Kash wo pal main wapas paoon...Dil karta hai fir bacha ban jaoon

A small composition dedicated to my childhood.

Din tha sayad wo ravivar,
Yaroon ke saath saikil pe hum sawaar,
Kisi baat ki na thi koi fikr,
Aur na kisi se tha koi takraar,
Kaash wo pal main wapas paaoon ,
Dil karta hai Fir bacha ban jaaoon...

Choti Choti ashaayein thi humari,
Usse chota tha apna sansaar,
Homework hi , humara tha sabse bada dushman,
Aur choclate hi tha,humara sabse bada pyar,
Kaash wo pal main wapas paaoon ,
Dil karta hai Fir bacha ban jaaoon...

Samay ne apna bal dikhlaya,
Hume bachpan se yowan pe patkaya,
Piche chute sathi sangi khel khilaune,
Ab to bus roz mehnat ke,pasine hai bahane.
Chalo sab apni kamar kas lo,
Utho jago puri takat jokh do,
Duniya ka bus ek hi khel,
Batwa bhari to sabka hai mel,
Kamjoron ko yahan koi nahi puchte,
Ye bachpan wala khel nahi jo tumhare girne par tumhe sath leke chalte.

Par samay mile to jaroor ye sochna,
Shikar pe bhi khusi nahi hai akele pahunchna,
Bus itni si baat mein batlaun,
Jiwan ka sahi arth tumhe samjaun,
Kaash wo pal main wapas paaoon ,
Dil karta hai Fir bacha ban jaaoon...

The story behind our first composition….EXAM AA GAYA

Everyone loves music. The taste may be different but I hardly find anyone who doesn’t listen to music now and then. It reverberates our senses and minds and rejuvenates us from inside, right??

Like most of us, me, Kaushal and Aniket, also liked music a lot. I had a range of taste from old Bollywood to melodious new songs and I really wondered most of the time how these composers came up with such amazing lyrics and always thought of giving it a try.

In my late college life, I had developed this hobby of writing blogs and small stories but composing lyrics was never my thing. It was during the p.l’s of last year first semester when i thought of giving it a try.We had a lot of free time and after studying continuously for hours we needed a break. I took a pen and thought of writing some rhyming lines. I thought that after our college will be over, we all will be missing on the fun part of it, so why not make the moment immortal by writing on the same theme.

It took me many attempts to get the first few lines. Since I was a good listener, I knew what kind of lyrics will attract more music lover. The song must reflect the young and free college student. After almost 2 hours , I completed the first stanza.

It goes like this…

“Abhi abhi college hua tha chalu….. ..Abhi abhi to takraye thei jaaam.

Abhi abhi thi rangi ye raatein..abhi abhi to suhani thi ye sham.

Itne mein saala ye notice lag gaya ….exaam aa gaya “

The lyrics looked catchier than I thought I will be able to write. I took the opinion of Kaushal. He too liked it. I told him that before leaving MIT, let’s compose the entire song and release it on YouTube. It will be a new experience.

The next person who is a complete package in music…was our dear friend Aniket Bhagat. He had mesmerized the whole college with his music skills …be it his beautiful voice or the way he played the guitar and flute. The guy was really talented and a great humble too.

I gave him a call and told him about all this. Being a music enthusiast, he too got excited but said that he was busy that day and he will meet us the next day.

NEXT DAY…AROUND 10 AM

My cell rang. It was Bhagat. He informed us that he was coming. In 10 mins, the dude was there on his black bike. We greeted each other. I told him the whole thing again and asked if he can voice the song and play the instrument. He was ready. We discussed that let us first complete the whole song and then we will record it on WAVPAD software.

The first para was catchy and we decided to make two more of them. We needed something which can say the story of a MITian and be good at the ears too.

