Finally its over.....

it was 27th Nov, time around 2230 hrs, outside the Muscat International airport departure lounge, six of us just said almost together.... "finally its all over. the curtain ends here for sanskriti 2009, hopefully they will catch the flight and have a safe landing in Mumbai".

we still remember the afternoon, when Indranil'da called up almost a dozen of artists from his blackberry (while I was only wondering who would be paying the bills !!) and got quotation from almost all. In parallel Kallol had the quotation from rest of the artists, which we missed out. at the end of the day, we had a detailed worksheet with artist and their package cost..a wonderful database to share with similar aspirants.

We had Mr Anindya (chandrabindoo fame) roaming around in goa but eager to come over to muscat possibly in a return trip from Doha to Subhamita, Lopamudra and also Mr Pratik who was quite rightly concerned about the fittings of economy class chairs !

After a brief screening the fight was between 'loaps' and 'subha', by then we all had our short cuts. subha was a winner considering her background and recent performances

Days went by and we rehearsed for those 40 mins a million times, though it was cut short to 30 mins at the last moment. we started on the D-day right on time, some people must have had a look at their watch and could not believed their eyes for sure ! A program starting sharp at 1930 hrs in muscat !

The show went well. kids under the guidence of Indrani'di looked absolutely brilliant in their colored costume. Indrani'di was at her best in chadraboli. Songs also went off quite well. Presence of 14 member chorus team on stage with the support from another 48 member and their families looked quite evident and then subha took over with her breathtaking and strong voice. But the night was made with those two numbers of Tagore's, where the entire audience sung with her. It could not have been better with those 600+ voices chanting the prayer.

The Sanskriti was full of surprises for sure, starting till end it surprised many......from failure in medical test (by kolkata test centres) of artists who are traveling all over the world,......to ....alladin like solution to their visa ....to.... some excellent effort by each member to get sponsorers.....to......distribution of cards to reach every interested people in muscat ...to ....the last minute cancellation of chorus number .....to .....wonderfully encrypted opening song on someone's palm ("chotha") ....to.....the goof up during the much awaited website launch .....to....whole audience suddenly invited by Subhamita to sing along our finale song "purono sei diner katha"....we will remember Sanskriti for all such funny moments...true....ektu na charale ki aar sanskriti hai.....

The program was crisp, and it finished at 2230 hrs leaving people enough time to catch up the Thursday late night parties for sure. We took a sigh of relief, as all went off quite well. We all had our share of agony and joy and finally we celebrated sanskriti wearing our own T-shirt with logo of JU Alumni, Oman chapter with a promise to come back again year after year........

cheers,

sanjoy

Ektu na choraley aar sanskriti ki korey hoy

so finally we held our annual extravaganza Sanskriti '09 in tru style.

as i entered the Grand Hall of Al Falaj Hotel i was greeted by a place ready for a show. the stage and sound system had been set up, the ambiance created, great vinyl visuals spread across walls and seating arrangements looked neat. A block of pansy pink chairs complimented the baby blue colored plastic chairs as well... so we were all set.

people started trooping in as time progressed in all their finery. each trying to out dazzle the other. the green room was a hub activity and the kids getting decked up for their finale. Quite a few members including me were stupid enough to wear the Alumni T's. others back stabbed by wearing what they felt and the excuses were many. from the banal to the absurd. The participants could be possibly be excused as they were in a pre determined uniform but a few like shanatonu and sanjoy did get into their Alumni T's after the program. Others did not feel it important.

The show finally did start with a very well orchestrated opening song. " Alok er ei jhorna dharay dhuiyey dao.. The President gave a short but bland speech. Apart from the fact it was barely audible it also warranted some major editing and fine tunings. Jayeeta played her role to near perfection. But then came the first goof up. The Chief Guest was presented a bouquet with all our love but in total darkness. Possibly our love outshines the darkness or who ever was in charge of lights must have messed up big time.

then came a series of in-house programs. songs dances et all. after a long long time i did see an in-house program executed with such levels of finesse. the chorus sang in great co-ordinated tune. You could have actually requested them to sing again such was a resounding effect. The kids just peaked at the right moment . not a step out of place not a wrong move by any errant kid. though the gaps between the dancers in Kacher churi was a glaring eye-sore, but on the whole it deserves the highest level of salutation. in the same song when the kids fell in line for a open lotus formation the lights dimmed and by the time the lights re-energized the formation was history. a great synchronization lost to clarity by some faulty light
play.

