Xitij 2013

P

eople either used to preserve their memories in pictures or used to trust their mind to remember everything. But, against time everything fails. Pictures fades and mind weakens with time. And, I don’t want to take any chances about the moments I passed with these remarkable people, these treasured memories, to slip away. Some memories are indeed worth writing.

It was beginning of this academic year when a notice in the foyer caught my attention. It claimed about the auditions for GTU’s Youthfest - Xitij 2013. For me, till then acting was constrained from making crazy faces in front of the mirror while combing hairs and dolling out some crappy Bollywood dialogues. In short, I was a terrible actor. Somehow I gave my trials. The good thing was – I got selected for One Act and Skit – and the bad thing – I was the only new addition to the theatre team. Seriously, the students of ADIT need to take interest in cultural activities.

I certainly remember that moment when I was introduced to the whole theatre team – Taral, Niraj, Dhaval, Dhruv Bhai, Shreya, Varad and Brijesh.

Script was ready. Director Sir was appointed. Why do I always forget his name? Main roles of the act were provided to the brilliant actors of our team – Dhaval as Thakur Sahab and Taral as the disguised Inspector. At that moment, as I already told you I was bad at acting, I was secretly praying for a minor role which have least dialogues. I was going to act as Ranchoddas. Not Ranchoddas Chacchad from 3 Idiots, but Ranchoddas, the merchant – baniya.

Two facts that drained away the colours of my face were – along with team I had to perform 

for 30 minutes! – and -  I was the only one who had to wear dhoti for the act. Believe me, from practice sessions to Inter-Zonal Level, this dhoti had suffered a lot. So literally I can say, we gave dhoti-phaad performances!

Practice began with full swing. I came in contact with other members of the cultural team – the revered Folk Dance Team - Akash, Dhyey, Jay, Mihir, Vishal, Garima, Payal and Niyati. Niraj and Shreya were common link to both groups – theatre as well as dance. Watching these guys dancing always left me spellbound, such graceful was their performance. Fatigued, drenched in their sweat, they used to gasp for air once they were done with one practice. With rest of few minutes and with a couple of gulps of water they again rose for another round. Koi kehjo kanuda ne jai vansdi vagade nahi…Who knew at that time I was too going to be part of this group in the coming semester.

How can I miss to mention the song group! The Folk Song Team - Sunil, Sahil, Jaydeep - and the Western Song Group. Yeh Sankalp Humara! Even though I want to forget this song, I cannot. You guys had seriously practiced it too much. And everytime this line echoed in the auditorium, our eyes automatically used to search for Sankalp Soni. And beside him, we used to find Priya Saxena, bit nervous, bit determined, practicing for her debate.

And to the team MIME, I am fan of yours. Had to admit, Vishwas’s expressions drew all my attention.

Alay, Pratik, Kishan, Jeegnasha, Vaibhav, Vashi, Mayur – your presence reinforced our efforts, boosted our hopes. And yes, the Quiz People – Vimal, Priyank and Neel, you guys too proved supportive.

During the course of practice many moments became memorable. Laughter used to burst out whenever one commits a silly mistake, easing the tiredness. Dinning in the foyer, recording everyone’s practice so that person could realise the mistake and improvise, chatting and the music-mandli moments.

With the passing of each day, the date of Zonal Level neared. A week was left and Skit was still not ready. The theatre group gathered to discuss about it. Fortunately, we were going to perform the same Skit these people had performed in last Volcano.  The bad thing was the ‘terrible’ part of the act was given to me. Taral, it was your idea, I’ll never forget that!

Zonal Level approached. We performed and successfully gathered applause and cheers from the audience. Our spirits rose. Then came the time of results. Folk Dance, One-Act, Folk Song, Skit, Mime and others qualified for Inter-Zonal level. Happiness became boundless for us. We shouted, we danced, we celebrated! But everyone could not make out for the next level. And that disheartened us gravely. The team was now reduced.

We knew that the next level was going to be tougher than we had faced. Back at the college, again practice began. Days turned tiresome and nights became sleepless. Alternations were made in the script. Acting and voice modulation were refined. Meanwhile, the dance team was indulged in mastering and polishing their moves. And the Folk Song Team was putting their best efforts to lubricant their performance. Few people were replaced. Komal Didi enhanced the Folk Dance to the new level while Ankita added more melody to the Folk Song.

Solo performers – Parth, Jaykishan, Jaydip (Vihol and Rayani), Helly, Ruchita, Marmik engrossed themselves in their practice.

Every little thing was taken seriously. Because, for the rest of the colleges, may be Inter-Zonal Level was a competition, but for us it was more like a battle. A war we didn’t want to lose.

Truly speaking, a little depression masked everyone’s faces when it was revealed only participants were allowed in Inter-Zonal Level. But our spirits uplifted when our supportive team, the people who were with us from practice sessions to Zonal Meet, wished us success. I don’t know about others, but I missed Alay’s assistance. This guy deserves appreciation. Respect!

The venue was C.U.Shah Engineering College, Wadwan. We were again ready for our performances. Again we were blessed with positive and cheerful response from the audience. As we expected, the rivals were equally talented. But one talent was unique. Harshal Mehta, a man with many sounds aka Optimus Prime in flesh and bones!

Then came the day of result. Folk Dance declared as Winner! Skit, Runner Up! One-Act, Second Runner Up! But shock slapped our joy when Mime was not selected in top three. Our happiness wavered. At the same time, the Folk Dance Team earned a new profound respect in my heart and it doubled when I got the news that they had again rocked Western Zone, winning the third position.

After the trip of Pavagadh with these guys, I was returning back to home. 14 hour-journey gives you enough time to introspect. What I learned from these people? They are dedicated, hard-working and the most important thing – they believe in their skills. A realization dawned upon me. Something I stopped from the second year of engineering needed a reboot. Next day, at home, I flipped open my laptop. The barren document seemed challenging. Closing my eyes, I thought about these people. If they can be so dedicated why can’t I? My fingers started dancing over the keyboard and three words appeared on the screen – The Final Judgement.