That First Meeting

It was decided.

I was supposed to work for the Dynamic Youth Games along with my so-called twin Pratyush and my batch mates- Sridhar, Dhanashree and Kanyha.

I remember the day. We were in the Alumni Room (Alumni Walk-In Closet, more like) and I’d just finished appreciating Zinal’s Calvin Klein sunglasses. :P

Note: She’s hard-earned it, which is admirable. She’s patiently worked in a call centre, which is admirable too. That also explains her accent.

The offer to work with Zinal and Kshitij for Marketing was made and we agreed almost at once. The sports event was going to be Big and I was just looking for opportunities to get involved. RAIT Alumni Association is exciting but not quite.

Then followed a period of no-work. For about a couple of weeks we just did our submissions work and small talks with Zinal to whom we assured full loyalty and commitment.

Note: These weeks also saw cancelled meetings; choicest swear words and bouts of sarcastic laughter. We SEs learnt how badly the Alumni Walk-In Dustbin needs an exhaust fan. We learnt to spray deodorants in the air when alcohol content of the atmosphere is increased.

One more Note: We decided that the RAA pc has been assembled by Chinamen. 3 of the 5 USB ports refuse to do anything more than to pretend they’re cavities. Also, its cranky with delicate health. The monitor hates being switched on and tends to die during the most urgent of tasks.

Finally, one particular day dawned when I could present my honorable self for the meeting. It was scheduled to start either at 2:30 or 3:00 hours. The time, it seems, was meticulously planned.

I was told to be present at Law Gym where I was supposed to get the new proposed location of the meet. Flanked by Dhanashree, I met Rhapsody blokes and ladies in the Gym.

Saved from being cursed (for a goof-up on RAA website) by the honorable Dhruv ‘GS’ Rishi (RAIT), I was directed to the place opposite President’s Office.

Crowd had gathered and I supposed this meeting was going to be a proper one… unlike the one where I’d been absent.

Kshitij and his smile greeted me and so did his hand shake.

Aditi’s grin accompanied me through the door.

On being ushered into a conference room; we, esteemed representatives of various D.Y.Patil colleges, seated ourselves on chairs surrounding the round table.

The first thing I noticed on looking around was that the girls were cute. Also, they seemed to be seniors. :(

Note: Why (in the name of Satan’s boxers) do the Medical people refuse to shed their white coats outside their college?! What do they see in it?! Are we supposed to look down at them or something?! It makes them stand out, yeah, but WHY should they stand out?! The girls do and I believe that’s enough! Why ‘white coats’?!

Ahem… so the meeting started with Kshitij addressing the (packed) room. Brochures were distributed and ceremonies were explained. Suggestions were given by many and the PowerPoint presentation was good. We were taught to say ‘World Class’ for any damn thing present in the campus.

Not that I aint proud of being a RAITian!

I had to go out and bring in Sridhar who was late owing to his vivas. His presence brought with it plenty of skeptical expressions (his), whispered conversations and much-looked-forward-to discussion (between the two of us) concerning the temperature of the room.

Comparatively warm. :P

Most of the talking was done by Kshitij and Kaveesh (Management)

They were good, open to comments and someone whom we’ll gladly respect.

The other guy, Kunal (Physio), contented himself by staring at random people. But he’s got his name on the brochure and though I couldn’t hear why, I could feel the force emanating from him.

One of the Medical girls fancied chewing gum for all two hours of the meeting.

One of them Dental guys made the saddest face possible (and made sure he doesn’t twitch a muscle on his face) on announcement of his share of the job.

He did twitch his jaw muscles (along with molars, pre-molars, canines and stuff) when Kshitij/Kaveesh took offence. :P

We weren’t named at all. This time I took offence and on asking, found out that we were free to work for any of the teams. We chose Zinal of course who, for some incomprehensible reason, was invisible.

And finally the meet ended. The esteemed representatives made chaos in the room and made sure they’d bumped into everyone present. Some pocketed brochures using their bags while others pocketed good-looks using their eyes.

Plans were made and I got in touch with my contacts that very day.

Headache irritated me all the way to my hometown in a bus.

I loathe bus-travel.

Looking forward to Dynamic Youth Games! :)