k^infinity to http://kpowerinfinity.spaces.live.com/ & http://kpowerinfinity.wordpress.com

Pushing the limits ... to infinity! This blog has now been split into two. My personal blog is now located at Live Spaces and my more technical blog is located at Wordpress

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

The Illumination of RK

It was my last Diwali in IIT Kharagpur yesterday. I had enjoyed my Diwalis before coming to IIT and I will probably continue to enjoy my Diwalis after I pass out, but from now on, every Diwali, there would be something missing, a vaccum which can not be filled anywhere else in the world, a void which will always remain. Because every Diwali, my mind is going to delve into its archives and replay a piece of tape, faded but still fresh as ever - for the rest of my life, every year on Diwali I am going to witness RK's Illumination again.

Illumination is something unique to IIT Kharagpur - a bunch of guys coming together to create exquisite patterns on chatais (wireframes made of bamboo skin) made up of diyas (small lamps), all lit up on Diwali night. Last year our hall won the Gold in the competition, and it was the Best Day of my Life, the moment when we danced on the roads with the Victory Cup on our heads, when the matka full of Rossogollas seemed weightless, when you could shout louder than you ever had, and you could hear your heart pumping blood so fast that even after umpteen sleepless nights you had the strength to run that victory lap. This year, however, the results somehow were not commensurate with our efforts, the reasons of which I am still unsure about and probably don't even care.

Because in my eyes, that moment when RK's illumination is lit is a moment of unadulterated ecstacy. I was again a part of the presentation team and probably got one of the best views of illumination. Picture nine huge chatais right in front of you, but you can not see the view because of all those hundreds of your friends standing on stacks upon stacks of tables to light up the diyas. And then the "RK Split" call is given. When the whole structure of hundreds of tables is cleared off in half a minute and you are exposed to the true splendour of Diwali, you only feel numb, you do not want to talk, you do not want to move, you only want to admire and you want the moment to be recorded in your memory forever. I was supposed to explain to the judges everything about our illumination theme, but that one moment I felt weak in my knees. And I went completely mute, lips sealed in admiration. And then realization dawns on you, and you begin to realize that such grandeur is never going to go unrewarded, if a person could not appreciate this, he probably is not human, and can not distinguish true beauty from roadside squalour. And you grow confident - you can recount all those lines you felt you would forget, all nervousness leaves you, and you start talking in a daze, as if your own lips follow not your command, but the command of some supreme being, who holds complete control over your movements through his brilliance reflected by the chatais. You start to feel the Gods themselves have descended in front of you.

And then, there is another moment - the moment when the judges leave. Suddenly the ice breaks, the whole atmosphere is filled by a huge furore - people jumping down from the top of terraces where they had been hiding, in patient anticipation, absolute silence while the judges were there, shouting at the top of their voice. You turn back and run. You hug the first person you meet, and the second, and the third, and you just can't stop doing it. You hug people you have not talked to in years, you hug people you talk to everyday, you lift you friends up in the air, you get lifted by your friends up in the air. You don't care if the other person is bathed in oil or mud, because in this moment of frenzy, in each of those embraces, you begin to find true happiness - finally after going the whole day without wishing, you wish everybody "Happy Diwali".

There is one more moment - when the results are announced. I experienced it last year, but had to face dejection this year. However, when I think back, five or ten years down the line, it is the first two moments which are going to stay with you forever - which you are going to replay all your life. And all the hard work and toil of the last twenty-one days. And all the sleepless nights spent working with friends. The loud music while tying the diyas. The cuts and bruises you get in your hands. The cutters and pliers. The 12mm gauge wires. The chatais being painted. The first diya you tie on the chatais. The number of times you re-open the diyas you just tied moments ago because you feel the curve did not come out well. The umpteen attempts to perfect the horse's backside. The number of times you re-tied Sita's saree, Narasimha's face, Seshnaag's hood, the chariot-driver's face, the lion's mane. The chai breaks. The snacks at 2 AM in the morning. The rickety ladder. The stacks of tables. The chair atop those tables. The huge din all night. The taunting and teasing. The invectives you hurl at your best friends across the hall boundary (and still remain best friends!). The friends you get to make. The friends you will remember forever.

The moments you can not forget ever. The bathing in oil. The lighting of the diyas. The awe-inspiring view. The hugging everybody. The feeling of standing on heaven's door.

The Illumination of RK.

16 Comments:

  • At 12:27 pm, Blogger Prakhar said…

    Nothing left to say...u said it all!!

     
  • At 1:27 pm, Blogger Romram said…

    A nice and a correct way of looking at things :-)

     
  • At 2:07 pm, Blogger Maddy said…

    Nice post man....we guys lived the moment and that's what matters...it's our final yr. don't even know we'll come back again but these precious moments we'll cherish life long and they'll last forever in every RKites' memory.

    friend well said....RK's illu is just too priceless !!

    Long live RK....

     
  • At 2:10 pm, Blogger Coolin said…

    KK...

    I have something more to add..