After all sort of scribbling and discussion, we came up with the second para:

“kabhi kabhi doston ke sang baithe…. revise karein wo hi pagalpan

Wo der se jagna …wo college bhagna

Wo proxy bunky…wo movie shovie jaana

Miss hoti hume college ki wo haryali,sath humare TEXMAX aur NIRALI

Masti ke mausam mein andhera cha gaya…..Exam aa gaya “

I would like to mention that “TEXMAX aur NIRALI” were two publishers who played in vital role in building a career of an engineering student from PUNE UNIVERSITY as most of us read notes from them. So, by including their name, we, on behalf of all such student, paid a little tribute to them. I wonder what would have happened if you both were not there.

We as a writer leave the listener to interpret the word “COLLEGE KI HARYALI” but then all us as a boy know what it is …right??

One thing which was worth sharing was the composition of the last line “MASTI ke mausam mein andhera cha gaya...EXAM AA GAYA”. We were all stuck after the nirali thing and to change the rhyme back to …exam aa gaya…we couldn’t find anything catchy. But then, our master stroke, Mr. Kaushal Kishor ( in short our K.K) literally jumped of his seat singing that line and we all clapped . “Kya baat hai kaushalwa !! Cha gaye tusi “

So the first two stanzas were done. Before writing the last stanza, we thought of recording the song. I had borrowed a guitar from a friend to learn which Aniket used. Aniket made the chords and selected the tempo. He presented us various ways in which the same line can be sung. We all agreed on some. I had the wavepad recording software and a cheap microphone. We thought of just doing a test recording for now and later do it with nice ones. I switched of the fan, closed the door and gave a go signal to Aniket. He recorded the track first without voice on guitar. Oh! He was really great at that…especially the part where there is interlude between the first and second stanza. Hearing it live was totally awesome. Once done, we connected it to sound system and listened it. There was this humming noise from the mic but it was ok. Then he recorded his voice over the track. As usual he mesmerized every one of us. Finally our first composition was done. We heard it again and again. Ah! It was really a great feeling. It was small thing, but we felt something nice from inside, as if we have made a new discovery which never existed in this universe.

We later decided that we will compose the last stanza sometime later. The exams started and everyone went busy. I wanted to release the song before we left the college. But then, we all got busy with our final year project and couldn’t meet to finish the song.

FEW MONTHS LATER..

A month later, we finished college, when I was working in Hyderabad I talked to Aniket. I asked him, if I could release the raw version of our recording. He was a bit hesitant as we could have improved the quality a little more to get a more feel of the song. We had also planned to make a video to go with the song but that also couldn’t happen.

Later, on August on 2012, I made the video assembling pictures from various events in college and our song and published it on YouTube. The response from everyone was great. Most of our friends liked it.

It was great to feel that, three of us, had an original composition on our name and it’s there on YouTube and it will always be . Now and then, I still watch that song and remember the good old days of my college life at Pune .Since then, I made 3 more composition and is waiting on Aniket to give me his dates.

“Bhuli hui rahon se jo gujre hum kabhi…har mod par khoyee hui ek yaad mil gayi”

link to the video https://youtu.be/_lw-S9qS3x0

WE WON THE DEPARTMENTAL for 1st time……HIP HIP HURRAY!!!

Well, if you ask me one thing which I can do my entire life 24 x7, the answer will be …play sports again and again and I was lucky to find MIT, with a rich sporting culture. Be it the departmental events, the inter college events like SUMMIT; the college shared a rich tradition of sports unlike many other colleges.

I still remember the first prize distribution ceremony which we had at the gathering, the way MECHANICAL went upstairs to collect their trophy for the departmental championship and from my bottom of my heart, and I wished we would be there sometime.

I remember that we missed the trophy by some points when I was in second year. This was our final year now, the last attempt at the prestigious cup. I knew, alone I can’t do much, but the way ECE was building up with sportsman was phenomenal and we wouldn’t have any better chance than this .

Training and practice started, we made all sorts of calculation. We had a good volleyball team and if we could get past mechanical in the quarters, we were expected to win and get full points. Sourabh and Kushal were leading us in volleyball. We were also expected to win the cricket since more than half of the player in MIT, were from ECE. We were underdogs in table tennis, carom, football and basketball. I was associated with all the games except table tennis and football.

