Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Parampara

How times change and how roles reverse. This time, we were on the other side of the stage – we were the seniors and they were the juniors. Parampara 2008 was celebrated on 21st of July, in the same spirit as of yesteryears…

The thing that shocked me last year about Parampara was its ruthlessness. Performances / items get interrupted at the fall of a voice, seniors come on stage and hang the dancer if one move goes mediocre, audience hoots your head off if one line of the song gets linear… this is so ruthless but so our beloved Parampara…

Parampara is not about your stage and arts skills – and in real world, we hardly get a chance to ‘play’ the manager. You never get a second chance to see to a customer if you make one silly mistake. You never get a chance to renegotiate if you make one initial offer that the other side is ready to refuse. You don’t get to speak out your CV achievements when you are on the field. All that matters is – your guts and how headstrong you are – this is Parampara. The most brutal judgement! Just like the market! Anyone can perform when conditions are right – can you when the audience is NM seniors? The ultimate nirvana of a stage performer is here…

Remember – a customer can shoot you off, by signing on a competitor. And hence, seniors can hoot you down, by calling off the curtains.

This year too, there were some brilliant performances from the juniors. Sometimes, we the second year guys didn’t boost the morale by clapping, but it was not because we were nasty. There were guys, who, despite all the hooting, performed very well – that dancer and that singer with his band. I clapped for them with my hands raised – and believe me – those were the guys who will count – and will not need a change management class.

Parampara was the weirdest thing I saw when I was in first year and I cursed it. Now that I know the truth and am able to see the silver lining, I am loving it! Thank God, my one year of MBA eduction didn’t get waste! :)

Long live the Parampara!