The Seventh Sense

Today is the 28th of August, two years since a dream named "The Seventh Sense" materialized!! ;-) ;-) :-) I was just thinking about the entire episode and thought this would be a great opportunity to recognize & thank each one of you who were involved in this.

The entire department including 1000 odd students, 75 odd staff(teaching & non-teaching) were a part of this, so please excuse my limited memory if i have missed out on anyone.

First and foremost, all the event coordinators..

Once you talk about events, the first which comes to my mind is paper presentation.. The reason - I dint know "a..b..c.." of what is supposed to be done there and therefore we wanted someone really really competent!! Our answer - N.S.P Aravinth & Pranesh. Paper presentation always is an integral part of any Techfest and if that failed or something went wrong during the event, things would turn out to be pretty bad. But the way they handled it made sure we had one problem less.. Not only did they take care of it, they also did it so perfect.. This was one event were i participated very little in organizing.. The only things which Aravinth asked me was - "Hey, Siva, i need a printer to take printouts(for shortlisting)", "where is the venue?".. Thats all!!! Can anyone imagine??? This was all i had to answer & paper presentation turned out to be successful baring one guy who complained that there wasn't enough cash prize & the coupons were a waste!! ( :-) :-) :-) ).. In short, Aravinth was to us as Dravid is to Team India!! The Wall - Mr. Dependable.. Hats off Aravinth & Pranesh!!

Next up, one of the most exciting & painstakingly difficult event to organize – Gaming!! Gaming was a nightmare from the day me, DK & Rishi started chalking out a rough schedule.. There were couple of games for which we had to conduct prelims & finals in just two labs allocated for gaming within 2 days. So we thought it would be better off to get proper full time organizers for the same. Not surprisingly we had more than a couple of guys handling the event – Bala, Suresh & Vishwak!! I can understand what they would have gone through during those two hectic days!! If one saw the crowd outside the two labs during the event, you would surely faint!! I still remember one staff saying to me - “Dai, eppadi ra ivulo kootam vandhuchi?” & “Eppadi ra handle pana poringa?” (in english - “hey, from where did this much crowd come from & how are you going to handle it?”) I felt extremely proud and exalted at the end of the day when these guys handled the event so easily & to perfection. I remember Suresh appreciating the quality of support given by the co-coordinators especially a 2nd year girl – Shikki. Thanks to all of them, such a monumental task was finished successfully.

Then comes Debug & Code Hunting.. This was yet another event where crowd participation was way above what we expected & naturally crowd control was an uphill task apart from the event itself. The organizers – Sinchan & Anuj managed to get a completely Computer based event which certainly deserves praise if not anything else & since we had a Green Earth initiative, the event added value to The Seventh Sense as a whole!! Barring, the Microsoft sponsored certificate which went missing, the event went on smooth. I have to take this opportunity to thank some of the girls from my section & all the other volunteers who helped make this event successful. A special thanks to Sinchan(aka Dada) who managed to be an event organizer and also one of the core committee members in addition to being in the trio(Myself,Sinchan & Shivaprasad) of scapegoats who faced the brunt from Sridhar sir & other staff members all the time for 2 months continuously!! ;-) :-) :-)

Adzap was the surprise package for us!! The supposed-to-be event coordinator from Section C was making a mess of the event. I really feel sorry to make this statement but that is the hard fact!! A million thanks to Shivaprasad – our secretary to go forward and conduct this event successfully. I still cant think of what would have happened if he wasn't there that day!!

All the other events – Big Fight, Quiz, Contraptions & Puzzlers went on smoothly. Thanks to the wonderful coordinators we had for the respective events – Nikhil Taneja, Ajay Sundar, Venkatesh & Shabarish.

Techfest are always incomplete without posters and t-shirts. We had nothing short of a creative head in the form of Madhan!! The t-shirt just took less than 5 minutes to design & decide but looks so great. The posters were wonderful too. Just give him sometime on his own and he gives you these wonderful creations!! Thanks man!!

