Inter-Batch Cultural Competition

I couldn't come online for the better part of yesterday evening because of a band meeting. That's right, I'm in a band - the band of the Batch of 2006, JIPMER (that's my college - details about that coming your way soon). You'll be surprised to know that I'm the lead singer, in other words, the band front man. Surprises me too, sometimes!

The band doesn't have a name because we thought we weren't 'cool' enough, or weren't steady enough to have a name of our own. I tried to make them accept names like "Scarlet Fever" and "The Rubber Band", which were much laughed at and conveniently tossed aside. Everytime, just before we get on stage, I ask the boys how we should introduce ourselves out there and jokes follow, most of them mocking the two names that I just mentioned. So as of now, we're known as the the band of the Batch of 2006, or in short, the "2K6 Band".

We formed this band in 2008 when we had to perform for the college Holi celebrations which our batch was organizing. Amidst all the Hindi and Tamil songs we burst on the scene with a line-up of English songs. I personally didn't think it would be a good idea to blotch the sanctity of an Indian festival with English songs, but my batchmates thought otherwise; they were of the opinion that it would be a good way to launch our band, and oh boy, were they right about that one! We did a decent launch gig and got the message across: we are here to stay!


The next performance we did was for the Inter-Batch Cultural Competition in July 2008. We took part in the Western Music category and our line-up of songs included: "All the small things" (Blink 182), "Lonely Day" (System of a Down), "Shine" (Mr.Big), "Hanging by a moment" (Lifehouse) and "To be with you" (Mr.Big). I was so drained by the pre-performance practice that my voice was already hoarse by the third song. Nevertheless we won top honours that night: 2 of our songs ("Hanging by a moment" & "Lonely Day") got 1st and 2nd best songs, our band stood 2nd overall, we had 2nd best drummer and bassist, the best rhythm guitarist and best vocals (yes, my hoarse voice pipes won that night)! We got a lot of people talking after the show and many of them asked me to give them the songs that we'd performed. And the weirdest part of it all was that I'd never imagined I'd have a Certificate in cultural activities and now I had one.

By the time our Graduation Day came around this year, I had made up my mind to perform for the outgoing graduates, the batch of 2003. I was just left wondering how to get our band in the long line-up of performances that feature on the Pre-Graduation Night, because most of it has to do with dancing, and not singing. And I always wanted to perform with a member of the faculty. My prayers were answered when we were asked by Prof. Mariette D'Souza, Prof. of Dermatology, to perform with her. She's been a regular feature on the Pre-Graduation Night for many years now, and she usually includes students in her performance. We were on board. Song selection was a tad bit difficult since she wanted us to go retro and my bandmates wanted something contemporary. We struck a balance finally and the line-up looked like this: "La Bamba" (Valens Richie), "When you're gone" (Bryan Adams ft. Mel C), "Hard Day's Night" (The Beatles). Ma'am Mariette wanted it to be a medley and thus we ended up with one long performance rather than three separate songs. We had little time for practice, about a week or so. We would practice in the new college auditorioum, where the event would eventually be held, from 6 pm till midnight, with dinner on Ma'am's tab.

When we came on stage on Pre-Grads' Night (that's what it's called), a string of sombre performances had preceeded us and the outgoing graduates, looking to headbang and shake a leg, had largely been hushed and seated on the plush chairs of the new auditorium. Had it been at the old venue, Lister Square - an open-air theatre, they would have been all over the stage and making as much noise as they could. But the auditorium was a different affair; the Director and Dean of the college and members of the faculty were seated just feet away from them and somehow, cooped up in a large hall one becomes a lot more concious of oneself than one normally is. Just before we took the stage some of the graduate seniors came up to us and pleaded with us to not deliver a humdrum performance like the others before us. With high expectations we went on stage and as my bandmates tuned, I found myself talking to the faceless audience and urging them to "get on their feet" and "sing along." It got all the seniors on their feet and they came flooding down to the front row. Everyone played flawlessly and all of us did it with a huge smile on our faces, we had fun playing. We enjoyed playing for them as much as they seemed to enjoy us perform. We certainly brought up the tempo and the seniors out of their seats. Our performance was met with rave reviews from right after the show till about a week later too. My wish, to perform with a faculty member, and to pay a tribute to the seniors who have looked after me like their kid brother, was fulfilled that night.

