it has been a year since i walked out of that wonderful world called college, and when i look back into those pages of my life, it's filled with memories that i know would never go away. people who have read my blogs may start thinking i was thinking about my first crush, my first real love and the likes, but as much as i loved all these things, the one thing that remains high in my heart and mind is MECH-SPIRIT. i do not know much about the origin of this term, or i do not know how well known the term is among other graduates, the only thing that i know is that it kept me going till the very end and the one event that will stay as the best in college days would be my Motor Show,..Oooooops, our Motor Show.
i was in my fourth semester, when for the first time i almost understood the meaning of Motor Show. it was much more that just an event for us. it's the continuation of a war that was waged long ago between mechanical engineering students and the rest of the college. i never really understood the cause or reason for this rift, and i never really saw it myself until later in my college life. unlike what the majority thought, we were never that different. we were also a part of the college, we were also from the same background as others, we also had dreams and aspiration while we enrolled in the college. what then is the difference that others see in us??? maybe it's the unity that we had in the class and the department, or may be it's our attitude and belief in ourselves that none could break, or maybe it's the mere fact that we would not fall into line out of compulsion and we had our own ideologies and cant really bow in front of anyone unless he has that special quality that ought be respected.
The Motor Show that year was not as big a hit as we had expected it, but it sure had one advantage. few like minded people came together, and stayed that way after that. few of them were my super seniors, dindu, anaz, krishnan, prakash, rahul and few of them were my juniors, nitesh and gang(as they're popularly known). it was in this comradeship that i understood mech-spirit, how we are always seen with loath full eyes, how everyone dreamt of dominating us. i came to know that we had to fight back with an unknown enemy, and my whole world changed in those few days. the one plus point of being a mechanical engineering student is that you really cant trust anyone, especially ones with mech-spirit is instilled in them. you start seeing everyone with suspicion, for anyone could stab you from behind. the only solace i found was in the company of other mechans, who also saw the world as i did, who also saw the invisible. Right after Motor Show 04. we decided to make the next edition to be bigger and better. for me, it was a tribute to dindu, rahul, anaz, krishnan and prakash. and also to vijay(kochu) and our gang(not that it had anything to do with mech, but that gang was something in front of which you would want to bow down).
being frank, we started planning for TMS05 like a year before the show. any event or organisation has its core group. we had to find that group first. we did not go for students who had contacts or money or anything, we went for a group which consisted of guys who believed in themselves, who believed in the spirit they carried, who wanted to make a difference, who wanted to be the beacon in that war i had mentioned earlier. we kept planning and planning and planning, but nothing happened. after 6months of careful planning we realized we had reached no where, and so went to our professors for help and guidance. we had to convince them about the plan and that the endeavor would not turn out to be a disaster. after having planned the thing for 6months, we knew that logic would ask us to quit the project.
we wanted our event to be the first in that academic year, but production guys already made plans for pinnacle and later came on the news that electrical engineers were planning to have their event before us. everyone had declared a war against us, and i am not kidding. while every department were having one project each, we were lobbying for three events, TMS, momentum (the techie thing) and Rithu (the cultural programme). as luck would have it, the college union was lobbying to conduct a cultural program inside campus(college union is our biggest well-wisher, of course after bashing us up every year, and we do have a very symbiotic relationship were we talk and smile freely with them and yet know that they want to stab us any day). they had blocked our every path to have Rithu, and they hit the right areas, for many of my fellow mechans wanted Rithu more than anything. when we finally faced the reality that Rithu is not happening, i was sure that the crowd i had with me was smaller than what it was. but when i looked to my left and right i saw those familiar faces which formed the core group. they knew what i was thinking, gave me the smile saying everything will be alright. i believed the faith they had in us. the unknown forces may have won the battle, but i knew we were there to win the war.
