My Hat's Off to You!!

That usual boring mechanical class was going on, when we were interrupted by an announcement. 

"Everyone assemble in seminar hall. This is related to 'Maaya'"

Instantly the whole class was filled with puzzled questions, "What is Maaya?", "Who is Maaya?"... "Should we use 'what' or 'who'?"

In a few moments, the whole seminar hall was jam packed, and then the 'lady' introduced us to 'Maaya'.
Maaya turned out to be our college fest, actually more than a mere fest, much much more than that!

It was then I realized, it doesn't matter whether Maaya is a 'who' or a 'what', all it means is two days full of enjoyment, fun and bliss at it's peak. Two days, when our college takes a swap from 'school' to an actual 'college'. 

A previous year Maaya video was shown, which already gave me goosebumps. I don't know why, but the whole atmosphere in that hall was different. Totally different from what had been there a month before that, different from those monotonous classes.

The next thing was volunteers. Anything big, such as this, isn't possible without volunteers. I was actually so excited to work for this, that I gave my name for 8 different departments. 

Believe me, after everyone came out of that hall, there was a totally different energy among my classmates. It was completely at a different level. 

In a few days, we were all called up at hostel to explain what and how campaigning and security is done. Both of these were something new and exciting for me. Going to different colleges, representing your own college to talk about your own fest was something new for me.
And as soon as I listened 'You will surely be given a Maaya t-shirt for security', this clinged to me. A Maaya t-shirt, what a feeling, nothing can be better than that. That was my state of mind at that time. Almost instantly I was up for both these things and gave my name.

But no experience is fruitful until you gain something out of it. It was the time of the EMCEE auditions which I screwed up. Everything can't be your forte, and you need to accept that fact with the broadest of smile. Entertaining crowd is something that doesn't comes to me naturally. But no harm in trying, right? :)

In about the same time, I was chilling out at my hostel room when my phone notified me for a message! It was the 'man' 's message. I didn't knew him before this. He messaged me as CC (Core Committee) member for the publicity department. All he told me was to meet him tomorrow in the college. And then came the shocking surprise, when he suddenly said I'll make you an OC (Organizing Committee) member. This was something which was completely unexpected. But I was all up for a new experience, a chance to learn!

And then, finally it was our day for campaigning. CMRIT was the college we were given. One of my team mates had really good friends there, so selling tickets there wasn't a problem for us... or that's what WE THOUGHT. We were greeted with a surprise, that was - their internal test. We weren't allowed to campaigning there. But after roaming back and forth places we were finally able to complete the formalities. Above that, was going to streets, stopping the most random people and persuading them; probably one of the most difficult job! But you always learn something with an experience; lesson learned here - Respect a salesman, you have no idea what he's going through and he would surely curse you if you don't buy his stuff!

Simultaneously, publicity thing was going on with me. Honestly I had a great time working there, for two reasons. Working with machines, I wouldn't mind even at 2 in the morning. The second reason is surely the 'man'!
When you're working, you actually end up getting into troubles, and then getting out of it in the best possible way! You actually don't have to worry about anything when you have people who can say the most aggressive things in the most politest way! I just can't say how amazing that night was. Only a pack of popcorn was missing! (Only few would get this, don't scratch your head too much! )

And who could forget those bunking periods to sit in the control room! And listening to those all sorts of conversations going there. I actually remember someone was asking everyone whether they have seen '2 girls 1 cup' video. (Don't go search this on Google  you might end up watching you don't want to, trust me!) That was the best part!

And then finally the day came, for which a lot of people were putting up efforts for weeks.

Day 1:
I slept late, but for a change, I managed to wake up early. That was how excited I was for this. First thing they did was to send us to the gates for security. Many around me were actually cribbing out this. That they are made to do a work of a security personnel. 
No one told you to volunteer for this, you yourself volunteered for this!
Leaving this apart, doing this was actually quite good, a lot better than what it seems. You actually have a lot of authority when you do this. And probably the only time when you can question even your seniors to show their ID's. 

Following this was an event I had been waiting for since a long time. Counter Strike. We have been practicing for this since a few weeks, I got back into touch with this game just because of this. Right since the morning till the evening, I was helping everyone there in their struggle with the dabba computers in the lab! Though with a few glitches, we finally ended up pulling a successful and enjoying show up there, and managed to reach the semi's! 
Not much was left after this for the day, as I had missed most of the events outside the web of that room! 