Now, that brings me to the matter about which I wrote this post in the first place, band meeting we had in my room yesterday regarding the Inter-Batch Cultural Competition 2009, which is to be held at the end of this month. We will try and play in both Indian Music and Western Music this year since we are the Executive Batch and also because we might not be able to perform next year, our final year in college. We finalized a list of songs (about 15 of them, in each category) which we'll further narrow down to about 7 for each category. Here's a list of some of the songs we selected: "Gotta be somebody" (Nickelback), "How far we've come" (Matchbox 20), "Home" (Daughtry), "Delilah" (Plain White T), "Everything about you" (Ugly Kid Joe), "The Dolphin's Cry" (Live), "The Zephyr Song" (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), "Your Guardian Angel" (The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus), and "Your Winter" (Sister Hazel).
Today I got tablatures, chords and lyrics for all the songs and handed them over to my bandmates to learn and practice on their own. We'll be starting practice from next week. I'll write posts about our practice sessions once we start.

The 2K6 Band lineup:
Neiseville Nisa (Lead)
Hibu Pai (Rhythm)
Sanjeev (Bass)
Pruthvi (Drums)
Yours truly, Dinesh (Vocals)

THE FIRST ONE!

Hello Readers.
Thank you for stumbling across my weblog and sparing a moment. I'm new to the world of Weblogging, but I'm not new to writing. I used to write a lot in my school days; just never carried on with the habit outside school. I love writing and that is why I want to get back to it, get into my comfort zone at first, and then step out of it and try some things that're completely new and different.

It's a humbling experience to have one's work put out for the world to see and that being actually read. I hope I keep things interesting in here so I can have people come and read it.

Well, that was one of the biggest fears I had while setting up this weblog - wondering as to why one would bother to read what's on my page, or whether I would sound interesting enough to have someone spare a few minutes reading what my posts. It was then that I came across this website which, it says, is solely for "writers & closet writers." After going through some of the articles there I asked myself why I was writing. I reasoned that I'm going to write for the things that I'm passionate about, and one of the things being writing itself, then to write for writing's sake.

That being said, this is my first weblog post, so I thought I'd put an old article I put up in Kuzuzangpo.com way back in August, 2006.
It is about the FIFA World Cup 2006 and what all happened during that time.
So, here goes:

World in an 8-inch diameter

July 9th, the entire world was united more than ever before in a spectacle that cycles every 4 years. If you are part of the crowd that is up to date with your facts, you’d have guessed by the first few words of this article that I’m referring here to the Football (Soccer for the Americans) World Cup and the Final in particular.

It is a phenomenon that grips the entire globe in frenzy. ESPN Star Sports rightly described it as, “Life in an 8-inch diameter.” I’d rather call it, “The World in an 8-inch diameter.” It is as if all nations, rich or poor, civilized or backward, come together to watch their own lives being kicked around on the “artificial” turf made of natural grass. Suddenly the world is shrunken into that mere 8 inches of canvas.

No one can say for sure why people would be so crazed about it. I can only speak for myself when I say I’m a huge fan of football myself but do not know entirely why. As in Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche’s Award-Winning movie, “The Cup,” the Chief Abbot of the Monastery is perplexed when he hears from his subordinate that football and the World Cup is but, “two civilized nations fighting over a ball.” Some have even remarked, “It makes no sense that 10 people have to chase a ball to the other side of the ground fighting against 10 other players, while there is already someone (the keeper) there to stop the ball anyways, and there are 3 more people to ensure that it happens cordially and there are people dressed in sorts cheering wildly.” If only the game was as “complex” as this; the fact remains that the keeper never always stops the ball and “cordial” is but a word almost nonexistent on the pitch.

Howsoever weird it may sound; it none the less has the power to bring everyone infront of their Television screens. Even the most outspoken critic of Television must have been watching his “idiot box” for the duration of the World Cup, and so were the rest. The “idiot box” became the centre of attention, fetching far less criticism around this time.
There is mistaken belief but agreed upon fact among the Bhutanese that it was the World Cup way back in 1998 that ushered in the era of TV in Bhutan. Logical though it may sound, it was that precise moment where a coincidental amendment in the RGoB’s policy took place that liberalized TV in the country!

During the one month of the World Cup enmity and friendship come to a head. People who normally would have been bosom bodies squabble over the result if they are on opposite sides; the most deadly of enemies might come together in celebration if they happen to be on the same side. Seems like the 8-inch world being kicked around on the turf does bump into our lives as well. Husbands have a chance of staying out in their favorite pubs and hangouts as late as they want since they have the World Cup as an excuse; one of the common ones being, “I needed to relax after a long hard day’s work.” Then the question arises why people are so tired that month of that year of the World Cup that they need so much of unwinding to do, when there is certainly less work being done in our workplaces anyways.

