A season of plenty ...

The season of plenty is around the corner. As winter draws to a close, we see the world around us take on a different and strikingly refreshing hue. The green of the trees, the gold of the sun and the general pleasantness of the weather is something we all look forward to after the cold. However, the title of my post has nothing at all to do with impending spring. Surprised ?? Well let me explain. I am talking about the sudden change of heart that the institute has undergone as a result of which we find the Gymkhana getting access to an unprecedented flow of funds. The same authorities that had stubbornly refused to approve plans for a new Gymkhana building for several years citing reasons that were quite unacceptable to all-and-sundry have suddenly made a volte-face that has taken us all totally by surprise.

The reasons for doing so are quite obvious at first sight. One the one hand, the Inter-IIT sports contingent has done us all proud by winning the prestigious Inter-IIT General Championship, something that had eluded us since 2001-02. The response to that from the Institute side was the sanctioning of funds for the Gymkhana building. No mention had been made of the Social and Cultural side of things so far even though IIT Kharagpur is, probably, the only IIT to boast of soc-n-cult activities of any significance. But then such is the "subjective" nature of these events that any kind of grant would have to be supported by a tangible acheivement - something perhaps like the Inter-IIT soc-n-cult which would enable us to show our mettle on a greater stage. But then, the possibility of such an event occurring in the near future are bleak, if not non-existent. So, we poor souls who are more active on the soc-n-cult side of affairs cut a sorry figure and had all but given up hope of ever receiving the kind of monetary support that sports activites always seems to enjoy. As it turned out, all was not lost.

The proverbial spark was, perhaps, provided by the Spring Fest 2006 which sprang a few surprises, and provided some fantastic entertainment through the hugely-successful star nights and the unprecedented scenes that were witnessed in the Hasya Kavi Sammelan. This shook the powers-that-be out of their perpetual stupor and set the wheels in motion to make life a little easier for the soc-n-cult junta of IIT Kharagpur. Hence, we can finally see the Gymkhana being able to purchase equipment that would make a difference. For those of us who have been around for a while this would be a welcome change, although perhaps a little too late at least for the batch of 2006. But then, they say, its better late than never ...

Gutted ....

Feeling down ... really down ...

Our shot at "Wildfire" glory was turned into a farce today as everything imaginable went wrong. Its almost as if we are jinxed, as for the umpteenth time we were thwarted at possibly the last moment and left ruing our luck and wondering over what might have been.

It has just been that kind of week for us. First we had one of our band members backing out at what was perhaps the last possible moment. If that had made things difficult for us, we refused to show it and went ahead with our preparations with renewed vigour, confident that our hard work would surely pay off. And sure enough, things were looking up for us. Or so we thought.

Our songlist was ready and we were smoothening out the little wrinkles that were still apparent in our setup. The practice sessions were looking better and better and we had all the cause for cheer. The most difficult of songs that we were about to attempt was slowly but surely coming together and consequently spirits were soaring. And then calamity struck.

The morning of our show. Things are all going according to plan - we finish a cycle of our songs and it sounds good. We then receive a call telling us to assemble immediately in the open-air auditorium as we were to be the next band on stage. That threw us off our stride a bit, as we were expecting to have to go on stage at least an hour from then. However, confident in our ability we gather our stuff and set off, little knowing that this was only to be the beginning of a chain of events that would culminate in sheer disaster.

We reach in time and move back-stage to await our turn on stage. The heat is oppressive, and the sun is in our faces - conditions hardly ideal for a performance of any kind let alone a musical one. But surely their effect was only too trivial to be of any consequence to our performance ?

Our turn comes and we go in. The crowd gather up expectantly - the news about our practice sessions had spread pretty quickly it seemed. We start setting up. I plug-in my guitar and receive my first jolt. Instead of hearing the familiar sound of a powerful guitar riff I am greeted with what seemed like a cacophony that jarred me to the bone. I am momentarily stunned. That was perhaps the last thing I had expected. And especially as I was using a high-end processor which was sounding great on the amplifier during our practice gigs. I wonder what we had done to deserve this. But this was no time to complain. I choose one of the patches and decide to give it a shot.

We are complete with our setup and start off with our sound-check. The problem persists. By this time I am at my wits' end - the clock is running down, I am faced with a processor which would have left quite a few pros clueless, and we are about to attempt songs which must be among the most difficult to be attempted in the competition so far. I decide to soldier on.

We start off. Things seem to be going ok, we are well into our first song and I start off on my first solo and receive my second jolt. There is practically no sustain on the guitar, which means that the slightest muted note would cut-off the melody instantly and would be painfully apparent to all and sundry. The sun is mercilessly beating down on us, and sweat is pouring out of my body. The pressure is intense. The only good thing about our performance is our drummer who is in fine fettle. Before the third shock that is. In the middle of our second song his double bass pedal gets loosened and is rendered ineffective.

What followed was perhaps one of the most sorry spectacles seen on stage for a while. Here we were attempting some of the most difficult songs on stage and coming off looking amateurish at best. Our dreams of great things that awaited us was ground to dust in a matter of minutes, and soon we found ourselves trudging back to our hostels in a dazed and shell-shocked state.

I am a strong believer in the saying that everything happens for a reason. But its at times like these that I seriously begin to doubt the truth of it.