Possibly from the host's particular liking for MTVs Roadies.

Probably from the PDPs main "anchor" being compared to Raghu.

" You know that you are here voluntarily " 

You ought to say such lines before taking one's case. One should after all know the reason of the ass whopping that one is about to receive. And that 'voluntary' just kicks off the mind games part of it all.

The experience bordered on unpleasant for most of us. It was like the ragging we never had, though some of us did end up laughing their guts out at the effort it took some of the judges to emulate the real ones (Some just don't have the face, or the stomach to get ugly). At the end of it all, 8 of us were branded as Roadies.

Enough with the exaggerations. Not to forget, we were in a B School after all. The first few rounds were inclined towards that. With competitions like Team Logo, GDs, Team Extempore, Debate, B-Idea etc, the mind was disturbed quite often, promptly and abruptly. Team Logo was super fun, but the best was Team Extempore. The involvement of the whole class, crazy stories, haphazard bullshitting, and the voting twist, all on the back of a planted idea that we'll have a case study as our next task, super.

GMAT? Seemed like that. Constant pain in the ass. Kuch bhi karo, problem hai. All kinds of seen and unseen twists that you can think of. Constant juggling, wiggling around. So much so that after the initial plotting around we simply stopped, resigned to our fates. What actually goes amiss in all the hooplah is his keen observing skills. Credentials, he may not have to judge, nevertheless, the sheer feedbacks that he gave to us, be it compliment or criticism, made him good enough.

I can't think of anything that was without a twist. Everything in the Fair-Play playbook, and many things outside it were thrown in the mix. Surprises, Vote Ins, Vote outs, Class Votes, advantages, immunity, Guest Judges et al. The funny part was, at some point or the other, the host must have picked up certain twists by raking our heads, and incessantly barging us about what do you expect < Kuch toh pakka pick kiya hoga? > 

And then there were rounds towards the end. The ones which people kinda fear. The details of which are better kept outside from this space. Just as a hint: Think Gory. Think verbal Gory.

Perhaps the most difficult thing that one can be asked to do. Or perhaps one of the easiest. Depends mainly on how you take it. But it does get scary when you are asked to sell yourself in front of the whole class. Talk about yourself <Self obsess much> Convince. And then, not to forget, the interrogation that follows. People, hinged on even the slightest of sounds that you make, trying to get on your nerves, grueling you, going for your neck. The Judgement then delivered by the class. And here I STAND :)

Fun. Exciting. Intriguing. Satisfying. Constructive. The best take away for me by far was the  spike in the confidence in situations out of my comfort zone. And yes, the hooting that was going on in the finale for me, the faces that I read after I was done selling myself, being "The First Roadie" from IIFT and all, did make me blush, literally too when i went on stage after winning :)

P.S.

Me --> better known as ' Sadakchaap ' in the circles from now on :|

@souptik brilliantly done

@CR "I am the best" ;) 

@Rakhi Bhai, control. Maarne mein itna interest achi baat nahi <Finale>

@deepayan the silent passer > Ashutosh 

@ashwin no hard feelings ;)

@prashant agression mera dusra naam hai...

@sahil B Idea mein tp mast hua tha, wahi sunday tha woh, the day i ended up making 4 presentations, huahah.. 

@patil Voted In. Need I say more..

@madan "The Best Audition" baaki toh kuch zyaada hua nahi...

@AJ, NKM Lobbying? Thanks :D

@CLASS Thank You for bearing me out ;)

Nestling in the modest Jhulelal Apartments, in the so-called less glamorous, less happening part of Delhi (yep, North West Delhi has been cursed many-a times), lies this place, which has been steadily growing in the list of my To-Go places. And the only reason i say 'steadily growing' is 'cuz its still just sinking in. Every nook, every inch. Brick by Brick.

First Reactions? Whoaa. Bliss. Confusion. 

Whoaa. Vibrancy of the whole package. It just hits you at that first step.

Bliss. The Sound. The Seats. And the god-damn 'Avatar'.

Confusion. Did he really got it done. Who fuckin' did the interiors for this place? (SG, there's always ID if you just get bored with all the cooking, the publishing and the film making ;) )

@ SG

I Really hope you put these following lines into the context meant.

There will always be non-believers. Slap 'em. Move on.

Proud and all. Hell ya. And use the place to step onto the self confidence of those who were ignorant enough not to believe in you and un...

I still cant fathom some of reactions (-ve) that I have heard of people visiting. But that is how people are.

Space. Celebration preparations couldn't have had a better place. Music does the trick. And it feels really uncanny that our parents got married on the same day. Good though. Reasons for our similarities?

2011 Cricket World Cup. India. SRT. True Story *High Five*

Black Swan, takes the cake, of all the movies that we have watched up until now.

Pardon my non-diplomacy, informality. Our friendship never had room for that, if you know what I mean.

P.S. I do want such a place all to myself. Perhaps not as elaborate, as grand, as yours. Smaller will do perfectly. And I do have a picture in my mind. Will get to it when the time comes. 100%

Impromptu 10 Mins: 

 

“

I am still a big mystery, if fact, I myself don't know wht I am capable of ;)

 

You wouldn't believe when I first discussed this idea with Saransh, Chachi and Nupur di, all of 'em were like 'what? u thought of this?' and the apparently people were like 'Harshit ne socha yeh sab, baap re' Such was the built up hype.

