So it's over! My 4 year long tenure as a college festival participant and organiser is finally over. Yup. I'm taking early retirement. Opting out of it all for good. And it's an odd feeling man. It's one odd, bittersweet feeling. If you don't want to read through all this crap, you may just push to the last paragraph! That should help! :P
Honestly, I'm at a loss of words. Though I'm certain of my wanting to opt out of it all a little early, I'm also completely sure that I am going to miss it all. So much. So very very much. But then, as a friend of mine put it, new experiences await me.
I think it's safe to say that I had a rather successful stint at fests. Initially, as a part of PA teams that kicked ass musically and later as an LA participant. The certificates piled up and festival season was sure to come along with discounted haircuts and tattoos for most of my friends and families. But it was all such a con wasn't it? Never did I go for a single prize distribution. Never really bothered about holding on to the trophies. They lie in the corner of my room gathering dust. Thank God most of them were for the college, I wouldn't have bothered holding on to them if they had been kept at home. Honestly, it was partly because I never really figured out how I won so many events. Hell, I still don't know. All I ever did was show up and chill. Relax. Talk to people. Yeah... It was always all about the people. And trust me when I tell you, I've met some of the most wonderful people I have ever met because of these fests, and most of them are far better at fests than I'll ever be. And I think that's something I'll miss immensely. Partially, the reason why I dug fests so much was because they provided me with a challenge. Something to stress the limits of my creative ability. Festivals gave me a chance to create and tell stories. And for that I am forever grateful.
But hey, all good things must come to an end. To be honest though, I wasn't entirely sure as to what would signal the time for me to stop. When it happened though, I knew it in my gut and my mind and it all made sense. See, I have this piece of paper with a bucket list that lists the things I wanted to do when I had just entered junior college. And on that list is a little line of scribbles that reads I should, in massive part, win 6 trophies, of which at least 2 should be Individual. As for the other 4, I should have a large part to play in them.I should also organise a fest and help make a considerable improvement in the same. And this year, at college, I got lucky. I was blessed with a spirited (and rather talented) batch of juniors and awesome seniors and batch mates to match. Together, as one hell of a tiny ass team, we managed to win both Umang and Enigma (two rather large fests in the north Bombay area) and even got ourselves the LA trophies in both. It wouldn't have been possible without them juniors though. Them juniors and my Buddy Akshay Tamhankar, the best CL I've ever seen after Nihal Daswani. Remember those names. You'll hear them somewhere big some day. I even got to be the Vice Chairperson of the festival my college organises. We took it from a small fest to one that's so much closer to being a big one. I did little though, most of it was the amazing dream team I got to work with. For those people, both younger and older, I am so grateful.
Of course, it goes beyond just the folks in my contingent and my organising committee. There were the amazing minds I met. Specially in LA. Pranav Advani, Aarsh Mehta, Parul Rawat, Aadya Shah, Sampurna Maitra, Rashmi Mehta, Akash Vishwakarma, Vishaal Rashquinha, Paurush Irani and so so many more.
Of course, I probably haven't made the best impression on everyone at fests. And I really wish I had. But I guess it's something that might or might not change over time. And I have so much more to do. So many people to meet. I just hope I don't mess it up there I say!
But hey, I've been ranting. And I think I should wrap it up now.
I am forever grateful for fests. I am forever grateful for the people I've met along the way. I shall always look up to my LA seniors. I will never be as good as you. Ever. As for my Juniors, I judge you by the standard set by my predecessors. Live up to it. You have such wonderful potential. I think you're all better than I am, whether it's at PA or LA or whatever. Kick ass man! And enjoy these days. Do more fests! You'll realise you take away a lot more than just trophies and certificates.
Special mention to Malcom K. Remember, I kick your ass just like my LA seniors kicked mine. So make sure you Replace me at PGCL man. Replace me.
