What happens when you put a hundred and fifty people of different shapes, sizes, colours, countries and mindsets in a single room, and ask them to stay there for 5 years?
Optimistically, it can be a happy story where everyone unites as one big happy family. Practically, we just end up hating each other, a situation that worsens in a female dominated class.
What begins as a misconception about a certain someone, grows to become a rumour and ultimately, seals a person's image forever. Credibility isn't the criteria. Compatibility is. But who can talk of compatibility without a certain level of interaction? So all we can do to judge a person, is to go by how they're dressed, their demeanor and vibes. NOT CONCLUSIVE.
So there steps in Pulsation, our annual college fest. Organization, competition, victory, defeat...hand in hand with truck loads of fun!What began with furious arguments regarding the naming of our batch ended up with 150 jubilant students screaming:
When we score, when we scream, you wish you were on our team
Gooooo Spaartaans!
Spartans. Yes, that's what we all are. Warriors, of both the body and mind. 150 Spartans draped in dazzling blue...electric! 150 students standing tall with the flag fluttering into the summer wind, united under one big banner: SPARTANS-2012.
Day one, I remember, kick-started with the usual drag of a march-past followed by speeches upon speeches under the harsh mid-October sun. Nothing to dampen our spirits though.
The evening saw an energy packed boys' Volleyball match, which we lost to our Postgraduate uncles.
The first match however, had lain the foundation of our girl cheer-leading squad and the ever-so-unique slogan that went on to become our winning mantra. A great fight by the boy Spartans, and a promise to claim the trophy next year. Amen.
The sporting fervour continued for another six days, and by 13th of October, team Spartans was proudly placed second on the Basketball front. The girls cricket team amassed immense support and respect, having crushed our reigning seniors, the Warlords of 2007. Coached under our very own all-rounder Mohammed Abdul Ashraf, both the girls and the boys team excelled at the sport.
Football became another feather on out hats, with the seniors assuring us of the championship in the following years. Sometimes, as freshers, you only have to compromise and walk ahead.
Kaushik Dandanak emerged the star player. Ah! I see the big-daddies trembling at the name itself ;)What came next was probably the most enjoyable event during the fest. Kabaddi...naturally restricted to the tougher male species. Some epic moments, raw force and mind games...a game high on adrenaline. We didn't win, but we didn't give up without breaking a few backs. Haar kar jeetne waale ko hi Spartan kehte hain boss ;)
Boys' Basketball came as a silver lining, after the dismal performance by the girls' team. They bagged silver and the girls lost their throats. Syed Adnan shone as the play maker and Omer Qadri as the hoop-dude. Excellent ball control, quick speed passes and fantastic co-ordination did the trick. On the individual front, Anam Sultana- a dear dear friend-clutched a bronze in the 100 metres sprint. Proud girly moment.
Nearing the end of our festive week, came the literary and cultural competitions. Triggered by Omer Qadri and myself coming second in Debate, the topic being:
"Should rural service be made compulsory for medical students."
Team Spartans had Nida Fatima speaking for the motion, and Omer Qadri speaking against it. Excellent rebuttal from Omer, and full points for speaking were awarded to me. Vying for gold next year, InshAllah.
The winning streak continued with me winning gold in sketching...a basic job that seemed to work.
The winner's torch was then carried forward by Naila Iqbal, who claimed two golds, one in the Memory Game and another in Photo-editing. Neat, classy editing. Not over-done, but executed to perfection.
We summed up our days with a smile of happy contention. We succeeded in establishing our presence, gave to the college a mere trailer of the potential within us. The full movie, shall be released gradually over a span of 5 years. But wait! That's not all!
Down with all the competitions, the Spartans settled back to watch the better looking classmates walk down the ramp. Such professionalism, such panache...I often wonder if medicine is the right field for them. Flaunting everything, right from casuals to wedding wear...they made the outfits come across even better than the designer's conceptualization! Mohammed Wajih, Abdul Raafey, Hari Prem, Mubeen Babu, Ansari and Anas bin Siddiq came as surprise packets with each new sequence of the clothing range.
