* IITM Saarang at times, given you were at the right place at the right time and sometimes the wrong time, showed glimpses of paradise...
*I happened to be so a couple of times and not only thoroughly enjoyed myself, but had an uplifting and once in a life time experience. Vox A capella was one, which for the illiterate(like me) means “A cappella (Italian or Latin "From the chapel/choir") music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way.”
*Well without much ado, the event showcased some of the best college singing groups that included beauties from WCC, Mt.Carmel, Yethiraj and an all boys band which was an exception in this case performing jazz, blues, light music and songs like the lion king opening song (yes the one with the animal sounds, all intact) and “ In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the Lion sleeps tonight...” And not just performing them but doing so with the ease, accomplishment and professionalism of seasoned musicians on tour and also combining it with the reckless abandon and intense enjoyment associated with amateur singers who sing just for the heck of it. That was Saarang'09 for me. Nothing else came even close.
*I just wanted to share this with you and send out a clarion call for all those uninitiated college goers, who think the world is all they see and what they see is boring; There is a whole new world out there, just waiting to expand your horizons. Go attend Saarang'10.
Now to my musings; On my way back from Saarang I happened to notice something I had not in all those 4 mornings and 3 nights at IITM : true beauty. Seriously, please don't think that I am saying this to join the group of IIT haters; who do so because they are jealous; I totally am not on e of them. In all those wonderfully dressed or undressed (depends on how you look at it) girls I couldn't find beauty. Anyway to come back, my object of admiration (not attraction) was at the Central, on platform three wearing a pink chudi, looking pretty, but not exactly what you'd call head turning material. Which is the whole point; she wasn't head turning material, if you didn't understand the point. Here I was standing tired, not having slept the previous night, not in a state to appreciate beauty of any start, almost drifting off to sleep while still standing when I was startled from my semi-conscious state by an almighty cry. For the life of me, I was wide awake now, only to find that nobody was paying least attention to the sound. I turned to find that it was a small kid, playing with his mom, pulling at her bag and trying to run away with it. It was like watching the churning of the milky way (by the Gods, if you don't know) and was quiet interesting. But I looked up. I thank my stars, for that epiphany: that something more interesting was just a look up. I looked up to find the girl undergoing a silent transformation. It was like the pati's of cinemas saying “ You look like Goddess Maha-Lakshmi.” The ends of the previously morose, uninspiring lips which did not merit mention, were slowly curving upwards to form a smile filled with so much warmth that India's power problems could have been solved. The fact that the smile was shared by the eyes too, made it all the more enjoyable. The eyes now were full of sparkle and so expressive that I didn't need to see the kid to know what was happening any more. The face was now literally glowing and I now understood what people meant by true beauty. I was overcome by a strange emotion that wanted that moment to be frozen for eternity and that wanted me to just stand there and keep admiring her. Stranger was the fact that nobody noticed this either, not even the person next to her who seemed to be her father. Maybe it's the law of such things. I was struck by the innocence of that smile and the abandon of the emotions those eyes portrayed. Given a paper and pen a second Da Vinci would have been born. Or maybe a Shakespeare, or rather Lord Byron (who wrote better romantic poems??).. But neither happened. The train arrived...
*I just wanted to share this with you and send out a clarion call for all those uninitiated college goers, who think the world is all they see and what they see is boring; There is a whole new world out there, just waiting to expand your horizons. Go attend Saarang'10.
Now to my musings; On my way back from Saarang I happened to notice something I had not in all those 4 mornings and 3 nights at IITM : true beauty. Seriously, please don't think that I am saying this to join the group of IIT haters; who do so because they are jealous; I totally am not on e of them. In all those wonderfully dressed or undressed (depends on how you look at it) girls I couldn't find beauty. Anyway to come back, my object of admiration (not attraction) was at the Central, on platform three wearing a pink chudi, looking pretty, but not exactly what you'd call head turning material. Which is the whole point; she wasn't head turning material, if you didn't understand the point. Here I was standing tired, not having slept the previous night, not in a state to appreciate beauty of any start, almost drifting off to sleep while still standing when I was startled from my semi-conscious state by an almighty cry. For the life of me, I was wide awake now, only to find that nobody was paying least attention to the sound. I turned to find that it was a small kid, playing with his mom, pulling at her bag and trying to run away with it. It was like watching the churning of the milky way (by the Gods, if you don't know) and was quiet interesting. But I looked up. I thank my stars, for that epiphany: that something more interesting was just a look up. I looked up to find the girl undergoing a silent transformation. It was like the pati's of cinemas saying “ You look like Goddess Maha-Lakshmi.” The ends of the previously morose, uninspiring lips which did not merit mention, were slowly curving upwards to form a smile filled with so much warmth that India's power problems could have been solved. The fact that the smile was shared by the eyes too, made it all the more enjoyable. The eyes now were full of sparkle and so expressive that I didn't need to see the kid to know what was happening any more. The face was now literally glowing and I now understood what people meant by true beauty. I was overcome by a strange emotion that wanted that moment to be frozen for eternity and that wanted me to just stand there and keep admiring her. Stranger was the fact that nobody noticed this either, not even the person next to her who seemed to be her father. Maybe it's the law of such things. I was struck by the innocence of that smile and the abandon of the emotions those eyes portrayed. Given a paper and pen a second Da Vinci would have been born. Or maybe a Shakespeare, or rather Lord Byron (who wrote better romantic poems??).. But neither happened. The train arrived...
