Just another train journey… was it? No, far beyond the chuk chuk of the diesel engine we went through many things unexplainable. I was a stranger to three others whom I discovered in a course of 5 days. From getting proposed by a gal after 2 long years to compeering a show; fun, excitement, laughter, tension, emotion, all fell in the right places when it came to the 6 who hit the road on quest to Pune with differing purposes.
Was it the purpose to win something at Zeal ’06 or was it just the excitement to see and feel the pulse of Pune that took us there. The excitement mounted all the more getting to know from Khanna saab that Mumbai was just 2.5hrs from Pune. Dreams of the financial capital and Bandra HQ of ICICI Bank filled my thoughts. Pune the “youth’s wonderland” had already woven a web of thoughts around me. Now I couldn’t wait to reach Pune.
The 3 strangers .. hmmm, high time I talked about them. I had my premonitions on how boring it would be to travel with these people whom I have never seen or been with or talked to before. But I guess I proved myself to be wrong in due time with my doings. The man won hearts at one go on the very first day itself in train. Laughing their way to eternity, grooving to my pulse of talks, walking my walk, everything seemed to go the way I wanted it to be. The bursts of laughter rocked the bogie like it was never gonna end and it made me feel- that’s it baby we are gonna be kicked out if it goes endlessly. Was it just me?… naah! Anurag and myself as I said did make a deadly combo tough to beat.
Shut up, don’t use your brains, 2-minute break, what’s the time? All ring at the back of my mind when I think about Pune. Good food, great youth, green city, all seemed to draw us closer to the place which we in the end, missed to see the core. So what else was there to cherish about Pune? The mega wait at the Mega mall seeing women find their way around the mall trying out all the apparels their eyes fall on, only to buy one jeans. Or was it the 45 minute drive back home in an auto through the cold night. Hmmm, what else? … nothing else seems to click on my mind. Did I miss some action. Oh by the way I was never IN Pune to feel its pulse. I was under strict instructions of our commanding officer Mr. Varun Vashist to participate in maximum number of events in Zeal ’06 and win accolades for IBS,Gurgaon. And where did it all take us to? A return back home empty handed with nothing to boast about… failures one behind the other, an utter waste of time and energy and a sucking stay at one of the worst lodges I have ever been to.
Our arrival made a wave of heated discussion as to the sense of competition each IBS center would have to face. Mumbai colleges who had been there with just 2 to 3 members were not of a worry to us initially. But they were the ones who had really given us the run for our money and the kick on the butt. One combo tough to beat with display of true professionalism. Teams from colleges never heard before, were making hell worth living for us. Wanna beat a competition then beat them was what was going through my mind. The gripping feeling to beat and be the best was always within. But loss after loss made me sink in and ultimately give up. We came in as the best but ultimately fell out to be nothing better than meager underdogs.
Regrets? No, cos with every failure we exclaimed- Failure is the stepping stone to success. With every failure we made sure our names stayed. Remembered by all, challenged by all, giving the best the run for their money when they sat back and relaxed saying nothing would match up to us. We were right there. Right at the epitome of success everytime our name was announced for every event. But something was not favoring us all through. God knows what. Even when none from our own team was there to clap our efforts to fame our work gained recognition and won hearts. Comments and appreciation for the innovativeness and professionalism put in by us in our work were a heart-warmer pushing us to the limits to face everything even when we were bogged down with failures. We had come a long way when it came to being there for everything yet not winning anything. Gaining temperament, keeping cool, and taking the bumpy ride with balance through 5 solid events single handedly. In the end … it doesn’t even matter! You win some, you lose some. We may be defeated but not destroyed! That’s what life is all about!