The story is still to continue. Most of us, who had almost dozed off in the middle, were woken up for a pleasant surprise. Random people simply ran up on to stage and my favourite song began to play. Even before I could jerk myself up to watch...the crowd, comprising exclusively of my batch mates, began dishing out moves like Jagger! It was a FLASH MOB!
Beautiful in it's concept and immaculate in it's execution, the flash mob became the highlight of Valentino 2012. The mob saw the birth of amazing dancing talent, that was probably buried under years of ignorance and textbooks. Commendable job, under the expert eye of Akram, the choreographer from TNT-2010.
The Grand Finale on the 15th of October saw a huge turn over of people, all dressed to kill. Decked up in typical Hyderabadi party wear, we sure made heads turn. The evening began with prize distribution, song and dance with small humour segments interspersed here and there. Habeeb Qadeer, a renowned stand-up artist on the Hyderabadi comedy platform performed for over 45 minutes, very energetic and very well appreciated as well. What added charm to the night was the Qawwali. Authentic Hyderabadi Qawwali, performed by experts in the field. They belted out some entrancing sequences and had the crowds tapping their feet in a bewitched trance. The naubat became the icing on the cake- very, VERY impressive.
With good food and great company, time flies! And so it did, by 11:30 pm, the evening was just beginning to gain fervour.
It felt like I was back to square one. 150 students in one hall, for the next five years. But after the week gone by, the cat has jumped over to the other side of the wall. It is no longer a bunch of kids involved in back-biting or gang fights. We ended up as good- if not great- friends.
The Spartans bid good-bye to a week full of merry making to walk right into the snare of the upcoming exams. But the shift in moods was undeniable. We ceased to look upon each other with hostility (if there ever was) and distrust. Misconceptions seem to have been brushed aside, and we became open to meeting up new people.
Team Spartans is just beginning to gel. It is only a matter of time where Team Spartans will cease to be just a name...it'll be an identity for the entire college to reckon with. A syncitium of sorts.This is me signing off, so until next time:
GOOOOOO SPARTAAAAANS!
Optimistically, it can be a happy story where everyone unites as one big happy family. Practically, we just end up hating each other, a situation that worsens in a female dominated class.
What begins as a misconception about a certain someone, grows to become a rumour and ultimately, seals a person's image forever. Credibility isn't the criteria. Compatibility is. But who can talk of compatibility without a certain level of interaction? So all we can do to judge a person, is to go by how they're dressed, their demeanor and vibes. NOT CONCLUSIVE.
So there steps in Pulsation, our annual college fest. Organization, competition, victory, defeat...hand in hand with truck loads of fun!What began with furious arguments regarding the naming of our batch ended up with 150 jubilant students screaming:
When we score, when we scream, you wish you were on our team
Gooooo Spaartaans!
Spartans. Yes, that's what we all are. Warriors, of both the body and mind. 150 Spartans draped in dazzling blue...electric! 150 students standing tall with the flag fluttering into the summer wind, united under one big banner: SPARTANS-2012.
Day one, I remember, kick-started with the usual drag of a march-past followed by speeches upon speeches under the harsh mid-October sun. Nothing to dampen our spirits though.
The evening saw an energy packed boys' Volleyball match, which we lost to our Postgraduate uncles.
The first match however, had lain the foundation of our girl cheer-leading squad and the ever-so-unique slogan that went on to become our winning mantra. A great fight by the boy Spartans, and a promise to claim the trophy next year. Amen.
The sporting fervour continued for another six days, and by 13th of October, team Spartans was proudly placed second on the Basketball front. The girls cricket team amassed immense support and respect, having crushed our reigning seniors, the Warlords of 2007. Coached under our very own all-rounder Mohammed Abdul Ashraf, both the girls and the boys team excelled at the sport.
Football became another feather on out hats, with the seniors assuring us of the championship in the following years. Sometimes, as freshers, you only have to compromise and walk ahead.
