One major Dream off the Bucket List
Every year in the month of April our college celebrates the annual fest called MIRAJ organised by a committee formed of students and some teachers. The college grants a sum of money to organise the event, the rest is raised through sponsors. Various different types of literary and non-literary competitions and entertainment events are organised, over a period of 3 days and prizes are given away on the last day of the event. It ranges from Treasure Hunt and Halo Tournament to Debate and Article writing. However the most anticipated event would be the Fashion show, where students from each semester put up a fashion show and compete against each other. Its kind of a big deal.
The rules are simple. The competition is divided into 2 stages. The first one is based upon a theme chosen by the arts committee while the second is freestyle. This year the theme was 'Country Side'. Now I have always wanted to walk the ramp and this year would be the last chance to do so, so I spoke to the responsible people and got my name in. We started practicing soon and before I knew it, it became the wild ride I was scared it would be. People bossing me around, sleepless nights, criticism and tiredness- my worst nightmares were hatching a conspiracy against me. But it was a great experience too. Keep reading to know more.
THE FIRST ROUND We hear country side and the first things that come to mind are the dull brown winter clothes of Ireland and the straw hats and suspender-jeans of Missouri. And we knew its the same for everyone. So we twisted the game. Everyone forgets India has country side too, with beautiful farmlands and soil that smells like cow-dung. We brought on stage along with western country side, sights of Indian villages, their costumes and props. Combined with amazing music and walks of people, it was a strong performance. From Punjab to Manipur, we made a lot of Indians proud. I had the privilege to represent my original state of Bihar. Wearing Dhoti Kurta, with a haystack and paan in my mouth, walking on 'khaike paan benaras wala', the crowd cheered wildly and I had the moment of my life. I will never forget how confident, poised, nervous and warm I felt at the same time. I just knew I am doing it again some day.
THE SECOND ROUND Now this one is a toughee. We have to come up with something creative, from the theme, to costumes, walk, music etc everything from the scratch, without overdoing any of the parameters. After several exhaustive conversations somebody came up with the idea of homage to the Indian Army. It was creative, far-sighted, mature and very empowering and respectful at the same time. Very soon different departments were assigned to different people, music was composed, costumes decided and shopped, and we practiced a lot. From Air Force to Army Doctors and Navy, we had everything. I was kind of, the show stopper. I was a war veteran, who had lost a leg and was walking with a crutch on stage to remind people the moto of the Indian Army- Service before Self. The final day, we looked fabulous in our costumes and were absolutely ready to take on the stage. And when we did, we brought people to tears. The audience wildly cheered for us, and I overnight became very popular. :p Lucky for us, all our judges were previous army doctors so we struck gold there.
Our biggest competition were semester 4th who did an amazing walk on Masquerade ball theme. It was fabulous we heard, but when it comes to Indians, nothing unites them more than their pride for the Indian Army, other than jalebis. We won the first place. One of the judges wrote 'hats off' on the marksheet. It was an absolute dream come true for me. For several days to come, strange people would stop me at places, seniors and juniors actually and would congratulate me on our win and my performance. It sounds like bragging but it was absolutely fabulous. The only thing I could say then was that all the sleepless nights, all the missed meals, all the sweating and dehydration- was totally worth it.
Ever since that event, I have a new found respect and a sense of self worth. I learned a lot about people during this period. About what people thought about me, and about the 'wonderful' misgivings I had about them. I observed how talentless people skate by on their looks and popularity and how talented people are sidelined and not appreciated cuz they lack six-packs or are not millionaires. I learned how obnoxiously bossy women can be, and how timid i get when put in uncomfortable situations. There were times I just wanted to quit. But I wanted to honour the commitment I made and maybe make new friends in the process. The latter didn't happen, but I did contribute well towards our team's victory. Not in this college, but if such opportunity comes I'm grabing it all over again.
The rules are simple. The competition is divided into 2 stages. The first one is based upon a theme chosen by the arts committee while the second is freestyle. This year the theme was 'Country Side'. Now I have always wanted to walk the ramp and this year would be the last chance to do so, so I spoke to the responsible people and got my name in. We started practicing soon and before I knew it, it became the wild ride I was scared it would be. People bossing me around, sleepless nights, criticism and tiredness- my worst nightmares were hatching a conspiracy against me. But it was a great experience too. Keep reading to know more.
Our biggest competition were semester 4th who did an amazing walk on Masquerade ball theme. It was fabulous we heard, but when it comes to Indians, nothing unites them more than their pride for the Indian Army, other than jalebis. We won the first place. One of the judges wrote 'hats off' on the marksheet. It was an absolute dream come true for me. For several days to come, strange people would stop me at places, seniors and juniors actually and would congratulate me on our win and my performance. It sounds like bragging but it was absolutely fabulous. The only thing I could say then was that all the sleepless nights, all the missed meals, all the sweating and dehydration- was totally worth it.
Ever since that event, I have a new found respect and a sense of self worth. I learned a lot about people during this period. About what people thought about me, and about the 'wonderful' misgivings I had about them. I observed how talentless people skate by on their looks and popularity and how talented people are sidelined and not appreciated cuz they lack six-packs or are not millionaires. I learned how obnoxiously bossy women can be, and how timid i get when put in uncomfortable situations. There were times I just wanted to quit. But I wanted to honour the commitment I made and maybe make new friends in the process. The latter didn't happen, but I did contribute well towards our team's victory. Not in this college, but if such opportunity comes I'm grabing it all over again.
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