    U missed that though we couldnt "Satisfy" the Judges.. a walk down scholar's avenue or a trip to Chedis/Bhondus and not to forget Harry's and various residential colonies would definitely tell u who the real winners were. We didnt win that 'cup' but our special place in the hearts of the hundreds of visitors who witnessed The Illumination of RK remains intact.

    Yo RK !!
    Maalu

     
  • At 2:24 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    well written KK....I would really agree to maalu.....the relationship that ILU inculcates within hall mates is priceless....I will never forget these past 30 days of my life and specially that 1 hr of ILU....though we Rpians didn't win the cup, we do not regret the hard work put in and the endless amount of resources that has gone into it, because I know that ILU is something which is UNMATCHABLE....will miss ILU for the rest of my life....

    P.S: My mom told me the day before Diwali that I should call home only after winning the cup....I havent yet called up my mom...

     
  • At 2:51 pm, Blogger VM said…

    Hey KK!

    Have a wonderful and prosperous Deepawali.. a bit late though. :)

     
  • At 4:05 pm, Blogger aneesh said…

    Very Good post.. really got me some confidence buddy...

    In the train today I met an old man (KGP 72 B.C.Roy PhD Mathemactics) He had seen the illu of all the halls yesterday and was going back to Cal, and he was like "RK aur RP bahut acha tha, kaun jita dono main"

    Anyways illu 2005 was surely fun.... and wil be remembered.... please post some pics, some of our chatai also......

     
  • At 4:14 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    am here after a long time, and buddy, you make me wonder why i havnen't been a frequent visitor of late ....

    without taking anything away from llr, rk's illu is worth journeying half the country to see !

    kb

     
  • At 5:11 pm, Blogger kpowerinfinity said…

    2hari: thanks man. and thanks for the phone call and the re-assurance. RK will bounce back better than ever.

    2prakhar: thanks for being there. we deserved it. period.

    2tidu: keep fighting buddy. you guys have to make sure RK's tradition continues!

    2bs: thanks a lot. and thanks for caring so much. RK's illumination is indeed priceless. i hope i can show it to you sometime.

    2maddy: yes buddy, you are so right.

    2maalu: buddy we deserved it. and we won it in our eyes. we needn't care about the world.

    2niket: yes, u might be experiencing the same frustration. needless to say, seeing your hall's illu lit up is a joy beyond any other. and yes, i too was supposed to sms my parents about the results. i didnt, and they called me up today morning to find out.

    2bhim: a very happy diwali to u too.

    2aneesh: cheer up buddy. we showed lots of tempo, did some great work, and we saw it lit in front of our eyes ... nobody can take away that experiences from our minds, not even the judges.

    2kb: thanks buddy. it really is worth it. and come more frequently.

     
  • At 6:30 pm, Blogger Arindam said…

    this year,RK has won something more than the matka of rasgullas...that of the hearts of all those who witnessed the splendour and glory of RK's illu...an unforgettable experience for me!!!

     
  • At 4:59 pm, Blogger Sunny said…

    We won dude... its that simple...

    In fact... yesterday after azad won the dumb c... someone high up that hall's hierarchy had a status message abt rk and not his own hall!

    Awesome post.. :)

    YO RK!

     
  • At 10:55 am, Blogger Chirayu said…

    Nice write-up, KK. One feels like visiting IIT-Kharagpur to experience the Illumination, after reading your post.

     
  • At 7:52 pm, Blogger kpowerinfinity said…

    2ashchord: yes buddy it does!

    2alu: we always win the hearts... and we will always continyue to!

    2sunny: everybody's afraid of us buddy... we see it everywhere!

    2chirayu: yes, u should come to kgp during illu, diwali and i am sure u wud never forget the experience!

     
  • At 3:43 am, Blogger Sudarshan. A. G. said…

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     
  • At 3:47 am, Blogger Sudarshan. A. G. said…

    I guess your post reminds me of our 2nd yr illu. One that we were expecting to place but didn't. Of course, we didn't have any history to live upto.

    But i guess, that the expectation of good results lies inside every person in every hall who has put in his best, nay, more than his best and has seen the result come up beautifully in front of him. So not only RK but every other hall which is (or atleast thinks it is) a serious contender, would love to hold that Pot of rossogullas.

    I guess I shall be a lone voice out here, but as a person who was behind our illu from conceptualization to execution, I must say that what the judge's saw (rather felt) and other audiences saw was very different. Albeit I do NOT agree to the fact that RK's wonderful effort remained uncredited. But... cest'la vie (guess tht's the spelling :) )

    Feels good to see RK's inimitable spirit. Ours came out in full glory the evening of illumination and we saw the results later in the nite. I am sure urs will also have a tremendous effect.

    I hope to enlighten you more about our Gold winning efforts as soon as i find the time to finish my (lengthy) post.

    P.S. Had made a tad too many spelling mistakes in the prev comment. Hence deleted it. :)

     
  • At 7:01 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Wonderful Work.


    Through, In our college such thing keep happening all the time.

    Still, impressed by the illumination of the IITians work. :)

     

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