Our website which we were tom-toming with great publicity went online officially and then by the time if could start happening on the giant screen, the curtains opened mysteriously exposing a group of musicians tuning their instruments. a clap followed signalling the website launching. This was tragic. sanjoy spent nights awake getting this in place and awaiting a grand unveiling and suddenly it was rudely cut short by the curtains which decided to part open. Sanjoy was obviously disturbed and was murmuring choicest expletives which i would refrain from posting as it would be too damn unparliamentary.

with a hall occupancy strength of nearly 1000, we had at peak almost 80% occupancy which itself is a feat and starting almost bang on time will go down in history as the impossible achieved. well you have to thank the guy whose voice over commenced the program. he did his part bang on time.

the interval followed and chaos as well.. would shubahmita take 10 more minutes or 10minutes as asked for 5 minutes ago? a lot of permutations were worked out and the 10 minute break was cut down by a few minutes.

Shubahmita took stage, and slowly within an hour people started trooping out. I am given to understand that a lot of people are going back to native land but not all. it again goes to prove that a good singer need not necessarily be a great crowd singer. i did sit for about an hour listening on and off to her soft nasal voice with high pitched spikes, and understood as to why slowly people were getting ready to be on the move. Shubahmita may be a very accomplished singer and a great voice and may be the top draw, but ashor jomatey parey nee... Songs in a good voice but that's all.

she is no legend. and she does not have the inborn inputs in her to be one. so if she is adamant on not singing any songs but hers her road show is going to end very soon. she may be a good playback singer and recording discs but that's it. in an interactive program she just cant get the crowd with her. she has to learn to lean on popular songs by legends of yest-er-years if she needs to survive in this dog-eat-bitch world.

a very plain and placid program. no foot tapping music or even no mesmerising soul stirring numbers or enchanting classical mood created. just another program in her list and some moolah in her bank account.

the brilliance of our in-house program was far far better and miles ahead. i am not demeaning Shubamita, she must be a good singer but not a program jomanor material. and in a barowari program that is what counts.

D-day

so today 26th november 2009 is D day.
as twilight envelops the day, we shall unveil our own festival. sanskriti '09.

the kids waking up in anticipation and a bit nervous as well.. would there be perfect synchronization ? would all the steps be in memory? would every thing be all right?

the singers waking up to endless round of steaming beverages to hone their vocal chords. today is their day and they are going to proove it.

the daneusse Indrani possibly thinking oh just another show as she walks the steps in her mind.

the support staff of different spheres waking up to tensions. what iof there is a black out ? what if the lap top crashes ? what if the light systems dont work in compatibility to the commands they are given ? what if there is a terrible traffic jam and shubhamita gets delayed to reach venue ?


women folk and quite a few of the men waking up, sitting on the daily throne, and in the solitude of the wash room wondering what best to wear for the function tonight ? would it turn heads ? would that be discussed in envy later ? are the accessories readily reachable? does anything needs to be ironed ?

a myraid of thoughts apprehensions excitement and impatience while we await the evening....

and amidts all this and as this blog gets penned Shubhamita remains in deep slumber after reaching the wrong side of the arabian sea.....

Kudos

As i write this, preparations are on for the final stage rehearsals for Sanskriti '09 of J.U. Alumni Oman.. As i was a part of the first meeting that conceptualized the program and being see it implemented through its various stages i must respect and admire the efforts of all the alumni who made it happen. It was in my personal incapacity to be in the thick of things as logistics was a critical culprit. I blame myself alone for it.. but...

Kudos to the kids that are putting up a brave front in show-casing their talents. they deserve every bit of adulation.

Kudos to the members and their spouses who have energetically spent time in fine tuning their capabilities and honing their skills for the finale slated for the 26th.

Kudos to the people who went about in the most professional and disciplined manner interfacing with the media, the visibility factors, spreading the invites amongst the junta and ensuring that all corners are taken care off.

Kudos to those members who are engaged in the actual ground logistics.. waking up at odd hours to receive our guests and ensuring that their needs are taken care off.

Kudos to the members who have extended their capacity to garner resources for financing this program. without the actual help of a few who have crossed the 4-figure mark in O-Riyals and the rest this program would have been a non-starter unless we dipped into our kitty.

Kudos to those members and their families who hosted all the rehearsals and patiently waited on the participants to make them feel at home and at ease.

Kudos to the Sanjoy and Kallol for their co-ordination and having a firm grip on he entire proceedings so that it does not spin out of control in any of the parameters.

Special Kudos to Sanjoy and his back-end support team for getting the web page designed and populated.i am sure this has been a great learning experience for him and in the process his knowledge of codes could trigger another Dan Brown thriller.

in short Kudos to all the members and their families and to all our well wishers our support structures our sponsors our local guests et all who all clapped cohesively together to make this a great encore.