Some of us might have noticed that the World Cup this year coincided with two of the most important events of the year: the Summer Session of the National Assembly and the Mid-Term Examinations in all the Schools. Students everywhere were given an apt excuse as to why their results were poor this time around, while at the same time the nation’s decision makers debated as to why the quality of education is deteriorating. And there is also the fact that if nothing else, the discussions at the sidelines of the National Assembly must have been dominated by that of which team won the previous night. The highest Legislative Body of the Kingdom brought together 150 football enthusiasts from all corners of the nation, and there sure is a fair representation in the discussion about the World Cup, at least Region-Wise. Representatives from Merak Sakteng to Sibsoo to Laya and the Kheng can support their favorite team with just as much jest as the rest of the country and the rest of the world.

But not everything is as bad as it may look. Students and Adults alike get a chance to learn about the Cultures and Backgrounds of Nations from all over the World. Viewers get to hear the names of countries they never thought existed; people start debating whether Trinidad & Tobago is from Africa or the Caribbean. The favorite pastime in Geography Class every four years is flipping through the Atlas trying to spot all the 32 Nations in competition. The adults behave likewise; those who normally would have needed the “expert” opinion of the Revenue & Customs Helpdesk to work out their Personal Income Tax, suddenly become seasoned professionals in the World Cup stats: what are the odds of a particular nation winning, how much chance a player has at winning the Golden Shoe and the Golden Ball, what is the passing and possession percentage and a whole lot of numerical jargon.

It is a chance to celebrate none the less. After all it comes only after 4 years. A record amount of drinks (highest being Beer) was consumed the month of the World Cup than anytime in the past 4 years. And all of a sudden no one cared whether Tuesday is a Dry Day if Brazil was playing Ghana, and France was playing Spain that evening (one of the Semi-Finals was also on a Tuesday); and similarly no one cared to follow the 2 am Bar Closure time for one month at least. This way work does seem to suffer a bit. With a few hours of sleep (maximum 5 hours), everyone was expected to either go write their examinations, work out the Mid-Year Closing of the Financial Year, or represent their Dzongkhag at the Tshogdu Chhenmo.

There was also bewilderment even on the World Cup pitch. A tackle that didn’t even touch the other and a card is flashed, a player “trips” inside the box and a penalty is awarded, a head butt and Figo gets away with that. Viewers are left wondering whether the headset the referees don this time around even works! An assortment of swearing ensues, most of them at the referees and some being directed at the “poor” players. Some experts commented that the referees were getting more publicity than the players themselves and why not since the “Players to Watch,” who were being flashed in almost every newspaper and periodical, have clearly failed to shine this World Cup. While someone laughed about the number of cards being flashed at the Portugal versus Netherlands match, that being a Record on its own, I was strangely glad that Bhutan’s own Record of 5 Red Cards by a single team was safe at least for now.

Speaking of our own Bhutan Team, one of my friends was asking around when Bhutan would reach the World Cup Finals. I heard people saying within the next 50 years while someone laughed saying that would be a reality within the 22nd century. I thought to myself judging by the remarkable progress Bhutan has made in Regional Competitions, the team can reach the Finals even within the next 30 years, unless the Governing Body decides to choke that potential with more “Houses of Football” that don’t even materialize over the course of 2 World Cups. That seems like a long shot now; I heard our Indian Counterparts on TV saying they expected their own National team to reach the World Cup Finals in no less than 50 years. If the condition of the sole National Stadium and the number of spectators there watching our own National League is an indicator we do have a long, bumpy, dusty way to go.

Then there is the financial aspect of the game. Football is clearly the biggest sport in the world in terms of sponsorship. The amount that companies spend on having some team wear their logos is simply baffling. The players’ wages themselves are downright outrageous and so is the Prize Money at the end. There has been wild speculation as to what all players can buy with the money they’ve stashed. More talk has been that of this money than the budget outlay that was done by the Finance Minister. But there is a close contender: I guess people were equally baffled about the amount of money that was cited as being the total cost of the Government “Pool” Vehicles.

But apart from all this, what shocks me the most is that this time around there is less of the wrangle for the Remote, since most families can now afford more than one TV due to the economic boom, one reserved for the Wife (and apparently having none but Star Plus, Sony and Zee Channels) and one for the husband and his World Cup. Some more shocks are on its way: this World Cup there are more women watching the game than ever before. Most of their personal views being they are watching out for the handsome players on the pitch than how they are playing in the game.

For an event that captures the heart of everyone from everywhere once in 4 years, the World Cup is considerably less in whole than the sum of its parts. It is indeed an honor and a birthright to “Ooh” and “Aah” collectively with the rest of the world. Surely it must have been this fact that prompted Pele to dub it as “The Beautiful Game,” the Game which shrinks the World into a mere “8-inches”.

At this point, all I can hope is that you read all of the post and reached here. (LOL).
I hope to post regularly and I hope to see you around next time.

So until then, over and out!

DINESH PRADHAN