the confusion back home had already begun. It was past the starting time and the judge for the event was not traceable. It had reached a point where conducting the play and postponing the event was thought of as the only possible solution. It would have taken place if in the last moments of my desperation, that last call had not made it. We found her! Make shift arrangements were made. Ms. Chandola filled in as a judge for the eliminations round. Dhody sir got us back as quickly as possible. I wondered whether my heartbeat or the speedometer ran faster.
The events continued, and time flew by. JAM and Play passed on smoothly thereafter. The one thing I’ll always regret is to stop the spoof midway. Three spoofs got disqualified in the process, leaving IT as the undisputed champions. Folk dance touched even greater heights this year with Mechanical getting a dhol on stage, and Rupesh doing full justice with it. Bhangra was the flavor of the evening and everybody submitted themselves to the beats from Punjab. IT dared to be different but was no match for the might of mech.
Day 2 ended without any further glitches. We finally had some time to take a snack, something that both of us had skipped for the past two days. Day 3 was approaching. And I just couldn’t afford to relax.
I hold Himanshu sir and Dhody sir in the highest regard for what they did for me that day. If it would not have been for their timely help and their unconditional support, I would have failed myself.
DAY 3: This was the easiest morning of the event by far. An early morning glitch was sorted out with minimal problems. The A2 sheets for Addict were too thin to paint upon, but replacements were easy to find. The event got delayed by half an hour, but did not disrupt proceedings further on during the day. Addict remains my favourite event to conduct as it gave both of us ample time to freshen up and prepare for the long day ahead.
As soon as we finished with addict, Maggu sir and Rao sir arrived to conduct one of the best dumb charades I’ve seen till date. Everybody participated enthusiastically, and the emotions were on full display when the tagged favorites had to bow out in the fifth round of the finals. Panwar breaking down on being unable to bag a title he and his team have been toiling hard to get for the past three years was really moving. Finally EnTC held its sway and secured the first position in Dumb C yet again as they have done so successfully over the past so many years.
Soon after Dumb C the counting of scores began. What lay in store for us in those envelopes was truly mesmerizing. As the scores were being counted, the collage went on simultaneously in the Raman theatre followed by the street play at the basketball court. The Alumni meet was held in the BC Joshi hall meanwhile which had seen one of the largest turnouts among alumni in the pat three years that I have seen.
Mad Ads followed soon, which had Comp’s joker on it. They were truly disappointing as they could themselves not match the high standards they have set. The grand finale was awaited and it had to be choreography. For once, what everybody thought was that this was not as high pressure a choreo as in the past since there were no jokers on it. Little did anyone know that the choreo results would have sealed the fate of mechanical or entc, whosoever would have usurped the other.
IT came in with what I would like to label as the traditional choreo with a mix of elegance and energy. Next up was Entc. They lived up to their reputation to surprise and words are not enough to describe the awe that they created in the audience with their Muqabla performance. The audiences were left gasping for more and were given so by meachanical. Their performance had the perfect blend of synchronization coupled with innovative dance moves. The only drawback that they suffered from was that their UV lights which was a la EnT failed miserably. Followed by computers who performed spiritedly at the last slot, it was an evening well rounded up.
The evening was given its share of rock and roll by the kshitij-bose combo teamed up with Dutta sir, Panwar and fatty. The results were keenly awaited and after much deliberation by the staff to get done with the rock performance early, the stage was set to hand over the trophy to the deserving winners. One by one, the dreams shattered for some and rekindled for some. After having won the sports trophy, Ent would have expected a clean hat-trick. But a spirited mech which has risen like a phoenix from the ashes undid their dreams by coming in joint first winners with them, thus winning their second Aakriti till date. As soon as the results were announced on stage, the mechies erupted as a volcano which had lain dormant for years. Their happiness was unsurpassed that evening. The EnTC was still confused as they could not gather their status as joint first among the frenzy created by Mech.
The Jam session was on and the party had begun. I was still in a daze and could not grasp that it had ended. It was sinking in. Divya and I had just finished our dinner and soon we realized that the tiredness had started to set in. Walking seemed difficult all of a sudden. It struck us soon enough that all of it would be over within another hour or two, as soon as the Jam finished. Walking back to the Raman theatre to soak in the last moments, I lived through the past three days hurriedly. Each event had something distinct to add to the flavor of Aakriti. Dancing away for the next two hours, I lived my Aakriti over and over again. All good things come to and end, and so did this. Aakriti 08 was over. My Aakriti was over.
Certain people deserve a special mention, and none more special than my partner, Divya. She proved to be the pillar of strength that I needed in order to keep myself stable. She was and still continues to be there whenever I need her. If you are reading this, then though I have never said this to you, I would like to do so now. ‘Divya, Thank you for being there’.
Shantanu sir and Anshika ma’am, Gopal, my roomie and my best friend, who were there to support me even when I appeared to be on the wrong side, never questioning my motive behind any decision. I love the three of you. And you know it.
Shahrukh, Neha, Reddy, Ankita, Phogat, Rohini, Tiwari, Jolene, Jaggi, Harsh, Jetinder, Chatty, Bindra, Anmol, Panwar, Bhutani, Shukla, Chopra, for being there whenever I needed you all.