Next up.. website for the techfest.. Till date, I thought I was the laziest man this earth would have ever seen and would ever have but Rishi certainly gave me chase for that coveted title!! That apart, the amount of work he put into the making of the website alongwith Ramshankar(for the flash part) shows in the way how attractive the website looked!! Not a single soul felt that the website was not upto the mark!! Thanks to both of you for giving us such a good website!! :-) :-)

Ahhh.. How could I forget our Techfest initiative – Green Earth??? We faced an uphill task to get this pushed and accepted by staff coordinators. We wanted to spread awarness on Global warming through this Techfest. Frankly speaking, the event was not a runaway success as the other events but the first step towards a brighter future is always the toughest!! Thank you Vignesh(Viggi Dog) & Nabamalika to actually pull up this event inspite odds stacked heavily against it!! Just imagine, what would students coming to a Techfest prefer – participate in events and get cash prizes or listen to someone talking & spreading awareness about global warming et all??? That is the reason the duo should really be given credits. Not only did they manage pulling crowd but more importantly the first step towards a greener future was laid!! No publicity, no cash prize, no gift vouchers and yet the mission was accomplished.

Double credits to Nabamalika who took time and the pains inspite of being one of the organizers for our University Techfest – Aaruush which was coming within a week!!

Now to some of the people who were an integral part of “The Seventh Sense” and were for most of the time behind the scenes.

I should start with my seniors who were always a role model for me!! Especially – Raghav Anna, Chandru Anna, Prasanth Anna & Preethi Akka!! The passion which they had towards the department and the Techfest can simply not be told in words or written. You should have been there to experience it. Raghav & Chandru anna always had time to advice me on issues which were paramount to the success of the event. I would like to share this beautiful incident which happened. All of us( I mean the core organizers) were mostly first-timers in organizing such a big event and hence lacked experience and much needed help. Accepted we had a group of amazing staff coordinators who assisted and continuously guided us but there is nothing like help from your seniors. That was when Prasanth anna & Preethi akka came to the campus. I was shocked. I mean they were pass outs and had no reason to come all the way from their home and help us out. More surprise awaited. Instead of the usual bossing around & criticism which the seniors normally would do, they actually started working!!!!! Yes, It was not a typo – THEY ACTUALLY STARTED WORKING!! Starting from small things like making charts, moving things around.. everything.. as if it was their duty!! Such sheer passion left all of us there spellbound!! This only propelled us do put in more efforts. We still miss you – Raghav Anna, Chandru Anna, Prasanth Anna & Preethi Akka!!!

Our staff coordinators – Sridhar Sir, Sabha Sir, Karthik Sir & Prasanna Sir are the next set of people who helped give shape to our dream - “The Seventh Sense”. There was a time when there was a complete shower of scoldings, bitter arguments and much more. But looking back, I understand one thing for certain – If they were not strict with us, we would have never been able to conduct this event. That apart, they were more like classmates & friends with us throughout the conduction of the event, after that & even now!! That is what makes them so special to us. The immense support & confidence they had in us even when things got rough & tidings were bad is a testimony to the friendship between us. They treated us like their equals. Be It their staff room or even HOD's office, they always offered us a seat, patiently listened to our views and ideas, shared jokes, pulled DK's leg;-) :-) and much more. The icing on the cake was the treat which we had after “The Seventh Sense”. I seriously doubt if there are any better student-teacher relation in the world than the ones which we shared and continue to do so!! A heart felt thanks to each one of you sir.

