A Lame Recount of Elixir 2006

Reality is an illusion. Only dreams are real.

The day is 18 September 2004. The venue – Dogra Hall (Insti - 1^st floor) IIT Delhi.The time – 10:00 A.M.

The occasion – Spectrum 2004. An event every participating and (non participating) team dreams of winning.

It was on this day that 5 boys from an unknown college in an unknown place went head to head against, arguably, the best teams in the country (or at least the upper half of it).

It was on that fateful morning that they had a glimpse of what lay ahead of them. Teams showing and proving their mettle on stage.

They were in no way lesser than anybody who went on stage that day. They only did not know what to expect, what to present, how to present it and most importantly … how to nail it.

Quite frankly, their ouster from the prelims itself was justified.

Disappointed, but not yet destroyed, they vowed to return.

Spectrum 2005:

The 5 boys – and 3 girls, having rechristened themselves as F.L.I.R.T, returned to the same stage a year later to see what lay ahead of them.

A place in the finals, and more significantly, a chance to perform on the same stage with teams such as MLN, LSR, JMC and the likes, was what ensued.

Elixir 2006 :

All 5 of us were on training this time around. Our chances of qualifying started to look like a distant dream once the rules for Elixir (the new name for Spectrum) were out. A minimum of 7 people and off course the dreaded second round,

The prelims were scheduled to be held on the 19^th. We became eligible for the event (Read gathered 7 people) on the morning of the 17^th.

I shall skip most of the important part here as I have better things to do right now than type (read sleep).

We managed a second position in the prelims which, in itself, is a preposterously huge proposition.

On the day of the finals - The 21^st of September 2006 – at 5:20 P.M we were the only team that did not even have a final CD ready to be played.

We hadn’t bathed and nor had we rehearsed the second round a single time in proper order upto that time - half an hour before the commencement of the finals.

Chaos ensued with people running left and right only to make it just in the nick of time to the O.A.T – The monstrously huge venue for the finals.

I can say this with reasonable confidence that no team, in the first round, came close to matching us that night. No, this is NOT an overstatement.

The second round, I believe, though, clearly belonged to IIT Delhi.

I remember sitting in the crowd during the announcement of the results. The judges declared IIT Delhi to be third which made my imagination run wild – What if … ?

SRCC took home the second prize leaving the first slot open for LSR, JMC and I.E.T Bhaddal.

Most of us were gunning for LSR to steal the thunder.

There was a slight pause before the judges formally announced the winner.
I remember looking up at the dark sky that time.

Something calmed me down.
Something that night made me feel secure.
Something removed all doubt from within me.

As soon as the judge announced the letter I everything went silent. I could see people screaming around me but I heard nothing. Not a word. Nothing. Perfect silence. Just cajoling by people standing near me. I’ve never run like the way I did that night from the stands to the stage. Hell … none of us ran the way we did that night.

As I went on stage there everything came back to me.

The faces of the 5 boys who were eliminated by the same teams two years ago.
The endless hours of practice put in over a period of 3 years, directly or indirectly.

The disappointments.
The triumphs.

The wins.
The losses.

The frustration.
The satisfaction.

The joy.
The pain.

I rarely emote in public but there was a hint of mist in my eyes that night.

Miracles do happen.

No power on Earth can stop a man who sets forth to achieve his dream.

This is just another example.

Thank you everyone who has ever given us the pleasure of dancing with them – boys and girls alike.

Thank you
Abhinav, Maninder, Sobby, Saurabh.

Here’s a song dedicated to all of you :

We are the Champions – Queen

F.L.I.R.T … forever …

Goodnight
A.G