Kaushik Dandanak emerged the star player. Ah! I see the big-daddies trembling at the name itself ;)What came next was probably the most enjoyable event during the fest. Kabaddi...naturally restricted to the tougher male species. Some epic moments, raw force and mind games...a game high on adrenaline. We didn't win, but we didn't give up without breaking a few backs. Haar kar jeetne waale ko hi Spartan kehte hain boss ;)
Boys' Basketball came as a silver lining, after the dismal performance by the girls' team. They bagged silver and the girls lost their throats. Syed Adnan shone as the play maker and Omer Qadri as the hoop-dude. Excellent ball control, quick speed passes and fantastic co-ordination did the trick. On the individual front, Anam Sultana- a dear dear friend-clutched a bronze in the 100 metres sprint. Proud girly moment.
Nearing the end of our festive week, came the literary and cultural competitions. Triggered by Omer Qadri and myself coming second in Debate, the topic being:
"Should rural service be made compulsory for medical students."
Team Spartans had Nida Fatima speaking for the motion, and Omer Qadri speaking against it. Excellent rebuttal from Omer, and full points for speaking were awarded to me. Vying for gold next year, InshAllah.
The winning streak continued with me winning gold in sketching...a basic job that seemed to work.
The winner's torch was then carried forward by Naila Iqbal, who claimed two golds, one in the Memory Game and another in Photo-editing. Neat, classy editing. Not over-done, but executed to perfection.
We summed up our days with a smile of happy contention. We succeeded in establishing our presence, gave to the college a mere trailer of the potential within us. The full movie, shall be released gradually over a span of 5 years. But wait! That's not all!
Down with all the competitions, the Spartans settled back to watch the better looking classmates walk down the ramp. Such professionalism, such panache...I often wonder if medicine is the right field for them. Flaunting everything, right from casuals to wedding wear...they made the outfits come across even better than the designer's conceptualization! Mohammed Wajih, Abdul Raafey, Hari Prem, Mubeen Babu, Ansari and Anas bin Siddiq came as surprise packets with each new sequence of the clothing range.
The story is still to continue. Most of us, who had almost dozed off in the middle, were woken up for a pleasant surprise. Random people simply ran up on to stage and my favourite song began to play. Even before I could jerk myself up to watch...the crowd, comprising exclusively of my batch mates, began dishing out moves like Jagger! It was a FLASH MOB!
Beautiful in it's concept and immaculate in it's execution, the flash mob became the highlight of Valentino 2012. The mob saw the birth of amazing dancing talent, that was probably buried under years of ignorance and textbooks. Commendable job, under the expert eye of Akram, the choreographer from TNT-2010.
The Grand Finale on the 15th of October saw a huge turn over of people, all dressed to kill. Decked up in typical Hyderabadi party wear, we sure made heads turn. The evening began with prize distribution, song and dance with small humour segments interspersed here and there. Habeeb Qadeer, a renowned stand-up artist on the Hyderabadi comedy platform performed for over 45 minutes, very energetic and very well appreciated as well. What added charm to the night was the Qawwali. Authentic Hyderabadi Qawwali, performed by experts in the field. They belted out some entrancing sequences and had the crowds tapping their feet in a bewitched trance. The naubat became the icing on the cake- very, VERY impressive.
With good food and great company, time flies! And so it did, by 11:30 pm, the evening was just beginning to gain fervour.
It felt like I was back to square one. 150 students in one hall, for the next five years. But after the week gone by, the cat has jumped over to the other side of the wall. It is no longer a bunch of kids involved in back-biting or gang fights. We ended up as good- if not great- friends.
The Spartans bid good-bye to a week full of merry making to walk right into the snare of the upcoming exams. But the shift in moods was undeniable. We ceased to look upon each other with hostility (if there ever was) and distrust. Misconceptions seem to have been brushed aside, and we became open to meeting up new people.
Team Spartans is just beginning to gel. It is only a matter of time where Team Spartans will cease to be just a name...it'll be an identity for the entire college to reckon with. A syncitium of sorts.This is me signing off, so until next time:
GOOOOOO SPARTAAAAANS!
