INTER-IIT sports meet - A clash of EGOs??
Coming back to the institute after a break is always a cherishable event, all those memories that flood back into the mind, the lanes remind you of the times spent on those long night-walks, the cafe reminds of the innumerable meetings held with friends, coords, cores and even profs, the hostel reminding the great bond that has already developed with the abiotic environment and the dust-laden books reminding us of our ultimate tool for survival in the institute, the Acads.
Nonetheless, this time was no different. Though it was all the same, the same people around... but yet there was so much that was different about it. I must confess, in retrospect that it was more in the mind than in reality. I had just returned from the INTER-IIT SPORTS MEET at GUWAHATI, my first. Well, i am surely not going to write a thousand lines describing what took place there per se...
Broadly there were two types of battles being fought, firstly the obvious one on the field and secondly, entirely in the minds... that of trying to show the supremacy of one IIT over the other, which i may add was more of a clash of the egos. It is inherent in human nature to be the first among equals.. to be a notch above the rest.
The day we reached Guwahati, we knew Kharagpur was already there. At the mess tables, that stare at them with an inflated ego ( no wonder because Madras has a unblemished legacy at the INTER-IIT MEETs, of which we all were pretty aware of) was just the beginning of the battle for supremacy. Then at the practice, we wud admire the opponents ( very occasionally) but wud never let go off an oppurtunity to find their flaws. Whom were we trying to prove a point... no one but ourselves. Why? I am yet to find an answer for that...
Then came the Bombay contingent on the bus, they wudnt let go off the opportunity to boo us. ( that was more of what is called mob-mentality) The following day was held the Inauguration ceremony and perhaps, that exemplified the battle within. The Madras contingent used to take pride from the fact that their Director always used to deliver the best speech among all the Directors and by far too... But this year was different.. the Directors were not part of the meet, instead it was the Dean of planning from Madras. He just kept up to the reputation, his witty and hilarious speech just set the ball rolling for the Madras contingent and they were on a enthusiastic high after the speech whilst i must add that the speeches by representatives from the other six IITs was lack-lustre and purely uninteresting.
There are numerous other occasions i witnessed the intense sense of belonging to the alma mater. The football match against Roorkee in which Madras was fighting it out against the 11 on the field and the vibes from the crowds... that is when all of the contingent got together to cheer our boys... the match ended a draw. But there was a lot of bitter feelings that crept into the minds of both Roorkee and the Mardas contingents. But then, ultimately those feelings were absorbed by the bylanes of time ( most probably because Roorkee ended with 0 points and we won the General Championship- 68 points)
Fast Forward the time to the last day of the meet.
8.30 am: IIT Bombay 66 points, IIT Madras 58 Points.
Madras play Kanpur in the Cricket finals. A loss to Kanpur would mean 6 points earned while a Win implies a Gold (read 10 points) and more importantly winning the General Championship by a ever-so-slender margin of 2 points.
2.00 pm : IIT Madras pulls off a wonderful victory against Kanpur to get the Cricket Gold and the General Championship.
That sparks off huge celebrations in the Madras contingent. Everyone is overjoyed by the victory ( more so because no one expected the cricket team to win after the performances the previous year). The whole of the Madras contingent then gets together and has march towards the hostel where Bombay was residing.. shouting slogans about the glory of Madras and the ultimate victory that was achieved. Finally, the meet gets over... the Ego inflated much more than ever before, the happiness uncontainable.
It was fun, it was PURE fun. But there is more to it than meets the eye. To think of it as a mere event and a platform to interact wud be suicidal. The Dean had said " The aim of the meet is to make more Friends and learn to live in harmony"
Sir, I beg to differ.
Nonetheless, this time was no different. Though it was all the same, the same people around... but yet there was so much that was different about it. I must confess, in retrospect that it was more in the mind than in reality. I had just returned from the INTER-IIT SPORTS MEET at GUWAHATI, my first. Well, i am surely not going to write a thousand lines describing what took place there per se...
Broadly there were two types of battles being fought, firstly the obvious one on the field and secondly, entirely in the minds... that of trying to show the supremacy of one IIT over the other, which i may add was more of a clash of the egos. It is inherent in human nature to be the first among equals.. to be a notch above the rest.
The day we reached Guwahati, we knew Kharagpur was already there. At the mess tables, that stare at them with an inflated ego ( no wonder because Madras has a unblemished legacy at the INTER-IIT MEETs, of which we all were pretty aware of) was just the beginning of the battle for supremacy. Then at the practice, we wud admire the opponents ( very occasionally) but wud never let go off an oppurtunity to find their flaws. Whom were we trying to prove a point... no one but ourselves. Why? I am yet to find an answer for that...
Then came the Bombay contingent on the bus, they wudnt let go off the opportunity to boo us. ( that was more of what is called mob-mentality) The following day was held the Inauguration ceremony and perhaps, that exemplified the battle within. The Madras contingent used to take pride from the fact that their Director always used to deliver the best speech among all the Directors and by far too... But this year was different.. the Directors were not part of the meet, instead it was the Dean of planning from Madras. He just kept up to the reputation, his witty and hilarious speech just set the ball rolling for the Madras contingent and they were on a enthusiastic high after the speech whilst i must add that the speeches by representatives from the other six IITs was lack-lustre and purely uninteresting.
There are numerous other occasions i witnessed the intense sense of belonging to the alma mater. The football match against Roorkee in which Madras was fighting it out against the 11 on the field and the vibes from the crowds... that is when all of the contingent got together to cheer our boys... the match ended a draw. But there was a lot of bitter feelings that crept into the minds of both Roorkee and the Mardas contingents. But then, ultimately those feelings were absorbed by the bylanes of time ( most probably because Roorkee ended with 0 points and we won the General Championship- 68 points)
Fast Forward the time to the last day of the meet.
8.30 am: IIT Bombay 66 points, IIT Madras 58 Points.
Madras play Kanpur in the Cricket finals. A loss to Kanpur would mean 6 points earned while a Win implies a Gold (read 10 points) and more importantly winning the General Championship by a ever-so-slender margin of 2 points.
2.00 pm : IIT Madras pulls off a wonderful victory against Kanpur to get the Cricket Gold and the General Championship.
That sparks off huge celebrations in the Madras contingent. Everyone is overjoyed by the victory ( more so because no one expected the cricket team to win after the performances the previous year). The whole of the Madras contingent then gets together and has march towards the hostel where Bombay was residing.. shouting slogans about the glory of Madras and the ultimate victory that was achieved. Finally, the meet gets over... the Ego inflated much more than ever before, the happiness uncontainable.
It was fun, it was PURE fun. But there is more to it than meets the eye. To think of it as a mere event and a platform to interact wud be suicidal. The Dean had said " The aim of the meet is to make more Friends and learn to live in harmony"
Sir, I beg to differ.
