ISA SHOW SUMMARY

By Rohit (May 10th, 2004)

We were all doing so much work that I was sure something was going to go wrong. This wasn't a feeling of nervousness though. I was never nervous before the show except while we were doing our last dance practices (and people were still making mistakes). There was just a raw anticipation in the back of my mind. We had come up with so much shit just the day before and without having a chance to practice on stage (it wasn't available). In any case, it was after school and we began grouping people and sending them to their respective dance practices. This show was basically comprised of 4 dances, 4 videos, and a few speeches. Also, we had come up with a introductory skit where Anubhav and I rap and there was a video. People that came enjoyed it (although the video did malfunction, and it was REALLY funny).

So we had two hours before the show when we all congregated in the small cafeteria and started practicing the dances. The dances were the only things that were going to spice things up. Things that Arpan - who I do not respect as any kind of leader (read this article to hear me belittle his ass- did were very boring. Anyway, that's besides the point because Anubhav and I were the leaders now. We had the reigns of a wild horse and if we made any mistakes, we'd all be screwed. An hour before the show, our parents began to arrive with the free food that that anus hole (Arpan) wanted to serve to the 500 people projected to come (actually about 200 came). We had earlier asked if we could charge for the food so that our parents wouldn't have to cook for so many people, but this idea didn't appeal to Arpan (as he was only interested in how many people he was going to influence).

30 minutes to the show. People I had never seen before had begun to pile up near the small cafeteria. The time ticked slowly...and very soon, with few hindrances (and a little introductory speech by Arpan) the video began to roll. Too bad, half the video was blank and it only started at the part where I'm questioning like a fob why I only got a 98% and not 100% on some biology test. Well, then it was a rap with Anubhav and I where in the middle of the rap, we actually jumped on stage and started to do the rap. The mini-skits after that was a disaster because the music didn't match with what people were doing and it was just horrid. I was glad when we finally got off the stage.

Then it was time for the Pagdi Sambhal dance. Adnaan, Sabah, Derrick, and Muneek did a nice job. Time was going by so fast that I was functioning automatically. My brain had complete control and it seemed like involuntary actions. The videos, I thought, were amazing. With great music from The Last Samurai, there was a classic history video and a ferocious cricket video. The following speeches slowed the rate at which we were progressing, but they were very well prepared. Good job Kirthi, Akif, Hamza, and Sujay. Then it was time for the two main dances of the show, a dance to the Hindi movie song Rind Posh Maal and another one called Bhol Bhaje. They were almost flawless, very smooth. People loved it, and I got plenty of compliments later at the gathering. It was my main concern, but we had pulled it off. The last dance to Vande Mataram, sealed a chapter in all of our lives...or so I thought.

What ensued almost gave me a heart attack. When Arpan went up on that stage, he would not get down till 20 minutes after which he had attempted to brainwash people with messages of how this show was meant to be not only fun but it had 'greater' meaning and all that bullshit. Frankly, it had more meaning this way than if we had done it like he wanted us to. Well, Arpan's speech was an extremely anti-climatic. I wanted to end the show with a big bang (like we had originally intended to), but his speech refused to end (well it wasn't a speech, it was rambling).

In any case, we enjoyed a time of chatting and eating in the small cafeteria after the show. I thank the parents who put in time and effort in making the food. Arpan should be made to make all the food and serve it to people if he plans another show. At the time, I was tired enough not to think of such things and so we all went to the after party (where I came with the cake). We danced and talked and played pool and it was a successful end to our day (well, almost successful, besides some bugs in our way).

Click here to see pictures of the ISA Night show.