DK aka Karthikeyan & Druhin were representing their sections as coordinators for the event. I had known Druhin for quite sometime but DK was new. The image I had formed of him was a studious & serious chap who would be always be involved in work & work alone. But how wrong was I in forming such an image!! He was quite the contrary. Work and fun went hand in hand for this gem!! Druhin was no exception. Both were a great set of people to work with. They had put in heart and soul into the event. Druhin even started shelling out money from his account when funds were hard to come by initially. This goes to show the involvement these guys had. DK was the brain behind the techfest tagline - “The Seventh Sense : the sense of computing”. DK was a constant source of ideas!! Thanks men!! ;-)

I also would like to throw light on a person who had toiled equally hard as any one of the coordinators but was never under the limelight – Vishwanath. He was a 3rd year and showed unending amount of zeal and enthusiasm in working for the event. He was like a right hand for almost all of the organizers. Everytime people kept asking him - “Vishwa ithu enna achi? Athu enna achi? Itha mudichitiya? Atha eppa konduvaruva?” ( What happened to this? Have you done that work? When would you get the certificates? Etc etc etc etc) I still cant believe how he so patiently obeyed each one of us and did the work assigned without raising a question or expecting anything in return. I dunno if I could have done the same if I were in his position!! Thanks a ton Vishwa!!

Another whole bunch of juniors – Moumita, Qasim, Hindoli, Hari etc etc who also worked hard alongwith us!! I dont remember a lot of names now. But I do remember your faces!! Thanks to all of you!! :-) :-)

Venkat and Sabari were two more such guys whom everyone of us loved!! :-) I guess all our discussions – be it with staff coordinators or amongst ourselves would have been a dead serious conversation if it had not been for them. These guys were the principle reason why there was a constant fun-filled atmosphere even while working 24 X 7. That apart, there was a time when we were short of events for the techfest. These two were the brain behind bringing in a couple of more events and also help form a divide between “core technical” and “non-technical” events which ensured we got permission from the staff to infuse more events to the techfest which otherwise would have been at a measly 6. Special thanks to Venkat to get in “Contraptions” for the first time into SRM. Hats off!! None at SRM had thought about it and that was when he gave us this superb idea. Again special credits to both of them for actually getting a theme song for “The Seventh Sense”. They took pains to ask one of their friend who was into all this to actually compose a song. The song was beautiful but sadly we could not publicize it as much as we would have loved to do. Then venkat had the idea of selling t-shirts with a wrist band as a complete package. Everyone among us loved the idea but it didn't take off!! Without both Venkat and Sabari, the event would have missed these tiny details which make the event such a big success and also without their sense of humour, we would have been just a bunch of robots working 24 X 7 to achieve a target!!

Saravanan without whom the centre of attraction of The Seventh Sense – Yamaha R15 would never have come. Thanks to him, we got it at a cheaper price. Thanks da machan!!

Sundar was another great friend who helped us a lot during the entire 2 months. Needless to say, he along with me were the ones with the least attendance percentage when techfest got over. Such was his participation in the event. Even though he was a day-scholar, he stayed up with us overnight when there was work( I am pretty sure parents would have been angry with him :-) ). He was always practical and impartial with everyone. Guys with such character are hard to find these days & we were lucky to have him in our team & I am more lucky to have him as my friend. The INR 3 pen which me and sundar brought for INR 4 still remains a big joke in the staff room!! :-) :-)

Sourav Banerjee, who along with his team publicized the techfest inside the University through their innovative idea of “The Seventh Kick” - a football tournament which certainly pulled/grabbed a lot of attention!! Thank you Sourav & Thank you Shikharesh, Suryakant!!

I had lots of ideas but could never communicate it properly with my team. One such idea was the techfest theme – Green Earth. It would have never taken off if it was not for Nabamalika. I just wanted to tell it off to someone because I felt this could give a new shape to the techfest. That was when I had a chat with her. All I said to her was about my idea of a Green earth theme. Rest was all the pure creative genius in her!! :-) Ideas started pouring in!! Ask the chief guest to plant a sappling & kick start the techfest, ask each participant to plant a sappling in a designated area and at the end of the fest, show that as what a techfest named “The Seventh Sense” could give the Earth towards a better future. A documentary, painting competition was amongst some which she suggested. I even have a picture/painting which she drew and showed me:-):-):-):-):-) Not only this, she alongwith Vignesh made sure we atleast started what we wanted to. All this involvement inspite of her being one of the organizers for our University techfest coming up in a week after The Seventh Sense!! Thank you Nabamalika!! :-) I certainly agree with the saying - “Big things come in small packages!! :-) “

