Elsevier Week

When was the last time you took part in something for the first time? There were many such occasions for me but the result was not always satisfying and most notable of them was the New Year Bash that was held here( seriously our college fest was 100 times better). I am glad to say Elsevier week wasn't such.

The first on the menu was "Caps and T-Shirt Day" (Day 1 in the mundane language). Until and unless someone told you that this day meant meant a cap and a T-Shirt had to be worn you would never know that it is. You see, there were only 5 to 6 with a cap on. Anyways around 4:30, an hour late than planned (as is the Indian norm :D ) we were all assembled near the basketball ground. Teams were divided by numbering out all the odds and even ones with whole team standing in a circle and for a while I thought Leonard (from Memento) possessed me because no sooner did I recite my number and the round ended I forgot what it was I chose. Once agreable but THREE times? My fears were short-lived though thanks to Kunal who seems to suffer from the same. Phew!! It was with a great reluctance and sense of absolute dread I went with my 2 team to be part of the circle as we were about to play Elimination game. My mind was busy churning out images of the events that might follow like Musical Chairs, Antakshari which among many others are the two most favorited(Heaven Knows why? ) and frequent chores that happens when all the aunts and uncles with the unfortunate children (for someone above the class 10 that's much more worse...man I have been to those quite many times...) and this was the cause of dread within in me. No offense intended. The scene here was eerily reminiscent of the same excepting that this time around it is all the tweenies here..

But boy o boy what a game it actually turned out to be. There was constant adrenaline rush within to get the team out and the sense of urgency was quite palpable on all the faces. Shoot the legs, that's the rule and shoot we did alright with ball going from one corner(not exactly a circle it was) to another and the whole bunch within trying to dodge the attacks was as exciting as seeing last few overs of the T-20 World Cup finale. The excitement just got better in the second half as I found myself jumping, running and finally falling (which saw me out of the game) to avert the oncoming onslaughts. I might have appealed for third umpire as it was not 100% sure if the ball had touched me and ultimately save the game for our team who unfortunately lost. Not all was proper though there were some rumours floating around of how Rishvi had manipulated her watch and that the 1 team broke the rules and were huddled much closer than expected (which still haven't been confirmed by the sources...).

Moving on (and thankfully my fears were unfounded) it was the Tug-Of-War and mind you it did turn out to be one with some heavy casualities. Kunal, Uvarajan and me were the most affected of all. It was again between team 1 and 2 in a space of 3 rounds. Being in the first round and taking the bait was me. Tying hankie first on the hand and making one round go through my fist I held the defense ready for the call. Whistle blew and aaaaaahhhhh... oh..god what a pain it was! Not mental pain not because we lost three times (that of course was part of it) but the physical. What in the world was a nylon thread doing here. It should have been jute all the way. I was actually expecting some resistance with cheers and encouragement but man this turned out to be a 5 to 10 seconds affair. Even now it stumps me how the other team did manage. Surely something fishy out there...again a Rishvi conspiracy? Did she know which end was more secure beforehand?(unconfirmed yet.. :D)

The best of the day was yet to come. Everybody there burst out laughing seeing Imtiaz and his buddy running hand in hand totally mindless of the embarressment they are causing or the absurdity of doing such thing and set out trying to outrun the teams of two's who were tied leg-in-leg to reach the mark. What a site it was! Strange it may seem but the micheveous duo couldn't cross the mark. All in all a wholesome entertainment.

What truly hit me was the energy and sportiveness with which everbody participated and made the day most memorable. For the first time I felt a sense of belonging and oneness. Well there ended the day one but not the fun....You ain't seen nothing yet

!!!!Watch out for Day 3.!!!!

(Oh..hello,, I do know numbers , Day 2 ain't worth the line I am typing out here. So don't bother...)