Rains....... and a bane to illu !!

Rain rain go away come again another day, not just any other day, but November the 1st. And I guess you know why I want that to happen. I wont get any sadistic pleasure from that, but real pleasure. Its been raining like hell here in this part of East India since last few days, I suppose three days. It has rained something like 200 mm of rainfall (I dont know how it is measured, but those are the statistics) in the last three days here in the campus. And its all wet and lush green at the moment. The weather is cool and cold in the night. Clothes ain't drying here !!!!

That explains why most of the people are not taking a bath everyday, but its bad, cos they should. But thats how hostel life is. Cant just take a bath everyday. Hey but EXCUSE ME, thats not ME, I do bathe everyday!!!!

The big question now.. Why do I want it to rain on November 1... thats the day of Diwali, the most celebrated Hindu festival. This is the time people wait for the whole year. It is a time of lights and illumination, of colours, and unfortunately sounds. Well leave alone colours and sounds, but certainly I have to talk about lights and illumination.

Diwali means lighting up the place with "diyas" or small lamps made of earth, and nowadays even electric lights. It means you make the whole place beautiful and bright.

But here in my campus at the IIT Kharagpur, things are pretty different and I was almost shocked to see utter darkness, scramble and rush everywhere around. The so-called Illumintaion competition was being held here! That is an inter-hostel competition, where each hostel lights up its outside area by putting those diyas on grids of bamboo and thus forming a figure with the flames or those diyas. THIS LASTS FOR 10 MINUTES per hostel!!! And while the judges are doing rounds in one hostel, the entire area of the campus which has hostels is darkened, NO LIGHTS ANY WHERE AROUND!! Well this is said to be done in phase, but it was still very very dark around. People moving around in large groups, with families, the profs, the campus people, all those who work or stay in the campus, all woth their families hunt around and go around the hostels to see this things which I found too stupid. There is simply no place in any of the campus restaurents (I should not call them restaurents at all, prehaps "dhaabaas") and I just dont know how ppl manage to flock there. Last year I had to sleep all empty stomach :(. But anyways, talking about the competition, we students are forced to work overnight for around a month in order to prepare those grids adn make the loops for the diyaas and stuff like that. Its a matter of pride for the hostels if they win it.

But it really doesnt make sense to me to have this competition called Illumination on Diwali, when actaully there is so much darkness around. The format of the competition is wrong, they should make it more innovative. Like they can start off by using electric lights, it makes no sense to light up only bamboo grids and portray a figure on them. We can decorate the whoel hostel, not just the frontal garden area!! And we can have it illuminated for the whole evening, the campus itslef can be illuminated, the main institute building can be illuminated with lights!! Ther are so many ways, and then there just need not be any competition. It can be all a celebration of Diwali. Most people dont like working for this competition, basically cos they have to work overnight, and then sleep in the day, bunk calsses and ditch studies. Doesnt really help.

So I wish earnestly that it rains throught on that day and that people here realsie that its not that worth spending so much time on a stupid competition like this which actually darkens up the whole area!! Anyways, I think I have spoken a lot on this critical issue now. Should keep my mouth shut and watch the fun as we move closer towards the day of the competition.

All the best to all those enthusiasts who slog out themselves throughout the nights!!!!