It Happened One Night …

by Sanandan Swaminathan

It was the best of nights; it was the worst of nights. There was a chill in the air that first evening of November, and it wasn't because it was well and truly autumn or because it was the night after the Halloween ghouls and monsters had completed their mayhem. It was the day of reckoning, the kind of make-or-break day that participants love and dread in the same breath - the Bay Area inter-IIT cultural competition "Diwali Dhamaka 2003".

If Murphy needed a test bed for his theory, he would never get a better opportunity. It was as if the stars and constellations had aligned themselves as part of a sadistic dance to stack the odds against IIT Bombay. We had just watched a neat performance by IIT Madras that seemed like the one to beat, and then watched an also-ran by last year's champion team IIT Kanpur. We had already been rankled by rumors (and they turned out to be exactly that) about a "turncoat" in our ranks who had leaked out critical plot details to our competitors. There was the weight of expectations and the desire to shrug away last year's loss as an aberration. All the cast and crew had slogged it out for a couple of months, adjusting with aplomb to every change that was thrust upon them. There were rewrites and brain-storming galore as we tried to adhere to new rules and trial audience's reactions. Umpire David Shepherd would surely have been jittery and hopping, had he seen us stop at version 1.11 for the script.

We knew we were up against it when our best laid plans started going head in the hand basket as Showtime drew closer. It turned out that the hookups for the laptops, which were meant to drive our image projections and sound bytes, would not be on the stage flank as we expected. Worse still, the auditorium didn't even have compatible hookups. When Kharagpur finished their performance, there was a flurry of activity as the gang completed our setup. And then the sudden fear that some of the clip-on microphones were of poor quality and we didn't know of an elegant way to separate the wheat from the chaff without letting the audience in on our plight. Much to our dismay, we were told that the podium microphone, beyond our reach back-stage, had accidentally been left on by the previous compere, and that the sound feedback would ruin our show. We had last-minute doubts on whether the all-important CD player was hooked up correctly to the sound system. Having the light, sound, curtain, image and production coordinators and the actors, dancers and singers spread out across the auditorium, contrary to our expectations, gave us the eerie feeling that things would cave in. We contemplated introducing an additional item in the show at the very last minute before good sense prevailed and we decided to go with what we had. A few minutes before the curtains were opened, we finally formalized a strategy to close them within the official time limit to avoid the negative points that the other IITs may have incurred. Was panic setting in? Then there was a pregnant pause for several seconds as chaos reigned supreme before the curtains opened. It was a classic chicken-egg-omelet situation with the stage, sound and voiceover folks not quite sure who was supposed to pull the trigger first. A couple of frantic hand signals and frenetic cell phone calls later, we were ready to roll (incredibly, we used this ubiquitous cellular technology right in the middle of the performance as a laptop got locked and the password had to be quickly transmitted half way across the auditorium!).

Recipe for disaster, anyone? Think again!

We went on to win the trophy, a landslide VICTORY if ever there was one! Yes, it happened one magical night…

We knew we had the audience hooked as the three little girls gave the sweetest, cutest performance you can imagine, dancing their way into the audience's hearts. We knew we had it going for us when we heard the audience reaction for the initial interaction between Dad and Veeru, and when Amitabh and Shashi Kapoor brought the house down and crushed any Deewaar the audience may have built around accepting the action on stage. We knew we had a winner when the Dandiya dancers stormed the stage and took everyone's breath away. We knew we were well on our way to the pinnacle when the crowd burst out laughing for every line in the Jaidev-Mausi scene. The excitement grew as we saw an amazing performance by the ladies dancing to Chalka Re. It seems even the light technicians in the booth far away were getting distracted by the brilliance of the dances and the radiance of the costumes. We knew we were putting on one hell of a good show when we saw the thunderous audience response to the climax and the vociferous cheering when the singers belted out Shava Shava and the dancing troupes held sway. The microphones started playing tricks towards the end of the performance but the momentum blew away all the obstacles. We were like an unstoppable force destined for glory that fateful night - a rolling stone that could gather no moss. We knew we had a hit, and in spite of all the snags, we had probably just presented a blockbuster. Imagine the possibilities if none of the glitches had occurred, but the last-minute adjustments added to the campy, goofy, feel-good nature of the production. The most important aspect was the sense of enjoyment and camaraderie within the team and satisfaction in the fact that we had given the audience a joy ride they will not forget for a long time. It was an awe-inspiring effort by every member of the team, be it the dancers, singers, actors, choreographers, production folks, sound, light, image coordinators, publicist, photographer, critics - people of all ages from all walks of life.

Rave reviews from all quarters, including competitors, started coming in thick and fast. We waited with bated breath for the final judgment, wondering if the judges relished every nuance of the performance as much as we did rehearsing and presenting it, or as much as the audience seemed to have lapped it up. To leave no stone unturned, we out-shouted all other IIT groups in cheering IIT Bombay's effort on, as if the final result depended on lung power (why take even an infinitesimal chance?).

