The convention happened from 11th Jun to 24th. Although in my mind, it had begun a long time ago, ever since me and Harsh started planning for it. For me, there was always an uncertainty as to whether I will be able to go because my project was officially to finish on 15th Jun. The convention was the only motivating factor which made it possible for me to finish my project much before time. It took a lot of effort and about 15 Good DDP Days to complete my DDP. The last two three months have been magical for me. Although there were few things lined up after I finished my IIT phase, to me life after IIT was the 'Kohima Convention'. Everthing else was to be thought about after coming back!
Travel Plans
The convention being in Kohima, it was a real effort planning the travel. We had four parameters to consider; travel time; travel cost; safety and comfort. May I take this opportunity to introduce you to http://erail.in/. This website is has done justice to the sheer size and complexity of Indian Railways. With its help we planned journeys via Calcutta, Mughal Sarai, Patna, Guwahati. Looking up for connecting trains, ensuring there is sufficient time between them to account for delays etc. is really easy on this website. To imagine using the Indian Railways website to plan such a complex journey gives me the blues :)
Finally we decided to take the direct train (52 hours) to Guwahati, halt for a day and then take the Brahmaputra Mail to Dimapur on which the Delhi Chapter was travelling. Considering that the journey was really long, we decided to travel 3A till Guwahati to ensure that everyone reaches without falling ill and with full enthusiasm. Another worry was the journey through Bihar. We had been warned about it. This brings me to another important learning.
Planning for the Worst: Many things we do in life, we plan too much for 'What if'. We live a very wasteful life because of that. Like what if many people get into the train in Bihar, what if I am robbed of all my cash, what if we all fall sick by eating the train food etc. Lets therefore travel by 3A so that we all reach safe and sound. Let us conveniently forget the 90% people who travel sleeper, general dabba, who sleep on roads and and as much human beings as we are. Cause we are just not one of them. There is an extreme sense of disconnection with the larger part of this world. Why is it so? Why can't I just sit on the platform, just like most people do. Why can't I just let 8 people sit on the birth which can easily accomodate even 10 people. Aren't they like me or may be like my uncle or grandmother or simply a friend?
Mumbai to Guwahati in 55 hours
The 3A travel was uneventful in the conventional sense. However the nine of us really bonded together very well. Cards, dumbsie, Mafia, singing with the electronic tanpura... (thanks to the electric connection in the compartment), making random stories, discussing about varied topics and having lots and lots of food; thanks to all those who came from home!! Not a moment in the journey was boring. We got to know each other very well.
Group Size: The size of the group was just right. Its possible to know everyone really well. I wonder how it would have been if we were 150 people!! It would have just been a crowd and I wonder whether one on one communication would have been possible. Besides this we were all college students at different stages and in different fields.
Not Just SPIC MACAY
One of the biggest realization to me was the transformation from SPIC MACAY to Not Just SPIC MACAY. Spic works at different levels. The first being the promotion aspect. This is how it is for students who attend concerts in schools and colleges, where they get to know about different art forms. At the second level, is that of a volunteer when you actually do things for organizing events etc. The third level is when it actually makes think about the depth and thought behind the art; the why of an art :)
I didn't have my cell phone, watch, computer, gmail, camera etc to give me intrusive company. Just the people around. It does give a lot of time to think. In fact after two days I had lost complete track of time and was living just on a daily basis. I had lost track of how many days we had been there and how many days would remain. Its quite an experience :) Also I had decided that I would not buy anything on the way so there was no need to think about shopping, sight seeing. These are the things Kiran Sir stresses on and they do seem extreme. But I feel that one should try them out because before you actually experience them its not possible to make a judgement about them. Same about the junk food that he strongly urged us not to have.
I had taken the Kudiattam intensive in the convention, and in the first session, Kapila Venu Ji put up for discussion a very interesting concept. She said people asked her why does she pursue Kudiattam. It got me thinking a lot. The most basic step of Kudiattam is really difficult. It takes months, maybe years to actually master this step. Besides there is nothing apparently big or flashy that one does when performing. No world wide fame and glamour. So neither is the fame aspect the driving force. So then why o why would or should someone pursue something like this. I feel one major human desire is that of want of fame and glamour. It seems so difficult to imagine a life of anonymity even if it is devoted for a meaningful pursuit such as growing and improving as a human being.
Is 'To be a better human being' not enough a reason to pursue something in life?
Rather; should that not be the sole reason to wake up every day and breathe all day long?
We are so scared of so many things that we digress from this path. I remember reading somewhere that 'Men go greater lengths to avoid what they fear than pursue what they desire'. How true it is.
The NORTH EAST and Indianness
What is all this talk about an INDIAN Identity? What all exactly do I include when I speak of this INDIAN Identity? Should I even have an Indian Identity? Is it necessary? We are all so different. Why should a 'political' truth govern my sense of identity? Just because we are politically a country is not enough a reason to make me feel one with all who are part of it and distinct from all who are outside of it. This is something that we all should seriously think about
So many thought processes have started in my mind because of this convention. Truly Convention is something that one has to experience. A sensitive and disturbance free mind can definitely add towards making it an even more enriching and fulfilling experience.
To me its been a transition from SPIC MACAY to Not Just SPIC MACAY!!
