Shaastra, down the years...

So, as I embark upon the journey of another Shaastra, one thing I generally noticed, was that many people were losing the enthusiasm, the Shaastra "spirit" this year. Maybe, that was plainly the case with my immediate circle of friends, but on day one of Shaastra, I hadn't seen a single fourth year, till around that part of the day when the sun was right above our heads. Junta were sleeping, an obvious explanation, but shockingly, more people had gone home, to enjoy the four day holiday! I thought I'd recollect my journey with Shaastra, as a volunteer, coordinator and now, plainly a participant, and how my views have shaped up over the same period. In my first year, it was just the wild mad rush. Shaastra had been a name I'd been pretty acquainted with since my school days, as it used to hog a lot of newspaper space on The Hindu, during the annual four days around the Gandhi Jayanthi. But, first hand experience was obtained only when I joined IIT Madras. I came in with a lot of robotics enthu, but gave up when I realized that robotics meant a lot of staying back in insti during the first year weekends (Something I regret to this date..)! The give-up was finalised when I lost out on the robotics vol(unteer)ship to Baby, Jaichu and a couple of others. But to get a volship, in the first year, was like to get laid. Everyone just had to have a volship, by hook or crook. I found this really nice second year, Ninad, who was on the same wing as me, and I got a production team volship under him. So, my first Shaastra was spent waking up at 3.30-4 am everyday, and running to the xerox shops outside Taramani gate and Krishna gate to have the question paper printouts, and the newsletter, schedule copies on time, to be placed at the hospi desk when it opened. The only thing I prided about, was that I got to be the first guy in insti to read the newsletter everyday! It was fun, and was different, the only sad thing being needing to sleep by 9.30 at night, but it didn't really matter, because it wasn't Saarang, and so the "nights" really didn't matter! I participated in a lot of events, and got to the finals of Math Modeling and Integral Bee (an old competition, where speeds of solving integrals were tested! :P). In my first year, I got to see Shaastra close-up. It was real fun, and the stalls were a new experience, a revelation from the stalls of school culturals, which really hardly had much of a variety! I didn't really participate in too many events in my first year, and played a mix 'n match with all those events which I thought suited "my type". After the first year, the path was pretty much laid. The math olympiad guys invariably became Online Math Coords, and Online Math Coords invariably became Math Modeling coords, unless they wished not to become so. By the way, coords refers to coordinators. So, here I was, an Online Math Coord. Also, that year, a team of six, with CJR, Shaileshh, Vasuki, Prasad, Ram and me had done a "Spirit of Engineering" project, through the Centre for Innovation (CFI), in IIT Madras. The project was a good success, and there were interviews with newspapers, apart from which there was appreciation from the Dean Students IIT Madras, during the Shaastra valediction. So, the Shaastra that year was quite a busy one. Participation happened, but except for Math Modeling, didn't manage to get much out of anything else. But nevertheless, the four days were great fun. I still remember laughing maniacally at the Air Show at the Institute Stadium, for some reason, I don't know what! Also, I went solo to watch Kaminey at OAT, on the third day of Shaastra, which was a Saturday. Oh, and well, by this time, I had almost completely disassociated myself with the "techie"-tech part of Shaastra. All that existed was the "unwind" events, a few design events, the IITM student SoE expos, and of course, the food stalls! The third year was a watershed. Math Modeling coordship turned out more peaceful than expected, and the focus was clearly on participating in multiple events this time. IgNobel was one event where I made it to the finals. But there, it turned out that some of my attempted humorous theories, were not really by the longest throw of the stone, logical! So, it turned out to be quite a flop show! Puzzle Champ, an event, which I hadn't attended, for reasons only God knows why, turned out to be a brilliant brilliant stage to vent all frustration. Topping the prelims was not quite the thing, as the icing on the cake would arrive in the finals. One round to go, 50 points behind, and in a ditch-like 4th position, we took 18 of the 20 questions put on the buzzer in the last round, and got 17 of them correct to win the event! First Shaastra victory, and a lot of cash! The LASER show was repetitive as previous Shaastras, but there were exhibits in the OAT which were simply out of the world! Well, now in my final year, most of my friends have lost all enthusiasm to participate in events. The general Shaastra zing seems missing! I am determined to participate in as many events as possible! But I must admit, the first day, was quite disappointing! For the first time in four years, the day one schedule had no event before 12 noon, which was worth a visit by gen junta! But, the spirit of Shaastra, is something that is undying. I have not been an aspirant of any sort of administrative position at the top-level in Shaastra, because firstly, it is motivated by a lot of politics up there, and secondly, the working at Shaastra is just too professional, and the emphasis on quality is too much, to the extent that the fun-quotient could be lost at times! But maybe, at some level, that is what keeps pushing Shaastra every year, and keeps it in such high esteem, and has built up an unwavering stature for the fest! In any case, have a good time in the next three days! Happy Shaastra 2011! :)