it was more of an open war now, and yet a battle of minds. civil students had their show a week prior to ours, with same magnanimity, at the same venue, with the same structure. we had to come to an alliance with them due to economical reasons, and also because either we both can have it or no one can have it. so we had to go for it. computer science students had their show on the same days as ours, and the union cultural program about two weeks before ours. what ever maybe said and done, ours was the most expensive show, the budget crossing the 6lacks mark, and the bank balance when we started off was a little more than zero. every student in the department was asked to chip in for us to start off, and most of them did, and thus we started rolling. every aspect of the show was delegated and i had to watch over every one off them(i was the chief coordinator). i was not a happy man, two weeks to go for the show and majority of the stalls were empty, we weren't getting any sponsorship, we could not reach our target. yet every one of us kept going. it was during this time that nitesh and gang joined us, they had their exams going on, and the were on the roll. they wanted to make up for the days they had missed. a new wave of energy and optimism filled the camp. yet nothing happened. we ever facing a dead end. that was when the miracle actually happened. we got a call from Malayala Manorama, asking if we want them to publish an article about TMS. we were trying for the same for a week now and now they were approaching us. nothing could take it's place as the best thing to happen. the day after the article was out Mathrubhumi decided to dedicate one full page for TMS and it would be out the day TMS was supposed to open for the public. The stalls were slowly filling up. Mathrubhumi also sponsored our posters(10,000 in nos). and we just had one more week to go. we got the flux sponsored by Tata Indicom and i remember the night when benjose, maxi, niranjan and i spent the whole night making sure it was seen at various points in the city. my fellow mechans were sweeping the city for banners and poster that could be hung in the tent. nitech and gang was still doing the job they were asked to. cherian was looking after the attractions, aravind was still working on the dealers, sakshi on modified bikes, sandeep(psycho) on the star attraction of air show, and every night we went out with posters to cover every nook and corner of the city. i remember one particular wall opposite Kalyan, where my fellow students would have stuck close to 300 posters side by side. it was one seen to be seen and cherished. not a soul passing by would have missed the view.finally the dream that everyone had was taking shape. did not know what kind of shape it was or anything, but it was taking shape. Manoj was still working on instilling the mech spirit in all the juniors and pushing them to work, ajesh still working on the publicity.
the civil already had their program, it was a huge hit. it bothered us. something to do with ego i guess. their program was good, really good in fact, but turned out to be a little on the boring side(no offense). the settings were good, and they sure made money like crazy. the union had their program, it was a disappointment, but as we were also a part of the college, we enjoyed ourselves during the show. the electrical guys' program had to be re-schedule. that was also good. we did not care about what computer guys were doing. the count down had begun and more day to go. everyone was having the sweet smile for reaching were we reached. we finally knew that everything would be alright. and i went to the venue. what i saw there actually pushed me back a month or so, when i was down and i wasn't sure if we could do it or not.i was standing at the place which was so near to our destination, and yet so far........
i was in my fourth semester, when for the first time i almost understood the meaning of Motor Show. it was much more that just an event for us. it's the continuation of a war that was waged long ago between mechanical engineering students and the rest of the college. i never really understood the cause or reason for this rift, and i never really saw it myself until later in my college life. unlike what the majority thought, we were never that different. we were also a part of the college, we were also from the same background as others, we also had dreams and aspiration while we enrolled in the college. what then is the difference that others see in us??? maybe it's the unity that we had in the class and the department, or may be it's our attitude and belief in ourselves that none could break, or maybe it's the mere fact that we would not fall into line out of compulsion and we had our own ideologies and cant really bow in front of anyone unless he has that special quality that ought be respected.
The Motor Show that year was not as big a hit as we had expected it, but it sure had one advantage. few like minded people came together, and stayed that way after that. few of them were my super seniors, dindu, anaz, krishnan, prakash, rahul and few of them were my juniors, nitesh and gang(as they're popularly known). it was in this comradeship that i understood mech-spirit, how we are always seen with loath full eyes, how everyone dreamt of dominating us. i came to know that we had to fight back with an unknown enemy, and my whole world changed in those few days. the one plus point of being a mechanical engineering student is that you really cant trust anyone, especially ones with mech-spirit is instilled in them. you start seeing everyone with suspicion, for anyone could stab you from behind. the only solace i found was in the company of other mechans, who also saw the world as i did, who also saw the invisible. Right after Motor Show 04. we decided to make the next edition to be bigger and better. for me, it was a tribute to dindu, rahul, anaz, krishnan and prakash. and also to vijay(kochu) and our gang(not that it had anything to do with mech, but that gang was something in front of which you would want to bow down).
