"Relinquish" is a fancy word for "Lose"
Fall 2004. Average results at the recently concluded Inter-University Youth Festival had left the professors disappointed and us, the music club’s senior members, frustrated. That the drama students had fared better didn’t make things any better. Suddenly, the name of the club, “Harmony”, seemed very inappropriate. It was around this time that our professor in-charge came up with a brilliant idea.
Perhaps, the best way to boost our reputation would be to host an entire musical event in the college itself. Not only would it mean some much needed publicity for the music club, but with the home support, it would enhance our chances of success. It sounded like a good plan. On paper, it was. We got to work.
We spent the next couple of weeks notifying the rest of our members, organizing meetings, collecting suggestions, finalizing dates, and trying our level best not to panic. Our professor wasn’t very keen on letting non-members in, and she didn’t trust the juniors enough to give them any ‘real’ work. So it came down to three of us- me, Chintan and KD. Post-Graduate students would’ve struggled with the work load that was thrust upon us! Wait a minute; weren’t we supposed to be the musicians, the performers, the competitors? Oh well, what the hell…this was going to be fun! Or so we thought.
We met with a professional event manager to get a glimpse of the reality that was ahead of us. And we were not amused by the revelations. The next day, our Principal called us to his office to talk about the proposed event. He told us that the college’s reputation was at stake, and that he expected only the best out of us. Suddenly, we were under pressure. We told our professor in-charge that we needed reinforcements. This time she agreed. Help came in the form of classmates and people whom we knew could work. And organize. And manage. And not panic. Because that was something we were increasingly getting good at.
The new guys were smart and a bit more experienced at managing events. Soon they were handling about fifty-percent of the work. I had heard somewhere that “‘Relinquish’ is just a fancy word for ‘lose’…” We found the quote to be very true. With each passing day, we grew weaker and they grew stronger. They called themselves the EMC. The Event Management Committee.
Very soon they were dictating terms, and even though we were frustrated and often irritated, we knew they had earned every right to do so. They had contacts and were consistently hauling in sponsors, which of course translated into funds. We were now reduced to the role of mere spectators. To top it all, the EMC consisted mostly of close friends, which made matters complicated and intensified simple arguments and disputes. The EMC was now at the peak of its activities. We, at “Harmony”, were left reflecting on how we had relinquished control of our precious event. Or maybe, we had lost it.
We soon realized that we were not built for this stuff. Organizing and managing was not in our blood. We were desperate to salvage whatever little pride there was left. A month before the actual event we ‘officially’ quit, resigned to the fact that this was a lost cause. Surprisingly, none of the EMC members made fun of us. They told us we needed to practice well now. They were the home support. I knew we had made the right decision.
The date of the finals was December 17, 2004. We played well. Afterwards, I thanked the EMC on behalf of the band. The professors didn’t like the gesture. For some reason we were not supposed to acknowledge the organizers’ efforts. I didn’t care. It was worth it to see the small crowd of EMC faces cheering and waving wildly back at us. We won the “Best Band” award. I smiled and thought, “Well, they did their job. We did ours!”
P.S. This assignment was on writing about a job experience....Yeah, right!!!
Perhaps, the best way to boost our reputation would be to host an entire musical event in the college itself. Not only would it mean some much needed publicity for the music club, but with the home support, it would enhance our chances of success. It sounded like a good plan. On paper, it was. We got to work.
We spent the next couple of weeks notifying the rest of our members, organizing meetings, collecting suggestions, finalizing dates, and trying our level best not to panic. Our professor wasn’t very keen on letting non-members in, and she didn’t trust the juniors enough to give them any ‘real’ work. So it came down to three of us- me, Chintan and KD. Post-Graduate students would’ve struggled with the work load that was thrust upon us! Wait a minute; weren’t we supposed to be the musicians, the performers, the competitors? Oh well, what the hell…this was going to be fun! Or so we thought.
We met with a professional event manager to get a glimpse of the reality that was ahead of us. And we were not amused by the revelations. The next day, our Principal called us to his office to talk about the proposed event. He told us that the college’s reputation was at stake, and that he expected only the best out of us. Suddenly, we were under pressure. We told our professor in-charge that we needed reinforcements. This time she agreed. Help came in the form of classmates and people whom we knew could work. And organize. And manage. And not panic. Because that was something we were increasingly getting good at.
The new guys were smart and a bit more experienced at managing events. Soon they were handling about fifty-percent of the work. I had heard somewhere that “‘Relinquish’ is just a fancy word for ‘lose’…” We found the quote to be very true. With each passing day, we grew weaker and they grew stronger. They called themselves the EMC. The Event Management Committee.
Very soon they were dictating terms, and even though we were frustrated and often irritated, we knew they had earned every right to do so. They had contacts and were consistently hauling in sponsors, which of course translated into funds. We were now reduced to the role of mere spectators. To top it all, the EMC consisted mostly of close friends, which made matters complicated and intensified simple arguments and disputes. The EMC was now at the peak of its activities. We, at “Harmony”, were left reflecting on how we had relinquished control of our precious event. Or maybe, we had lost it.
We soon realized that we were not built for this stuff. Organizing and managing was not in our blood. We were desperate to salvage whatever little pride there was left. A month before the actual event we ‘officially’ quit, resigned to the fact that this was a lost cause. Surprisingly, none of the EMC members made fun of us. They told us we needed to practice well now. They were the home support. I knew we had made the right decision.
The date of the finals was December 17, 2004. We played well. Afterwards, I thanked the EMC on behalf of the band. The professors didn’t like the gesture. For some reason we were not supposed to acknowledge the organizers’ efforts. I didn’t care. It was worth it to see the small crowd of EMC faces cheering and waving wildly back at us. We won the “Best Band” award. I smiled and thought, “Well, they did their job. We did ours!”
P.S. This assignment was on writing about a job experience....Yeah, right!!!
posted by Dibesh Saha at 12:07 AM
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