Bow

Bow has been ruminating over the dregs of Illu. It'll take some time before he gets over it.

Illumination and Rangoli: Day -1

The Results are Out

Diwali is over. Actually not. According to the lunar calander (or whatever), I am informed that Diwali would be till 4 o' clock in the morning. All of us go out to see how other halls had fared in the competition. Then we gathered at the Gymkhana where the results would be declared.

Post-Result Euphoria

RK bagged the gold in Illumination. RP bagged the gold. LLR and SN bagged the silver and bronze in both the categories. PAN loop had to be satisfied with nothing.

There was lot of talk about it. Some said the results had been rigged since all the GSecs were from LLR and RK/RP + SN was a girls hall - so they had to get something. Others argued that RK/RP/LLR have traditionally won this competition and they are really good at it.

Alternate Versions of Illuminations

After the accident, people started theorizing alternate versions of Illu (some really crazy ones though!).

1. Instead of putting up tables to light the diyas, run a thread along all the diyas. At the right moment, burn the thread so that it would light up all the diyas. (Unreliable?)
2. Put a cap on the height of the chatais. This will decrease the number of accidents that happen. (A cap on creativity too?!)
3. Have a mirror chatai which will be lighted well in advance. This chatai can be used to light up the original chatai. (The budget would be doubled then!)
4. Run a pipe of natural gas with openings at the right places. Ignite the thing when you have to light the diyas. (Budget?! Safe?)

The Rangoli was something that bowled me over. I had never expected something like that - near Paintings. And it wasn't just Nehru. Every hall I visited just made it look better and better.

The photographs have started pouring in. I'll keep updating this post to include more and more of them. In between, I'll try and manage a video of the split call, so that non-Kgpians can get a real idea what it is all about.

And oh! I had forgotten! Wishing my esteemed readers a very happy Diwali/Dhanteras/whatever.

@RK: Gold (Theme: Samudra Manthan)

@LLR: Silver

Rangoli: @RP (Gold)

Rangoli: @RK

Rangoli: @MMM

Rangoli @Azad

All for this:

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Illumination And Rangoli: Day 0

Illumination and Rangoli: The Countdown

Illumination and Rangoli: Day 0

It is Diwali day and everybody is preparing for Illumination in full swing. I contemplate going to my native place. The prospect of a Daru Party after Illumination haunts me. Finally, I decide to the contrary since this was the first Illumination that I was seeing in Kgp.

Last Minute Preparations

Last minute preparations are on. Everybody is allotted teams. Lots of seniors also pitch in. Work is on at full throttle. Nehru Hall has been allotted the 11 o' clock slot. So we have some time. 7 Chatais have been made ready.

I run around with wicks, Diyas and candles giving last minute touch-ups. At 2100 hours, we are allotted the chatais where we are to light the diyas. We get our tables stacked up and ready so that we can start lighting the moment the judges arrive.

The Rules of the Game

It is all about timing. You light the diyas too early - and they will burn off. You light it too late - and you can't finish by the time the judges come. No artificial lighting is allowed. Nobody is to be seen in the arena when the judges arrive. There should be pin-drop silence. The main switch is toggled before 11 o' clock. The battleground is ready. (literally!)

A signal would be given when we should start lighting the lamps. No one was to panic. And above all, we had to use our common sense. On the split call, the tables and beds had to brought down and removed from the arena.

Music will be played in the background. The narrators would explain the battleground - how Krishna in his Viraat Avatar convinced Arjun that it was his dharma to go to battleground and fight it out. We would be judged on the overall theme, the narration and the chatais.

The D-Time

The judges are supposedly late be half an hour. We start lighting our diyas comfortably. Suddenly, we are told to hurry up. Calculations have gone horribly wrong. The judges are asked to wait for some time outside the gate. They showed around the Rangoli for some time.

All effort is made to buy time. The Virat avatar is 2 storeys high. Completing it would be a colossal task within the time frame. Everybody rushes to complete the Virat Avatar. The Virat Avatar is 60% complete when the split call is given. Everybody rushes to dismantle the tables and hide everything.

