Avant Garde, Spring 2003. 23. Iwould have liked to have kept a diary. A diary that
explored each and every nuance of Acumen, as it occurred over three days.
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Quiver full of arrows Nilanjan Sarker would have liked to have kept a diary. A diary that explored each and every nuance of Acumen, as it occurred over three days. Here is what the diary would have read – the best and worst of Acumen, 2003. After being selected as OSC, hardly twenty four hours had gone by before doubt set in. Could I match the high standards set by Simran J Singh and Aditya Khurana? Fortunately, my ever helpful seniors took over the job – they did all the doubting for me, which left me free to concentrate on the job of making this Acumen reach new heights. I would like to thank a particular final year female (who came to Patiala specially to “watch” Acumen and not participate, in this regard). The first job at hand was to appoint conveners and joint conveners, a task which was made all the more challenging by a massive response by the fourth year. Acumen has been a revelation to me – I have realized after three years that my seniors are willing to fill any post of responsibility, and I am glad that one of my last memories of them will be of the enthusiasm with which they vied to do so. Making the events was one of the high points of the preparations. Aadisht’s PC runs only Linux!! If Vaibhav’s collection of Pearl Jam songs had helped the creative juices to flow, Kaliyon ka Chaman and Be Quick or Be Dead on Aadisht’s PC set up a veritable vortex. Aadisht would stare at the title of an event – say, 20 Sawaal, listen to a song until it completed, and then start typing clues. He would finish the event before the next song had ended. And finally, it was time for Acumen itself. Armed with nothing but a new shirt, and conscious of the expectations of all the hostels, I climbed on to the stage, wished all the hostels luck and declared Acumen open. Then I sat back and prayed. Day 1 finished with Hostel C leading the points tally. The immediate consequence of this was that the very next day, I was accosted at the cafeteria, held upside down by the legs and suggested that it was in my best interest to leak the events. Fortunately, all the events were with Aadisht, so the sanctity of Acumen, not to mention the sanctity of my body was preserved. Day 2, was the one marked by the most controversy. In retrospect, all the controversy could have been avoided by more delicate and circumspect handling, and if I have any regrets at all regarding Acumen, it is in acting hastily after the Dumb Charades. I would like my successor to leave his own mark on Acumen, 2004, and let him conduct it in his own style – but I would definitely give him one piece of advice – never act without first consulting the HRs.The morning and afternoon of Day 3 were marked by extreme tension – would Hostel E participate or not? Should we start the informals or not? Finally, Garima and Nikita came to me bearing good news – they would be there in the evening. It would be remiss of me not to thank and congratulate them in these paragraphs. They resisted interference from their hotheaded and hardheaded seniors, refused to let grudges spoil Acumen, and returned to participate with a sporting spirit. Once they had cleared the air, Day 3 got off to a start, and though Hostel A had a lead by this time that could not be challenged, this was the most exciting and entertaining of all the three days so far. The audience enjoyed themselves thoroughly – thanks to brilliant performaces in Agdam Bagdam, Jam and Quiz. In the end, it was wonderful all the way through. I am merely satisfied that Acumen was impartial, yet involved with all the participants; but I am gratified that everyone who participated, either on or behind the stage appreciated this. Acumen, 2003 was one of the few luminous events in my college life, and much as I regret not being able to participate in the events with my seniors, I am glad for the opportunity I had to see Acumen from the inside. Avant Garde, Spring 2003
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