-priyadarshan
Travel Plans
The convention being in Kohima, it was a real effort planning the travel. We had four parameters to consider; travel time; travel cost; safety and comfort. May I take this opportunity to introduce you to http://erail.in/. This website is has done justice to the sheer size and complexity of Indian Railways. With its help we planned journeys via Calcutta, Mughal Sarai, Patna, Guwahati. Looking up for connecting trains, ensuring there is sufficient time between them to account for delays etc. is really easy on this website. To imagine using the Indian Railways website to plan such a complex journey gives me the blues :)
Finally we decided to take the direct train (52 hours) to Guwahati, halt for a day and then take the Brahmaputra Mail to Dimapur on which the Delhi Chapter was travelling. Considering that the journey was really long, we decided to travel 3A till Guwahati to ensure that everyone reaches without falling ill and with full enthusiasm. Another worry was the journey through Bihar. We had been warned about it. This brings me to another important learning.
Planning for the Worst: Many things we do in life, we plan too much for 'What if'. We live a very wasteful life because of that. Like what if many people get into the train in Bihar, what if I am robbed of all my cash, what if we all fall sick by eating the train food etc. Lets therefore travel by 3A so that we all reach safe and sound. Let us conveniently forget the 90% people who travel sleeper, general dabba, who sleep on roads and and as much human beings as we are. Cause we are just not one of them. There is an extreme sense of disconnection with the larger part of this world. Why is it so? Why can't I just sit on the platform, just like most people do. Why can't I just let 8 people sit on the birth which can easily accomodate even 10 people. Aren't they like me or may be like my uncle or grandmother or simply a friend?
Mumbai to Guwahati in 55 hours
The 3A travel was uneventful in the conventional sense. However the nine of us really bonded together very well. Cards, dumbsie, Mafia, singing with the electronic tanpura... (thanks to the electric connection in the compartment), making random stories, discussing about varied topics and having lots and lots of food; thanks to all those who came from home!! Not a moment in the journey was boring. We got to know each other very well.
Group Size: The size of the group was just right. Its possible to know everyone really well. I wonder how it would have been if we were 150 people!! It would have just been a crowd and I wonder whether one on one communication would have been possible. Besides this we were all college students at different stages and in different fields.
Not Just SPIC MACAY
One of the biggest realization to me was the transformation from SPIC MACAY to Not Just SPIC MACAY. Spic works at different levels. The first being the promotion aspect. This is how it is for students who attend concerts in schools and colleges, where they get to know about different art forms. At the second level, is that of a volunteer when you actually do things for organizing events etc. The third level is when it actually makes think about the depth and thought behind the art; the why of an art :)
I didn't have my cell phone, watch, computer, gmail, camera etc to give me intrusive company. Just the people around. It does give a lot of time to think. In fact after two days I had lost complete track of time and was living just on a daily basis. I had lost track of how many days we had been there and how many days would remain. Its quite an experience :) Also I had decided that I would not buy anything on the way so there was no need to think about shopping, sight seeing. These are the things Kiran Sir stresses on and they do seem extreme. But I feel that one should try them out because before you actually experience them its not possible to make a judgement about them. Same about the junk food that he strongly urged us not to have.
I had taken the Kudiattam intensive in the convention, and in the first session, Kapila Venu Ji put up for discussion a very interesting concept. She said people asked her why does she pursue Kudiattam. It got me thinking a lot. The most basic step of Kudiattam is really difficult. It takes months, maybe years to actually master this step. Besides there is nothing apparently big or flashy that one does when performing. No world wide fame and glamour. So neither is the fame aspect the driving force. So then why o why would or should someone pursue something like this. I feel one major human desire is that of want of fame and glamour. It seems so difficult to imagine a life of anonymity even if it is devoted for a meaningful pursuit such as growing and improving as a human being.
Is 'To be a better human being' not enough a reason to pursue something in life?
Rather; should that not be the sole reason to wake up every day and breathe all day long?
We are so scared of so many things that we digress from this path. I remember reading somewhere that 'Men go greater lengths to avoid what they fear than pursue what they desire'. How true it is.
The NORTH EAST and Indianness
What is all this talk about an INDIAN Identity? What all exactly do I include when I speak of this INDIAN Identity? Should I even have an Indian Identity? Is it necessary? We are all so different. Why should a 'political' truth govern my sense of identity? Just because we are politically a country is not enough a reason to make me feel one with all who are part of it and distinct from all who are outside of it. This is something that we all should seriously think about
So many thought processes have started in my mind because of this convention. Truly Convention is something that one has to experience. A sensitive and disturbance free mind can definitely add towards making it an even more enriching and fulfilling experience.
To me its been a transition from SPIC MACAY to Not Just SPIC MACAY!!
-priyadarshan
2 comments:
very good pd, i'm very proud of the way you think. well, the "disconnection" that you talked about, has been on my mind for a long time too. and about digressing from the real and sole reason for our journey through life... to be a better human.. absolutely true.
i dont worry about the nationality concept, because it isn't something that i can start from myself.(if u kno wht i mean). but the other two issues... really gotta think about them.
i must say that while i could not accompany all of you, the sheer joy of planning the travel (i paid for it to begin with!) and seeing all of you at the station and see you all come back with such enthusiasm has revived my enthusiasm to take a lesser of a backseat from the action!
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