 

Then all the work that I'd put in for a good part of 2 weeks, daant bhi khaayi papa se, roz ghumne chala jaata hai, wagarah, i made the card at a friend’s place, the hiccups, the tension and everythin, so worth it.

 

And when finally people saw, I could see them drooling all over it  we had a reading, at 12 on 12^th. I read all the cards in front of every1 in my typical delhi tone, ppl went berserk, laughing aloud, such was the effect, bade log bhi yes....

 

and finally, sabne mujhe 1 nahi, 2-3 baar sunaya ki how i had pulled it off beyond their imagination  (((Modesty my arse, this is one thing about which i'd never be modest)))

Nupur Di was like idea toh execution ke saamne kuch bhi nahi tha J

Shikha wishes ki woh mama mamiji ki 50th pe kuch aisa kare J

 

You ought to read it, the real fun is in the material, I bet I can make you laugh ur guts out with 'em, and each n every card is the truth, mom is still amazed, and confused, did harshit really pull it off? you bet i did...

 

Also, if u'd have read ne of my previous blogs, u'd have definitely known that I do have a creative bone, somewhat. Creative one place, Creative All Around :D :D

“

Fact: It took me 1 1/2 hrs to come up with 3-4 ideas, and write 25 cards. One on the finest moments of my life I bet. 

 

P.S all that shit, it might just be worth blogging ;) Pics

-- HARRY

 

"

Detached from the usual, the ordinary, the parties, at a time when Holi is just on the horizon (there was a 'victim' in the group of the intriguing lathmaar holi, oh yes), the decision to celebrate in Krishna's backyard, to cap 25 years of marital bliss, beautiful, elegant and peaceful. And what it offered the most is 3-4 days with a group of 40 odd dear ones.

00:00 Hrs. 12th March 2011.

w00t. w00t. Congratulations. Snaps. Smiles. Gifts. Hugs.

And time for my efforts of every second of the past two weeks to bear fruits.

That glint in Mom Dad's eyes, that amazement in the voice's of everyone around at how I pulled it off from scratch and those laughters that filled up the space upon each reading of 1 of my 25 cards, frankly, standing ovations would have hidden their faces, such was the euphoria that I felt. And modesty my arse, I am damn proud.

"Kaun Kehta hai Ladke Creative nahi hote. Ideas toh bahaut hain. Bass execution mein phat-ti hai" - Me

Govinda's. Iskcon.

" Bilkul nahi Karni hai Jai Mala " - Dad

Main toh khud nahi karna chahta but baaki logon ko kaun samjhaaye.

And that huge finger licking cake. Gorgeous and Delicious.

Bolo Baanke Bihari Ji ki Jai.

The whole 9 yards. Woh tokriyon pe prasad bhagwan tak leke jaana. Woh grand (neend laa deni waali, Sanskrit is to blame) puja. Woh Punditon ko jeemaana. Woh khaane pe fir khud toot padna. ( yeh and that 9 significance is not lost. apparently India lost 9 wickets during the same period )

Milna Shilna. Gappe Shappe Maarna. Ek dusre ki taang kheechna. Card ki 2nd, 3rd tym padhna :) Photu Kheechna.

All this just reminded me of why i'd never want to stay outta India :)

Govardhan. GokulDham. Mathura. Really?

Fatehpur Sikri chalne ka thaa instead. Anyways. Experience was still invaluable. Lord Krishna appearing himself in the marble wall separating the Masjid and the Mandir (Please, looked like your normal oxidation to me). The Sham run at GokulDham (if you know what I mean).

Taj. The ride to and from. The Posing. The berserk clicking, with a camera in each one's hand. Fun.

Success. Wouldn't have been possible without all your blessings and Mom Dad's efforts.

@Saransh: Thanks for the help with the card.

@Chachi: Thanks for helping out with the cake and the card. And I guess aap nahi bolte toh main likhta nahi yeh blog. Writing more frequently, Tick.

@Bhuaji's: Malas. Although, I didn't want 'em, it wasn't that bad.

@Munni Bhua, Dadiji: Solitaire. Mast thi.

@Monu bhaiya: you wouldn't believe how everyone loved your writeup. I told you, heart felt always rocks. Aana Tha.

@Tina Di Innovation. Salute.

@Nupur Di: That Idea bouncing phone call really settled any nerves that I had. The collage, lovely. @Tinki Di

@Saurav Bhaiya: Gokul Dham ho gaya iss janm ke liye. Fir nahi ;)

@Sandhya Bhabhi Puchu ko toh sirf aap hi manage kar sakte hi, baaki sab fail..

@Rohit Bhaiya: aap prakat hue. Hum Dhanya Hue :D

@Vinita Bhabhi: Itni hi Hindi padhi jaati hai mujhse. But jab mom ne ghar pahaunch ke padh ke sunaya. Wow. Fabulous card tha.

@Neha Di: Phone calls ke beech mein itna saara free time. How do you manage ;) btw bhua ne woh love letters padhne ko diye aapko?

