Aurora- the journey behind the scenes.... from Dawn to Dusk

The thought process started when Vineet sir congratulated me in the most fanatical methods I could ever imagine, its understood that it came from someone who was associated with Aurora during his days in college. Many others followed Palash Sen, Pawan sir , Gagan sir, Saurabh sir….. n many more.
The twinkle in the eyes of Robby sir, Nitin sir, Ankit, Ayush seemed more like a flare to me……… indeed they were happy and contentious. Well !! for me, those split seconds, those expressions, those statements, those jiffies MADE IT UP FOR EVERYTHING …………perhaps.
Not for once but for a ton times, would I have felt disheartened, loomy and disgusted, not really understanding that why am I doing so much for a cultural fest after all. Words of my batchmate – “ Itna sab nachne gaane ke liye kar raha hain !!!! “ still reverberate in my ears- Were they out of a serious complex or authentic ones pertaining to his perceptions???? this question still remains a dilemma.

Day 1- February 15th
Probably I had got used to sleeping at 4 and waking at 7… but today was special with all sorts of apprehensions hogging the limelight in my thoughts…. Tinkle had set the stage wrongly…… so the day started with a heavy flak or dose for him which included slangs I could never have amassed had I not been so petrified deep within.
The ‘food’ for me was Pepsi and chips--- someone who has been so nutrition conscious all his life!!! Amazing how things change within mini seconds…..
Well it was all chaos for me during the inaugural ceremony…. Compliments to Richaria sir and Piyali Mam for holding the stage without giving away the slightest of indications about the turbulence which was in attendance backstage. The events followed over the day and received colossal appreciations.
The whole fraternity was enjoying and in the backdrop of the plethora of events were me and Robby sir …. too worried about the visit of officials from the excise department- they threatened us of posing strong hindrances during the final day if we did not pay up the excise tax or the offering potraying the conventional alternative..!!!! We did not have a single penny to offer. I had a performance in the solo dance…. Ankur brought me the shirt which I adorned, it was a performance with no practice whatsoever (I would have done the same steps even if I had practiced…. Never mind !!).I was ecstatic to see the crowd relishing their time in various modes of formation. Ended the day on a pathetic note, severely hurt a very dear friend and had a seemingly tough time that night.
An apology is a good way to have the last word.

Day 2
Was at the front by 9 in the morning, we had sold no tickets at all and I was very discouraged to note the promotions team clinching on to every possible excuse to cover up for their failure….. petty politics at its fore and I could do nothing since the persons involved were seniors and any strong reaction from my side would have caused great panic to our already fragile unit (No dishonour in admitting that our team was quite frail).
Filled up the forms of Mr. & Ms.Aurora…. the organizers had given a page to fill up at our own will…….. I dedicated it to my parents thanking them for the manner in which they have nurtured me and showering upon me affection which has been unconditional augmented with considerate criticism.
We also had a group dance for which I never got enough time to practice… who cares!!!!. Time ran like Ganges at its full fury and I found myself on stage (adorning Chauhan’s grey suit) as a participant of Mr.Aurora. Unlike my fellow participants I remained preoccupied with the financial state with regards to the next days historic performance by Euphoria… and believe me I could not lob it away even on stage. Was exponentially relaxed when compared to last year, and relished the situational round and the consequent altercation with Piyali mam. Synchro funk followed and for the first time we were performing on stage with props.
The pits had just begun to dig their way… !!!!!, a breach in the agreement on the part of VLCC and while everyone was enjoying War of DJ’s … it was me, Robby sir , Marut and Saurabh sir sitting on the floor besides the library…. What more could one ask for??? I was wearing formals and so was Robs!!!!
My joy of winning the personality contest and synchro funk just could not surface, we were seriously deficit and I muttered profuse prayers … everything had to be in place the next day.

Day 3
The sound and lighting from Delhi arrived at 5 in the morning … I scanned the venue at 5 in the morning with Kushwah…. Was taken aback by the volume of the inventory…. Are we on for a Filmfare or something???? This is what struck me.

By 9 I woke up many of my sleeping batchmates and juniors …. Sincere gratitude towards all of you… what you people did that morning laid the foundation for the luminous evening that day. The first year juniors carried the cots from the basement to the venue. These were last minute requirements from Euphoria……
I could spot wrinkles on the faces of Robs, Nitin, Uday sir, Ayush, Ankit, Divij that morning… but did not point them out … for obvious reasons. I had a terrible brawl with Palash Sen that morning …. that left me crying in one corner of block ‘D’ !!!. Did not want to catch anybody’s attention during the half hour I took to regain my composure. When the band came for testing, Palash probably realised the constraints we had and the amount of energy we guys had put in materialising the deal. A compromise was reached with minor altercations.
The crater of financial deficit still laid large and had to be filled in the space of half a day.
The prize distribution started without any presence of our esteemed faculty members… it was only Sahu sir…. What were we doing all this for???? Another pinch of salt on my wounds.
The speech that I gave as the General Secretary was without any written speech whatsoever…. I had to pose between pauses, as if I was reading it out from the letter pad I carried ………… How could on chalk out a speech in such circumstances… atleast I could not , the more capable people definitely can…!!!!
It was Marut who was at the gate till the end of the Euphoria nite selling tickets… and believe me mate…. What you did stands apart as the most gallant contributions towards Aurora ’06. The efforts put by other volunteers on one side…. and yours on the other.
VLCC helped out in the finishing moments and we just about managed to grasp the frontier. Euphoria did come to Gwalior for the first time and returned satisfied.

P.S.- WHAT PAINS ME IS DESPITE THE ARDENT EFFORTS PUT UP BY US …. PEOPLE STILL CRITICISE THE MINOR ALTERCATIONS WHICH OCCURRED IN THE PROCESS. MOROVER A COMPARISON BETWEEN “ AURORA” AND “INFOTSAV” IS VERY MUCH EVIDENT…. WHY DON’T PEOPLE MIND THEIR OWN BUSINESS?????….
AURORA’ 06 WAS A COMPLETE FAILURE LEST 'ACTION SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS'.