Halcyon was, rather is the name of the cul-fest of SIT, the institute from where I graduated as an engineer. Here's something I wrote a long-long time ago about how it all started.
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one..." So went John Lennon and since then a whole new generation has dared to dream and do. SIT (Siddaganga Institute of Technology) till 1994 had its fair share of dreamers and yes people did laugh and scorn at those who even talked about having a Cul-fest at SIT. "Impossible", "Are you f@#$*& crazy", "Who the hell would want to come to Tumkur of all places?" Believe me these are the mildest. And then God said
"Let there be light."
Genesis:
It just takes a spark to set a house on fire. Two guys chatting over endless cups of tea at one of the Tapris set the ball rolling. It was exam time, odd semester. "I'll speak with the second year
guys about it" one said, "I'll pull in some guys from the third and fourth year" said the other. Ordinarily, this would have been the end of very successful small talk. But, the doers had arrived!
A couple of days later a small gathering on the B.V Block roof-top formed a quorum though unofficial, for the first Halcyon meeting.
Ideas shuttled back and forth and probably, the skeleton of the festival was drawn.
Another exam tension relieving session? No way! The seeds were sown.
Exam time and a couple of guys were still thinking about the festival, the creative juices were flowing along with the adrenaline. The inner circle was probably formed around this time.
These were the brains and brawns behind the success that Halcyon is today.
What's In the Name?
Ever heard of people coming back early from their semester break? Well? these guys did.
Now, the biggest test lay ahead. They had to talk to the management about their grand plans. They were prepared for any eventuality right from the number of events to be held to the budget and of course, the all important name. The name has a story of its own. Not
going into that, it would suffice to say that out of a range of names HALCYON was chosen with a broad consensus and not without opposition. There was however, a very serious and sincere suggestion to call it "SIT Inter-college Cultural Festival".
A long exchange of ideas and the principal and the chairman of the cultural committee were ready to take the proposal to Swami ji. It did not take him long to decide.
Good news! Yes. Work done? No way!!!
The First Time Is Always the Hardest
They had got the go ahead. But, with less than one and a half months to go there was lot of work to do. What's the big deal? Well, this was the first time an event of this magnitude a three-day state level inter-collegiate cultural festival with 22 events was about to be held.
The Avalanche Effect
The campus became a beehive with debates; jam sessions and antaaksharis going into the wee hours of the morning. The intramural competitions evoked an unexpected and unprecedented response.
The spring in the step was obvious and infectious. Students did not complain about the 7:30 AM classes and evenings were eagerly awaited.
Witty banners around the campus and the hostels were one major feature. People actually waited for fresh punch lines every two days. A mini advertising coup, that too in an engineering college.
The campus was decked up. One couldn't have asked for a better build-up to the actual festival.
Judgement Day (s)
Day 1
0800hrs IST
Scene at the canteen. "I'll be happy if we get 5 colleges to come" cut to the reception at Birla Auditorium "Just two colleges???"
0900hrs IST
The floodgates open. An unexpected 16 colleges have sent their teams. Take off.
Day 2 & Day 3
What happened next is a blur all I know is that the eagle had landed. The rest as they say is history. Halcyon was on its way to becoming the best fest in Karnataka.
Down the Memory Lane
For a good many SITians Halcyon is a door down the memory lane which they'll knock upon often. The names of the guys who started the fire will perhaps fade away and never be mentioned. There will be tall claims by some as to who started Halcyon. But the two guys who
sat over that cup of tea will always know!!
As far as I'm concerned my part as a story teller is over and I know one thing for sure "Ondu kings and by-two tea" do go a long way in creating history!
4 comments:
Me too, macha.
Like I said..those two guys will know...
A hint for those curious...One was a smoker...the other his senior..one in second year at that time..the other in third...this was in the Tapri which used to be bang next to Aamir's cigarette stall...
Sudham bhai,
What was even more amazing is that aapke baad, the succeeding batches worked very hard to keep that spirit alive...what also helped was a much more "cosmo" mix of students started coming from allover India to SIT...that helped tremendously....I don't know how you guys did it man....Tumkur was such a sleepy place when I came as your junior but I think a few years after I left, thanks to the internet and such....things were getting much more "cosmo".....
Sri
.. and when do you plan to reveal the identity of those 2 guys?
A secret kept too long, is lost.
-Patrick
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