@Prateek: Amazin clicks at Govindas. Nice Job. Khud bhi khichvaa leta ek aad bevakuf ;)

@Shikha: Paagal. Bilkul paagal. Never Change. And saari photography toh tune hi ki thi wahan :)

@Kappu Di: Sab ki kitni taang kheechoge aap :D Hass Hass ke thak gaya tha main.

@Chetan: Computer. Seriously.

@Madhvi: High Five :)

@Reetesh Jiju: More trips on card?

@Gautam Jiju: Time Management :) sahi pahaunch gaye :)

@Anu Bhaiya: Bass aage se Chaaukidaar rakh lena. Enough Bahane Baaji.

@Chika: Ind-SA Match. So not worth it :D

@Ritch: Missed.

@Dad: woh office naa jaane ke liye daant khaana was so totally worth it :)

@Mom: No Peeking :)

@Mom, Dad: Pulled it off brilliantly. 25 years. Congratulations :)

CHEERS.

HARRY.

Venue: Liverpool Terminal, Tivoli Gardens, Delhi

First things first. Surely they did not come up with the name this year ;) Relegation Much.

An excellent choice of location. Farmhouses are way better than Auditoriums of Halls and topping it was the weather. Perfect day for a cocktail party. Perfect opportunity to meet fellow Bitsians, most of 'em for the first time, many of 'em after more than a year. Did I have anything better to do? Frankly, OASIS, but things don't pan out always. Was the Saturday Night worth it? Totally.

Shouldn't hot chicks be like the middle name for Cocktail Parties? Well everything's not what it seems. But there always is a ray of hope. Especially when you are in a cluster of farmhouses. So after a few exchanged pleasantries, and a few drinks down, we trotted towards the IIFT Fashion Show (For MBA Aspirants, like me, out there, the F in IIFT is for Fashion). Just what was needed to get those testosterone levels bursting. And at times like these, we sit and wonder, "Engineering, really?". Human Nature, never gets satisfied. Lets just leave it at that.

Crashing Parties. Fun-eh. First the IIFT Show, now a wedding/reception party. The aim was to find chicken and kebabs, but gol-gappas and chaat had to do. Btw, if the party organizers are reading this, please a request, "learn to throw a party before actually throwing another one". Boring.

Back at our den, things were starting to warm up, from the insides (Get It!). And whats better than comedian. A drunk Surd. At least this one was. 72-77 Batch, pardon my "ability" to remember names. You remember that classic surd joke. "Paape time ki hoya hai? And then the sardar turns his wrist to check time, and spills glassful." So, he held a glassful of cocktail, and delivered the joke perfectly. The USP o'course was the unexpectedness of it all. You don't expect someone 30 yrs older than you, probably having kids of your age, to do something like that. You'd think it'd be hard to top that. Well, he did it. Now he had a quarter glassful. And we thought that finally he will get to the usual topics of discussion at such affairs. But you remember that joke when the same sardar being intelligent doesn't fall for the same trick next year and says so with hand actions of 'nahi' thus spilling the drink again. Well he did it perfectly with an innate skill of a comedian, adding a twist all the while, thereby spilling a lot on us too. Fun.

Alumni Meets. I am sure you know what to expect. The usual stuff was going around. Stories of their times, stories of our times, the present time, the plans et al.

Limits. Should. Be. Known. As simple as that. And since I haven't named a soul yet, I will refrain here too. And when "you" read this, do keep those words in your mind. It wasn't pleasant towards the end, really. And some of the best laid plans - that started and ended with not going home until next morning (Mind It!) - had to be adapted for half the gang.

Mocha. One of the few places that would still be buzzing at that hour. The usual, and catching up on the past year and a half, and more. And that BlueBerry shake was delicious.

Mani Singh Johar. The man behind the wheel. The man at the behest of whom this has been written. The man who deserves a mention. Close friends do know of this incident. Chintu (Mani's bro), a few years ago, on his way back to Pilani, in a rented chauffeur-driven car,  not only finds himself at the wheel, at 3-4 am, but also sleeping. Next thing, A Khet, A tractor, possibly few damages, 2 of our favourite people alive, and a story that is sure to be told at our silver jubilee meet. And you don't expect two fruits from the same tree to fall apart from each other. And for a half high Mani to pull the rabbit out of the hat, *bow*.

After picking up 2 more from the remotest corner of Gurgaon, we decided to drive to Manesar, 25-30 kms towards Jaipur, to have a bite at our very own all night McD, only to be stuck in a jam that reminded of the one in China last month. And after an hour of waiting, where the truck divers behaving like this was any other day, switching off their head lights and dozing off, we decided to act upon the idea of getting the car on the road to the other side, which was a good 3 ft. below the one on which we were, separated by a green slope with potholes and protruding tree trunks cut to a feet or two, and a fencing around a feet high, and not to mention the trucks on the other side whooshing past us at 100kmph. With a little bit of commonsense engineering and with a panicky-daredevil-not so sober Mani at the wheel, we got beyond saving at least a few hours to say the least.

Finally, checked in back at my place around 7, dead tired.

---

Harry