Even after being refused by the warden (MC) for not letting us go out for dinner, we finally managed to have a nice dinner - Dominos to the rescue! 

So mesmerized with all the event happenings throughout the day, we were in no mood to sleep that night, irrelevant it was that we were dead tired! And what happened was this...

Day 2:
*Sleeping, when suddenly ringtone rings...*
'Man' calling... 
Yeah..
Meet me near the main gate right away
Fine...
*Disconnected*

First of all, thank you for waking me up that day! Within few mins I had a quick shower, and headed towards the gate. What a lovely weather! As soon as I reached there, I was back at the security job! Two hours and I ran like anything, far away from the gate. 
Then was something which was quite interesting, Treasure Hunt. Finally, after doing 5 sit-ups, 5 push ups, eating a chilly and running a half marathon, we finally managed to get at the second position! All I hate about getting a second position, is that you end up with a sweaty t-shirt. 

Another session with security, and then I had the best time since a long time, the highlight of the two day event! Crossroads. Aurko - was the band, you got everyone in the crowd on their feet, even those who weren't supposed to. It was like you were completely disconnected from the stage there. I was lost into another world. I didn't cared who was on my right or left. I didn't cared what was that person doing outside there. I didn't cared what happened. All I wanted was to live that moment, the moment of utter bliss. Forget everything, let free and enjoy that moment! 

Being lost in that live concert, you don't realize how time passes by. And it takes a while for you to dissolve the fact that all this has now come to an end! All that fun, all that madness. Everything, no more! 
For the first time, these two days made me feel this is actually a college, and what I come to know is that all this is going to end very soon! 

But in all this, there were actually few people, without whom this wouldn't have been possible. The whole team who worked behind the stage to get this where it is! Truly, amazing amount of effort has been put up by every single on them! Seriously, thank you to all the seniors for such a wonderful time I had all this time. You guys are actually wonderful! Thank you so much! 

Though all of them might not know me, but I actually know quite a few of them! And there are somethings which I have observed in the past few days! 

Sapna (lady): Every time I see her, she looks so calm and composed as if it's a park she's walking in. But I can imagine the headache she carries with herself, and still managing to keep a smile on her face,  that's truly commendable! 

Ayush: Every time I see him, he's super busy. Every time someone talks to him, it's like I have exactly 35 seconds, say what you wanna say, I have a train to catch! Haha, but on a serious note, all through the 2 days, he looked to me the most busiest person. Every part of the campus I went, he was there! 

Sandy: The cyber guy. I've seen him almost everywhere. Working on the website, working for the stage, hosting an event. And with the same amount of energy everytime. (And yeah, someone from the team wants you dead :P )

RK: He's someone who knows when to work and when to have fun. And when it comes to work, he's dead serious about it! 

Saurabh: I've come to know him in the past few days. All I feel like is to smile when I look at him. And yeah, he gave a really tough time to his opponents for the Fifa tournament. 

Neha: Someone told me you're a photographer. I saw your photos, and trust me, they look straight out of National Geographic's archives. They're my next postcards! I'm your fan! :D

Prasraban (THE MAN): I don't know what to say about him. From all of them, I know him the most. He's a man whom I admire now, for the way he works. Knows exactly what to be like in what situation. I've seen him in the most decent and sweet looking manner infront of his HOD's, seen him crack jokes with his friends and have seen him dead serious when it comes to work. He would assign you work in such a way that you won't be able to say no. (He made me write his record books! :P ) No matter what time is it, he's always full of energy and with that smile! Would give you a piece of advice every now and then, which are quite helpful (Like APU is a nice hideout place to make your teammates believe that you're working while you're actually attending your class :P )

and many more, who have put in an equal amount of effort. To all of you, 

Thank you so much for all the efforts you've put in to give us all an amazing time! You guys are truly amazing! :D

As soon as this was over, I was going through mixed emotions. Happy after such an exuberant performance, sad because all this was ending. But hey, there is still something which suppresses that feeling of sadness - the thought of Maaya '13.

It only gets better...