J.U. Alumni Oman Rockz....... there's no second opinion on that !!!!

it is quite amusing to note that till date i am the sole joker who keeps on scribbling his nonsensical musings in this forum. People have been invited to post in various levels of accessed formats but not a line ever emits from any one. Of course i agree that all are busy people and have the world to save rather than spend priceless time on trivia. So i seem to be the only vagabond with no destination and pre-occupation in store consuming up megabytes and aiming for gigabytes.

which takes one to a vital issue of how many of the alumnus do really read the mails that our co-coordinators do keep sending with reasonable regularity. A casual discussion across the spectrum revealed that most see the subject matter and read the first couple of lines and then deduce what could follow. i know, we bongs are very imaginative and love to deduce and then construe a world of our own. Sujoy Ghosh's directorial venture Aladdin is a great example of imagination running wild and then totally out of control.

but then we the J.U. alumnus have sailed to an alien land from our safe haven with apprehension and excitement to Sinbad land, just as the legendary explorer had carried out his seven journeys to the unknown. So we all are busy saving the world, delivering the world, and our achievements being the only beacon of light emating from the Sultanate of Oman. So where does one have time to get a bit more into such pursuits apart from an annual program.

yes we are all busy... but it does remind me of a small incident which unfolded in our house decades ago. in a casual family get-together to informally introduce my newly wedded wife to the junta there were some impromptu cultural oriented events happening. one of my uncle was reading out his recently written poems... as the program winded on, my cousins and their friends who were also present were requested if they would like to present some thing. the entire clan of my cousin and his buddies being chartered accountants commented that they were in the financial domain and hence no time for pursuing all such activities. to which my uncle replied very casually, that he being one of the senior most engineer with M.N. Dsatoor & Co: and in charge of several projects across the country finds ample time for other recreations.

and that friends is the crux of the story. its not about time and preoccupation. its about inclination interest and desire. so the next time when you say that you find no time, it would be prudent to re-alter your statement to state that you are not inclined. Because from Obama to Osama from Manmohan Singh to Manmohan Desai from Tom Cruise to Tom Alter every one finds time to indulge in what they would want to ..albeit to what ever levels possible.... so paucity of time is the most lamest of excuses. Please think some thing wiser or better still.. come and join us.....

we are having a series of meetings as a build-up to the Sanskriti'09 and i have had the pleasure in attending a few of those. i love being in these meetings. they are hilarious the bonhomie excellent the singara acid-inducing and everything from classical issues to the banal are discussed with the same yard stick.

a serious discussion on internal logistics of the troupe some how meandered to the "mongoldeep" and the paraphernalia around it. it suddenly became of critical importance if a small centre table was required for the main dignitary. of course all said collectively. so a table was added to the list. but how can there be a table without a cover? so a table-cloth came on. but would it not look awful if a vase of flower does not adorn the table? of course !!! would fresh flowers be required or plastic would do? and while all this was being analyzed on a micro level Shubhamita and troupe is waiting at Seeb airport because the discussion veered from their logistics to the more serious issues about the table and flower. and Sanjoy desperately trying to bottom line the table arrangements with complimentary juice or cold drink.. which brought about another nerve-wracking issue. if a bottol of water needs to be kept who will get the glass? Yes let shubamita wait at the arrival lounge. we are busy with the glass indenting. and then the bomb of the discussion agenda.... the lighting of the lamp requires a source of fire and who will get the lighter? this discussion carried on for some time and i am sure the cave men took lesser time to invent fire than we took to get a lighter planned out.

Shubamita can still wait. of course there were cross-discussions as well. Amitava-da and abhijit were on a linguistic trip and debating if numero-uno was more European than numero-eins. i was personally more concerned about the ordering of the biriyani which was supposed to follow the meeting....

finally shubhamita was escorted out and managed to elevate herself from a pick-up van (recommended by me) to the cool confines of a sedan. but then taking her on a pleasure trip and offering her gastronomical delights was keenly discussed so that only the volunteer-guide adds to the food bill and not all the comrades.

a lot was discussed and a lot more was left undiscussed. like in all meetings, i was again chastised for speaking in my normal decibel and asked to whisper, as all were sitting just next to me and not in Timbuktoo.

Just a couple of pages in a 5 point agenda were discussed.... thank God !!!! or else the wait for the biriyani would be longer.........