being frank, we started planning for TMS05 like a year before the show. any event or organisation has its core group. we had to find that group first. we did not go for students who had contacts or money or anything, we went for a group which consisted of guys who believed in themselves, who believed in the spirit they carried, who wanted to make a difference, who wanted to be the beacon in that war i had mentioned earlier. we kept planning and planning and planning, but nothing happened. after 6months of careful planning we realized we had reached no where, and so went to our professors for help and guidance. we had to convince them about the plan and that the endeavor would not turn out to be a disaster. after having planned the thing for 6months, we knew that logic would ask us to quit the project.
we wanted our event to be the first in that academic year, but production guys already made plans for pinnacle and later came on the news that electrical engineers were planning to have their event before us. everyone had declared a war against us, and i am not kidding. while every department were having one project each, we were lobbying for three events, TMS, momentum (the techie thing) and Rithu (the cultural programme). as luck would have it, the college union was lobbying to conduct a cultural program inside campus(college union is our biggest well-wisher, of course after bashing us up every year, and we do have a very symbiotic relationship were we talk and smile freely with them and yet know that they want to stab us any day). they had blocked our every path to have Rithu, and they hit the right areas, for many of my fellow mechans wanted Rithu more than anything. when we finally faced the reality that Rithu is not happening, i was sure that the crowd i had with me was smaller than what it was. but when i looked to my left and right i saw those familiar faces which formed the core group. they knew what i was thinking, gave me the smile saying everything will be alright. i believed the faith they had in us. the unknown forces may have won the battle, but i knew we were there to win the war.
it was more of an open war now, and yet a battle of minds. civil students had their show a week prior to ours, with same magnanimity, at the same venue, with the same structure. we had to come to an alliance with them due to economical reasons, and also because either we both can have it or no one can have it. so we had to go for it. computer science students had their show on the same days as ours, and the union cultural program about two weeks before ours. what ever maybe said and done, ours was the most expensive show, the budget crossing the 6lacks mark, and the bank balance when we started off was a little more than zero. every student in the department was asked to chip in for us to start off, and most of them did, and thus we started rolling. every aspect of the show was delegated and i had to watch over every one off them(i was the chief coordinator). i was not a happy man, two weeks to go for the show and majority of the stalls were empty, we weren't getting any sponsorship, we could not reach our target. yet every one of us kept going. it was during this time that nitesh and gang joined us, they had their exams going on, and the were on the roll. they wanted to make up for the days they had missed. a new wave of energy and optimism filled the camp. yet nothing happened. we ever facing a dead end. that was when the miracle actually happened. we got a call from Malayala Manorama, asking if we want them to publish an article about TMS. we were trying for the same for a week now and now they were approaching us. nothing could take it's place as the best thing to happen. the day after the article was out Mathrubhumi decided to dedicate one full page for TMS and it would be out the day TMS was supposed to open for the public. The stalls were slowly filling up. Mathrubhumi also sponsored our posters(10,000 in nos). and we just had one more week to go. we got the flux sponsored by Tata Indicom and i remember the night when benjose, maxi, niranjan and i spent the whole night making sure it was seen at various points in the city. my fellow mechans were sweeping the city for banners and poster that could be hung in the tent. nitech and gang was still doing the job they were asked to. cherian was looking after the attractions, aravind was still working on the dealers, sakshi on modified bikes, sandeep(psycho) on the star attraction of air show, and every night we went out with posters to cover every nook and corner of the city. i remember one particular wall opposite Kalyan, where my fellow students would have stuck close to 300 posters side by side. it was one seen to be seen and cherished. not a soul passing by would have missed the view.finally the dream that everyone had was taking shape. did not know what kind of shape it was or anything, but it was taking shape. Manoj was still working on instilling the mech spirit in all the juniors and pushing them to work, ajesh still working on the publicity.
the civil already had their program, it was a huge hit. it bothered us. something to do with ego i guess. their program was good, really good in fact, but turned out to be a little on the boring side(no offense). the settings were good, and they sure made money like crazy. the union had their program, it was a disappointment, but as we were also a part of the college, we enjoyed ourselves during the show. the electrical guys' program had to be re-schedule. that was also good. we did not care about what computer guys were doing. the count down had begun and more day to go. everyone was having the sweet smile for reaching were we reached. we finally knew that everything would be alright. and i went to the venue. what i saw there actually pushed me back a month or so, when i was down and i wasn't sure if we could do it or not.i was standing at the place which was so near to our destination, and yet so far........
1 comment:
it was the motorshow where i saw the real u!! :) keep blawgging:)
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