A Risky Affair

In the mayhem, one fellow is injured. A bed had been dropped on his leg from high up. His leg has swollen and he is clearly in extreme pain. He is smuggled outside the hall to the hospital. Music (Shlokas etc) is running in the backdrop. Even that has been mixed up. Everything seems lost.

The Junta starts pouring in and wishing us Happy Diwali. Even on this festive occasion, the fiercely competitive Nehruites have nothing to cheer about. The Daru Party more or less stood cancelled. I haven't had dinner yet. We go out to have something. And even though, I wasn't really very much involved in the preparations - it was really difficult to swing the mood after that. Probably one of the most tiring and eventful Diwalis I have ever had.

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Illumination and Rangoli: Day -1
Illumination and Rangoli: The Countdown

Illumination and Rangoli: The Countdown

Diwali in IITKgp is celebrated differently. Instead of firecrackers, we have Illu (the abbreviated form of Illumination) - something unique to Kgp.

Preparation for Illumination starts 15-30 days in advance and gains momentum in the last few days before Diwali. The idea, though novel - struck me as odd - specially the way it happens in Kgp.

1. Only the 1st year and 2nd year students are involved in the preparations. The entire hostel isn't.
2. The actual preparation takes place only in the final few days. 10-15 days aren't required at all. More so, I could never understand why Illu preparations had to happen after midnight when it could be easily done in the evening.
   
3. I couldn't see any point in everything being done by the students - themselves.

Armed with this + some additional funda (again a very strange culture of Kgp) that I had gathered from some of my seniors, I decided to stay out of Illumination as much as I could.

Therein began my tale of escapades, some of which become popular in the hall. Some - in my own estimate - were rather dumb. But nonetheless, it was an adventure worth trying instead of sitting in the hall doing menial things that were being instructed to me.

Day 13: 2000 hours

Since this was the first day, I had almost no idea. A common room meeting is called at 2130 hours. I decide to bunk it. I go to the library.

Day 12: 0000 hours

I don't feel like coming back to the hall - having bunked the meeting - knowingly. My cycle tyre is flat - punctured. I decide to spend the night in a friend's room in another hostel.

Day 11: 2000 hours

Day 10's strategy seemed really dumb to me. Someone else's room isn't the best place to spend a night. I decide to lock the room from outside after 2130 hours. The windows in the doors turn out to be really useful.

Day 10 upto Day 8

Everything is peaceful. I have no problems with my strategy.

Day 7: 2200 hours

I decide to go out for some fresh air. The moment I open the window - I see seniors standing gaping at the window and the lock in alternate fashion. I have to go to work that day.

Day 6: 0030 hours

I decide - enough is enough - I'll go back to the room and sleep.

Day 5: 2230 hours

Even though my strategy had been discovered, I couldn't see any reason that I shouldn't do it again. After all, nobody could break the lock of my room.

Unluckily, the trick is discovered again - for the door yields a bit to merciless banging - and I can be seen through an opening in the door. Bad luck yet again.

Those outside: "Mainak, give us the key."
Me: "I don't have them. My roommate has it."

I was in no mood to work through the night.

Day 4: 0400 hours

I couldn't come up with any good ideas. I decide to fall back on Day 13's strategy. But again I am caught. A senior calls me in the dead of the night.

"Mainak, come back to the hall."

Day 3: 0530 hours

Having been caught thrice, I decide to work - so as not to complicate matters. I feel the work is really awful. I have lost my sleep all for nothing.

Day 2 & Day 1:

By now, people are fed up with my tactics. They know I'll come when I want to come. I work for some time and go back to sleep before midnight.

Day 0:

It is Diwali day. This is the day when most of the work gets done. I decide to pitch in with a helping hand.

Many felt I couldn't exonerate myself from the guilt of the last 13 days by working a day or two. But for me, it was about being sensible and doing what seemed was most appropriate for me and my hostel.

P.S: I think I forgot to mention Daru night and the treat. The treat was somewhere around Day 13 and the Daru night was somewhere around Day 4 or 5. I do not remember exactly because I had skipped the Daru night.

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Illumination and Diwali: Day 0
Illumination and Diwali: Day -1