Finally the day had arrived. We won an easy first game in volleyball and were supposed to play MECHANICAL. We had this sort of cold rivalry between us. Sanket was a big tall guy and a good smasher and our plan was to somehow make him play from behind. It was a close one, but we won the first set. In the break, we saw Sanket getting furious over his team mates. Good crowd had pulled in. There was support for both the departments. The second set began, we made our mistake but the opposition was worse. The quirky comments from our supporter made it more worse for them. There was no one to make ball for Sanket and that proved the deciding factor. Finally we won the final point when he hit the ball across the far line.

Rohan Jagtap and all came running to hug us. We were all down, shouting and cheering. News came from the background that our table tennis team is also doing good. Atrey was leading us there. We know our close competitor will be the mechanicals, so we were targeting them.

Badmintor had a lot of events and a lot of points to play for. There also we had Pranit and company who represented MIT. Badminton was the only game involving ladies .Pranit used his wits to schedule matches in such a way that ,both the opponents reaching  final will be from our department hence giving us that extra point for both first and second place. The calculation was all made. Everything was relying on cricket now. We somehow have to win against mechanicals to win the trophy.

Because of student parliament, the venue for the match was shifted to MANIT campus of MIT. It had a beautiful lush green cover and was better than many national grounds. Both of the team went in a winger. We had a nice time chatting with each other.

We won the toss and went to bat. Sourabh Kataria and Tejas lead our way. The batsmen played well .I along with Tomar hit 2 sixes and the total was decent enough to defend. Mechanical dropped a too many catches. We bowled well, with Sanjeev taking the crucial wicket of Bipin. The required run rate got a bit high and the team collapsed to the pressure of chasing. We won the game. Celebration began!!

We were supposed to play semi-final against Civil the next hour. We lost that game. Someone in the evening called to inform us that, the final points from badminton are out, and we lead by small margin.

Yes, we have won it.

I had a dream of winning the trophy from first year. It took us 4 years, but finally we made it. It was a great team effort; I must say and would like to thank our then juniors for the jubilant performance they showed. Without them, it wouldn’t have been ever possible .

It was time to get the rewards for our efforts. Our teacher threw all of us, a treat. We all waited excitedly for the prize distribution ceremony.  Finally, one the day  it was announced.

“May I ask the ECE DEPARTMENT to come to the desk and collect their championship trophy”..

We all went running and howling. The feeling was amazing. We pulled everyone with us, no matter if they played or not. I never knew what it would feel to get an Oscar or a Nobel Prize, but for us, the feeling of lifting the cup was no less. We all went to the stage, clicked a lot of snap, kissed the trophy. We took it back to our department shouting and singing all the way.

It felt awesome. I guess no individual success can give you such happiness, like winning a team thing. Isn’t that’s the beauty about sports. We made a collage of the teams involved and framed it in the department. We were THE FIRST BATCH TO WIN THE TROPHY FOR ECE…we created history!!

It’s been a long time since that event and it will feel a little weird if I go back now and thank to everyone involved, but as we say it’s never too late. I would like to thank all of you for the efforts you put in. It was really one of the happiest days in life for me.

MATHERAN JOURNEY ...friends and fun

The best part about living in Pune is that you are surrounded by natural and historical beauties around, be it the manmade fort at the hill tops, the natural water falls, the hill stations…it’s  all there at few kilometers of distance from the city.

Engineering is like incomplete if you don’t make travels with your friends during your four years. One such destination we made to conquer was MATHERAN. It’s a kind of hill station between Pune and Mumbai and the place looked heaven in the monsoon with the waterfalls and rains. The organizer for the trip was Aniket Kapadane. I think it was around July in second year when suddenly he called to inform that he was organizing a trip on the weekends and if I would like to join. I, being a travel lover said yes at once.