P.S.
(1) the person in charge of the lighter was not categorically alerted to ensure that the lighter works. possibly another meeting with a single point agenda would be there for this.
(2) no one was roped in with a Plan B. if the lighter failed for some reason a match box had to be in place.
(3) the biriyani was not worth the wait. :( :( [[blame it on my Hyderabad biriyani eating habits]]

Yesterday 5th Nov'09, The Oman Alumni of B.E.College (now known as BESU) celebrated their Annual function. Apart from the Indian Ambassador confusing between Mamta Shankar and Mamata Banerjee which gave rise to a lot of subdued hilarity and the V.C. addressing the ambassador as Anil Wadha instead of Anil Wadwha, the show was pretty colourful.

Of courcse there were a lot of slips.... the bouquet presentation was not well planned and the on-stage handing-over glared the co-ordination gaps. Volunteers and office-bearers walking out of the wings and descending the stage with alarming regularity was an eye sore. Unfortunately i left after intermission, and mamta's amritoshyoputro left to be seen..

The show started almost an hour late and the gig going around ( triggered by yours truly) was that the delay was due to the fact mamata had no entry passes so they were not letting her troupe in. but jokes apart, this was a program was by invitation only and all those who did not have their cards were shown the door. i watched in amusement when few of the people were replying to phone calls and refusing any further cards for the hopefuls at the other end of the line. some of the alumnus were really basking in their few minutes of importance and power. since my card was en-route i was asked quizzed by the powers-that-be to ascertain whether i was pulling a fast one. ( Kallol, i am going to murder you for this embarrassment of mine)

way back in 1993 when the President of India, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy had come for the 125Th celebrations of BE college, i had attended the function as a member of the JU participating and prize-winning team and entry though restricted was no major issue.. But here the entry was being manned (wommaned i should say)as if it was the entry to the Pearly Gates and Paradise lay across the door. Hey !!!! Gimme a break....i agree that seats are limited, but there are far courteous ways of handling decent gate crashers.

but this program was a great dry run for our upcoming function. the misses and the gaffes need to be analyzed and ensured that we don't commit the same mistakes.

we are JU. we do not follow others mistakes. we create our own legendary mistakes.

Often i have wondered what is it that drags me 250 Km from home to attend meetings or get-together of J.U Alumni Oman and then travel back the same distance. what is it that makes SubirDa drive down all the way from Ibra regularly to rehearse for the function. or our members who file in regularly for our events ? Does J.U. mean so much to all of us ? The response most of the time is a big NO.

I don't think J.U. is so sacroscantly important in our lives. It's more to do with human beings as social animals. The need to interface the need to bond the need to socialize with each other is given another avenue by the Alumni. Life existed even before the Alumni was architect-ed and with the creation of this group, yet another option was thrown up for bonding with the clan angle.

For some I am sure its a habit. But for most others its just another block to be visited and jived with. So the bottom line surely is not the love for our Alma Mater but its our instincts as social animals that lead us to this segregation.That we all were educated in the same campus is just a common catalyst.

It's very interesting to see our Alumni in Oman keeping abreast with technological advancements and evolving along with it. In any organization its always a hand full of enthusiasts who keep the ball rolling and the Oman chapter of J.U. Alumni is in no way different. There may be spikes of exuberance across the members but a constant sustainable impetuous can be provided only by some die-hard activists.

Our indulgence in a quantum of social welfare is note-worthy and i am sure some of our members have walked untrodden paths and left indelible footprints at their work place. I am not knowledgeable or qualified enough to quantify those but sure they exist. I have witnessed one of the programms of the Alumni Sanskriti 2008 and was awestruck by the approach. The vertical on Ray was absolutely path-breaking a program presented by a bunch of amateurs.I have in various fora spoken about this with great exuberance much to the amazement of the listeners. This holds more excellence as we are far away from home base and hence access to resources in many ways a constraint.

As we look into the future dressed in our alumni-name printed Tees, we are bound to see some radical changes. Celebrities are coming in to perform at our annual functions, to the excitement of many and the dismay of a few. There are always bound to be differences of opinion and this is what gives rise to constructive debates on paths to be followed as to strive to make our small but ever growing family into a cohesive unit with inherent capabilities to meet the most of the expectations.

The walk has just commenced..... do walk with us.....


"hajar haath-ey-tey nijo haath khani rekhey
sonaar digontho.......
udoy shikhor-ey jetey chaai......"

Hi all,

With the launching of new webpage of JU Alumni Oman chapter, we will be shifting from yahoo server to google server while managing the photo files in "picasaweb" and having the discussion forum on "blogspot" and at the same time utilizing the "googlegroups" mail distribution system.

we will keep you posted about these changes in future days,

regards,

sanjoy sengupta and kallol biswas