The night obviously was alive with the sound of laughter and catcalls, owing to the 'interactive' session we had with the Class of 2007. Oddly enough, all those little things our seniors had asked us to do the previous year, and that had seemed stupid or crazy to us then, were being done by the junior batch. There were several out-of-tune songs, some great item numbers with accompanying pole dances, hilarious skits (including the inimitable Faraz with his imitation of you-know-who and those on the oft-repeated Draupadi Vastra Haran), numerous brave attempts at chaste Hindi (especially by those from down south - that essay recital on 'My Pet Cat'), appreciating the diverse (???) talents of the illustrious Team Asambhav headed by the multi-faceted Shalabh, acknowledging the fact that Ashutosh (King of IMI, huh?) and Rishin (D****) rule the roost, and basically familiarising ourselves with the 130-odd men and women who shall carry the legacy of IMI forward.
While we are on this, let me put it this way - Ashutosh is definitely the undisputed king of IMI (for the first-years, obviously - we know him too well). Moreover, he has a cabinet of the legendary 'Navratnas' ready, the most illustrious of them being Rishin, Mickey, Rohit, Aseem, Pratik, Puneet and others. Amongst the women, Anu (Anu dada?) and Aparna top the list.
Oh yeah, what I have done had initially started out as ragging. Remember me wanting you to ask Anshuman Sir for a dance at Freshers' Nite, Monash? Sweta, did you manage to find out what Vikash Sir's passion in life is, apart from cars and comps? Remember "Go find who the 'soul of IMI' is", Ishan? Or the number of people who have slept in the ITM class, Gaurav? How old is Abid Sir, Anupam? But it soon progressed to being mere interactions, or 'gyaan-baanto' as they call it here. It has been great talking to the first-years and knowing them and their aspirations. It has had the additional advantage of me having spotted a wide diversity of talents around. These would most certainly be put to appropriate use in due course of time, once the Club and Committee activities start in full swing.
The first day, though uneventful apart from the nightly session, is memorable for me. Particularly because it made me realise, once again, the importance of being a senior and the responsibilities that come with it. And after the ragging session, one startling realisation has hit me - its essential purpose is to let all secrets of our batch out to the juniors.