The plan was to catch a late night train to some station, the name which I can’t remember now and then take an early local to Matheran station. We all were supposed to meet at the Pune railway station. It was around 9 when I left after having my dinner. The weather was cold and I borrowed this wind cheater from Rohit as it will also save me from rain. I met Aniket at his bus stop and waited for everyone so that we could catch the station bus together. After 15 mins, only couple of more guys joined us. The bus came and we boarded it. We told everyone else to join us at station and take an auto or something. 

It was around an hour of journey to the station. The wind was cold. The station as usual was lively. There were rich people, average people and garib peoples. If anyone wants to know about India, I guess the best place to discover it, is the railway station. Here you will find people enjoying air conditioner, eating expensive dinner, then the average class sitting in the sleeper waiting room with their family and bags and then the low income class strolling around the outside vendors, some sleeping on the floor.

I still remember my first train journey which I made only after I completed my 12^th and went to Delhi for entrance preparation. The dark things which I discovered during that travel opened a new dimension to my life. I wonder how the kids begging would feel seeing other kids enjoying with their family. What will be their life like? Then the people who are physical disabled. They can’t even move properly. Then, the blind ones. We always complain we don’t have this; we don’t have that, but look at them. What life are they having? Every morning they wake up to discover that they are on the pity of the other people. I was really moved by all this and truly speaking every train journey taught me a lot about my India and gave my heart a little more sorrow and angry about my nalayak government and politician who just talk crap about poverty but then just use them for their vote banks . Seriously, Rand DE basanti part 2 karne ka mann karta hai.

We waited at the platform. Meanwhile Aniket was busy talking to the rest of people making their way to the station. He told them the place where we should gather. By half an hour, almost all of us were there. We entered “The Kum-sum” restaurant at the station. It’s one of the most hyped place among students as it is opened the entire night. Some of us ordered dinner , meanwhile we chatted. Aniket briefed us all about the plan. He made sure that, we didn’t had to hire any private vehicle and will make our journey in the cheapest way.

As far as I remember, there was me, Aniket, Anshul,Mohit,Akolkar and some more friends from hostel .We took some snap at the station and then boarded our train once it arrived. It dropped us to somewhere from where we were supposed to take the local to Matheran .We reached Matheran around 4 in the morning. It was a tourist spot and there were toy train and all for display. We shot everything. We moved outside. The air was fresh. The next task was to hire a cab which will take us to the top of the hill. We inquired around and finally settled for one. It was dark so we missed the view while going up. It started raining as we were about to reach the starting point of the tourist spot. We paid the taxi wala and ran toward the shed. We bought our tickets and waited for the rain to stop.

The place looked green. The hissing sound of the insect along with the thumping sound of the rain added to the ambience.  We saw the map hanging at the entrance. It mentioned all the important points where we should go. We have the option to travel by horse or on foot. The zone was ecofriendly and no vehicles were allowed inside. The rain continued pouring. We could feel the hazy daylight now. It was around 5 when we finally decided to move ahead and enjoy the rain while we walked.

Oh! It was great. The water was cold and heavy. The wind cheater helped. The lanes were narrow. Moving in a queue, we moved forward. The street light helped. We roamed around for at least 4-5 hours covering all the important places, admiring the nature’s beauty, clicking pics .The place was a great attraction for the season and many couples were seen roaming around wearing the unfamiliar raincoat riding on the horse.

We then had lunch at a nearby dhaba and then took a cab back to the station. While returning we saw the view from top. Moreover, there were some falls naturally created because of the rain where many people were having fun. We all were tired and almost all of us slept after some time. We took a train back to Pune. It was a general dhaba and as usual it was packed. I made my way to the top railing and slept there. My friends woke me up at the Pune station.

I must say, it was one hell of an experience. Be it the way it was planned from beginning to end, thanks to Kapadane, the monsoon, the waterfalls, the winds, the weather, the greenery, the friends, the chats , the butta ,the food .

 Everything was great!!