It is true that money drives almost anything & everything in today's world. Our techfest was no exception. Hundreds of transactions, bills, sponsorship details, payment details, expenses towards various activities like posters, stationary, banners, prizes etc etc.. the list is just endless. It would give anyone a head-ache. Maintaining a record of all these is a arduous and thankless task. That is where our treasurer came in. Our own “Kannaku Pullai” - Joseph Anandraj. He is an epitome of patience and trust!! How could one man, just one man handle all this?? I still have all the hard-copies of the record which he made. One would wonder at how perfectly, Joseph had done this thankless job. Hats off man & Thanks a ton for managing “our” finances!! :-)

A man however great or small needs someone whom he could trust, confide, share things & also ask for continuous advice & impartial feedback. My dada – Sinchan was one such guy!! I have pestered him so much with my questions and doubts during the conduction of Seventh Sense and he had never let me down. He always had a hand “free” to lift me up and put me back on track. He was also a constant source of help for the juniors. Needless to say(and as I already said), he was one of the scapegoats trio to fall in the firing line of the staff coordinators throughout the tenure of the event!! Thank you dada!!

A building needs a strong basement, our body needs a spinal cord, vehicles need a great engine to keep going. So what did we guys at “The Seventh Sense” have??? Or did we???

The answer – Yes!! Else the techfest would never have been so successful. We had a guy in the form of “Nishant Jha” who was the backbone of the entire operations. When I say entire, I literally mean entire!! Starting from sponsorship to publicity to PR to stalls to events....... there was not a single place where he was not there. He is one guy who has literally worked more than 1000% whole heartedly for this techfest. There was a time when there wasn't much unity in the department and we felt it tough going on with limited resources. He comes up and says -” Hey Shiva.. Why are you worrying man? Sab tik hojayega!! Itna tension nahi lene ka.. Come let me get you something to eat/drink? Bol kya chahiye? “ (Everything will fall in place!! dont be tensed!!)

These lines may seem so simple & one might ask what is the big deal. But when all the organizers are facing the heat(him included) and no sponsorships come by, none of the events finalized, no volunteers, no nothing.. someone maintaining such a high level of composure and cool is simply remarkable & astounding..

These were not just words he said, he actually dived into everything, worked like crazy and made sure things fell in line. People wouldn't believe, he started his round for getting sponsorships as early as December(when “The Seventh Sense” was not on paper) with NIIT guys. Through his dogged persistence & determination, we got sponsorships coming in. Then came the problem with juniors & my batch mates. They felt left out and we were really trying hard to win their confidence and make them understand our situation. There again.. Nishant weaves his magic!! People fall into place..

I could keep writing more about this hero but to wrap it up and say in short..

“He was to us like Mr. Pranab Mukherjee is to Dr. Manmohan Singh & the Congress government. Mr Mukherjee handles around 34 eGoM's & Nishant handled everything for us!!”

Inspite of all this and doing so much work, he never had that “big ego” which people of his stature could have. He was plain simple & expected nothing & nothing at all in return.

Finally, one man without which this dream could never have taken off and about whose role only a very few of us know – Our very own Bhalaji Sir!! If only he didn't have the confidence in us(that time it was only – nishant,me,sinchan,nabamalika,druhin) “The Seventh Sense” would have remained a dream to all of us!! When I approached him to ask about this, all he did was - a small laugh & then said right away.. Come lets go and talk to Sridhar Sir!! Even after going there he was the one who convinced Sridhar sir that these bunch of kids could do the job even if there wasn't a super cool Praveen Dwarakanath or a resourceful R.Shivaraman to pull a bag of tricks when none seemed possible.

Thank you from all of us here sir!!

On a concluding note, I would like to thank each & every single person who was directly or indirectly involved in making The Seventh Sense a big success.

Once again – Thank You everyone for collectively making our dream named “The Seventh Sense” possible!!

Bhootkal

TT - 03:00