And then the moment we were all eagerly waiting for, the final pronouncement - IIT Bombay's production "Bay To BomBay" had won the 2003 Inter-IIT Cultural Competition. We were over the moon; this was clearly no Moonstone. The team beamed with pride as we held the beautiful, brass angel - ours to keep for a year, and an inspiration to retain her again next year.

This was the big payoff that made all the effort, late nights and sacrifices worthwhile. The foundation for this memorable victory was being laid for over two months. It was based on assiduous planning, perseverance, commitment, passion, sheer hard work, talent and the never-say-die attitude of every member of the team and the support lent by their family members and friends. It all started at a small luncheon meeting at a local eatery where a group of enthusiastic individuals sowed the seeds of a spirited movement, with the desire to weave a dream of gargantuan proportions that would make all IIT Bombay alumni proud. In typical Bollywood style, we did things backwards, like finalizing the dance numbers before we had a semblance of a story. After all, if we were true blue IITians, we were expected to create the logic around any unrelated set of items. The team started meeting regularly at the Heritage Fund office to come up with a game plan and channelize our resources. Story ideas were floated and tossed and turned before we settled on one that was universal enough to touch a chord but unique enough to hold the audience's attention. Even the hunt for actors had an unusual randomness about it. The dance troupes had begun practicing in right earnest and, hats off to them, they were doing so without any knowledge of the context in which their numbers would be used, till much later in the cycle. Incredibly, most of them were never told (not even after the final performance) that one of the ladies was being conceptually positioned and presented as an important character in the story! Talk about abstraction in a stage production.

Of course, being a production by IITians, there was always some method to the madness. Deadlines were drawn up and dates were set for integrated practices. The actors and production crews met often over hot chai, at a dingy little clubhouse in a condominium complex. Odd hours were the order of the day as the participants adroitly juggled their work, personal and practice schedules. There were bloopers that went beyond slapstick as the actors tried to adjust to the banter and constructive criticism from fellow team members. Several practice sessions had passed before there came the mind-numbing revelation that the Pan IIT committee had decided to shrink the performance time down to 20 minutes from 25. This led to heated debates and conference calls to reach consensus on what should stay and what should be left on the editing table. Dances and dialogues were chopped to fit within the new parameter. As newer script versions were dished out, we had a merry-go-round on the casting, with some of the actors coming back full circle into their original roles. Unfortunately, some of the acting talent went abegging as the time limit just wasn't enough to squeeze in all of it. The changes were playing havoc with our practice sessions. You've likely seen actors forgetting their lines during practice, but it takes genuine IIT actors to remember the lines from all previous script versions and mix them all up into a heady concoction! Believe it or not, we even introduced a minor character into the mix a few hours before the final performance. And, seeing us struggle to cast someone in the blink-and-you-will-miss-it role of Basanti two days before the show, the actress playing Basanti's Mausi volunteered to double up as Basanti!

The momentum picked up as computer wizards, digital photographers, sound experts, artists and production gurus jammed together and stepped up a gear. Music pieces were locked and detailed strategies were drawn up for the light, sound and stage cues. Even the exchange of microphones between participants was rehearsed (we were under the impression we would get fewer microphones than we needed). In the meanwhile, the dance troupes and singers continued to put in yeoman efforts and the rest of us were dying to enjoy their performances at the combined practice sessions. The integrated sessions in front of trial audiences gave us an early glimpse into the potential of our show and also provided valuable course corrections. The creative genius of the participants was evident in their ability to put together a riveting climax sequence at very short notice. The production crews churned out images, props and backdrops with a vengeance, and even a publicity poster, that were all in a league of their own. The net result was a show mesmerizing beyond our wildest imagination. The actors had turned into seasoned thespians and were at their histrionic best, the singers and dancers had perfected their art and the crew members had made a science of all other production aspects. The rest, as they say, is history, to be cherished for years to come.

Was all that effort worth it? You bet! That one moment when the judge uttered the words "IIT Bombay", will remain enshrined in the collective consciousness of all IIT Bombay alumni. It was one of those moments that become legends instantaneously. It was the kind of moment you want to relive over and over again, the one you want to hold on to forever, maybe lock in a time capsule.

Murphy got it horribly wrong - magic is often created when the chips are down and everything seems to be going downhill. At the dinner after the show, a team mate remarked how the not-so-sumptuous buffet tasted way better than it was. Well, friend, it was the sweet taste of success!

It all happened one night and it was quite arguably the best of nights…

Article written By: Sanandan Swaminathan

(Thanks to Balaji Srinivasan for proof-reading this article)

Please review the Terms of Usage provided on the disclaimer page prior to accessing this website.
ACCESSING THIS WEBSITE SIGNIFIES YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE TERMS OF USAGE.

Copyright © 1996-2008 IITBHF, Cupertino, CA, USA and IITBAA, Mumbai, India