A tale of dedication and determination

We got a chance to talk ask one of the past history makers of CAT, Shiladitya Singh, who has been a dedicated member of this for the span of 2008 to 2012. A former member of the ISE branch, he has seen, volunteered, organized and enjoyed almost half a dozen fests, some more intense than the others.
Shiladitya got his first taste of CAT as a volunteer during Parichay ’08, where he was a part of the decoration committee. In his own words, “We bagged the Spirit of Parichay award that year. I feel that was the real motivation that made me realize my inclination towards CAT.”  He later ended up being a coordinator for events in Parichay and Pantheon ’09.
His team’s and his real test was in 2010, when they had only 4 days to organize Parichay. They worked hard those 4 days, grinding from 8 am to 10 pm, and ended up staying up till 4 am the day before the fest with his fellow hostelers to get the whole stage ready for the event the next day. They gained the well-deserved appreciation of the authorities for the obvious success of the event. It was also year when our college had won the VTU fest quiz, the first ever event won by us there. Sadly, that was also the year they lost one of their esteemed CAT members, Jiten Haran. “He was an awesome person who was always cheerful. We definitely miss him.”
Following yet another success of the 2011 edition of Parichay with the help of many other great minds of CAT, they reformed the structure of CAT to what we know it as today and forged on to make Pantheon ’12 a success. With sponsorships from Tzinga, Canara Bank, Andhra Spice, KFC to name some, and the support of the Alumni, they made the event a huge success, with record number of participations and mind-blowing performances by the band AGAM. He was also the pacifier during a major clash between the Aikya and Pantheon organizing committees.
“Like every coin, even with CAT comes a lot of good and bad things.” He describes all the goodness of CAT, including how the staff and students of the whole college get to know you. But he also talks about the criticism you face from one’s own department teachers for missing classes and fellow students (it was a big issue then), with few of his juniors wanting to leave CAT. He said only one thing: let success make the noise.
“My stay in CAT was splendid and I gained a lot of knowledge and experience there. Dealing with strict deadlines and providing optimal solutions enhanced my decision making skills. It made me more confident and prepared me to face the challenges in the hard core competitive business world.” 
His efforts and success speak for themselves. Post that success, he has formed a great bond with his fellow CAT members. And we shall continue his legacy.

Filmistan, as we know it

Ever wondered why you get all teary eyed when SRK reads his "kaidi number 786" poem in Veer Zaara, and you get into fits of laughter on just seeing Rajpal Yadav on screen? Why Irfan Khan's powerful stare is enough to give us goosebumps or why Salman's on screen presence is enough to propel his movie as a blockbuster?

Inside all of us lives a being that craves for a life larger than we live. They craves for a home like an extravagant set, a Switzerland-ish climate to breathe in and sometimes, a Madhuri Dixit-esque charm to mesmerize them. At one point of time or another, all of us have been directors , writing and imagining our own masterpieces. This is what the motion picture industry has done to us. They've slowly crept into our lives as we got older and suddenly blew it apart in a very beautiful manner.

The theme of this Parichay is Filmistan, an ode to this very industry, its contribution to our lives, to cinema and to India. Filmistan is a celebration of all the drama in our lives, made alive by the numerous movies we witness. We have seen an array of greats come by, enthrall us with their on-screen presence and leave us speechless in our seats. This Parichay is a tribute to all the actors and actresses who have graced the big screen and provided us a beautiful display of drama, comedy, romance and action.

This Parichay, prove that your branch is more filmi than the other, has a little more larger than life presence than the other, has the x factor that will boost you to the top. Fight it out in this movie-land for supremacy in every field, be it cultural, literary or technical.

So when somebody asks you, "Tumhare paas kya hai?" in any context and your automatic answer is Maa and if the tune of "Hum aaye hai UP Bihar lootne" is still etched oh-so-clearly in your mind, then this is the place for you. Filmistan goes live on the evening of 24th of April. Make sure you got your tickets and popcorn ready, because this is going to be a hell of a ride!
Milte hai uss shaam ko fir?

Man of the masses

Brijesh Reddy

The journey began when I was in my 1st sem ! October 2009. I’m one of those few who has been associated with the Cultural Team throughout Engineering life.

It was my 1st Parichay and we had our seniors coming to our class to discuss events. I was just listening. I had always been more of an introvert throughout School and PUC , and now I decided to come out of my shell.

Next day ,  I took a paper,scale,pen,events sheet and went around asking people in my deptartment to sign up for a few events. I neatly wrote down their names and submitted it to the Cultural committee. Only to realise later , that I was the only one to have done a good job at it and everyone took notice.

In the following days , we in our dept. (EEE)  formed a dance team and we actually performed onstage ( Much to our surprise , considering how awesome our steps were :P ) The adrenaline rush on the stage was too good to be forgotten. I still remember , how we forgot the steps and randomly started doing tapanguchi  for a Michael Jackson song. The crowd was like ‘ WTF ‘. HAHAHA. What an experience it was !

My first Pantheon happened in the 2nd sem ( March ,2010 ). I had been to New Horizon college along with Shashank ,Deepthi , Anusha and Gautham  ( who were in 4th sem ) to campaign and oh boy, we did a great job! The bonds that were created that day are still going strong. Two days before pantheon I stayed back In college to help out a little, not realising I just begun my journey as a member of CAT! My seniors Bopanna , Milind , Chandan , Surabhi , Malavika , Aneesh , Sushanth , Anand , Ajay , Veena and many more were just amazing!

We did a CAT dance after Pantheon to some really old Hindi songs. It was fun. After the fest we went to Guhantara and it was then I realised that I had become a member of CAT.

The following year , 3rd and 4th sems were the best in my Engineering life. Why ? Because I made so many friends in college , almost all my good friends were pre-final or final year students. Who went on to be my mentors and great friends! All thanks to Pantheon!

My next Pantheon was in 2012 and with it came huge responsibility! I was in the core committee and I was given the responsibility to handle all the volunteers. Ok , what you need to understand here is , this is the first time we had someone solely responsible for volunteers. I had two subordinates to work with on this, Harish and Shubham. Together , we defined a structure to assign and handle all the volunteers.There were more than a 100 people who had signed up to volunteer. We had to assign volunteers for each event , provide volunteers to any emergency situation if arisen ( Juke box, crowd control , adjusting banners , checking on guests , follow up on results , food coupons , co-ordinating with event co-ordinators and the reasons went on … ). Literally ,  the entire ground control was ours! This was an experience of a life time! I understood so much about people , I interacted with so many juniors . Handling so many people , organizing it , working together ... Pantheon literally taught me the most essential life skills ! There were appreciations from all corners. Well ,  Pantheon 2012 was a huge HIT !!

The above work gave me enough confidence to initiate my own branch fest and also when I took over as the Vice President of the Mountaineering Club , I could spearhead a new event called the RNS ROAD RUN. It happened to be one of the highlights of the year , because of nearly 230+ people participating in the presence of our Chairman Dr. RN Shetty. All thanks to what I learnt while being a part of the Cultural team!!

I literally went through every possible emotion during my 4 year long association with the cultural team. Inspiration , Love , Hate , friendship , Jealousy , Care! Almost everyone I’m in touch with right now is because of CAT. Many juniors sent me personal messages on fb/watsapp appreciating and thanking me for a lot of reasons. That feeling can be understood only when experienced!

All this is made me think as to what I want in Life. I understood my strengths and weaknesses. I had the confidence to give up my  placement offer with a Tier-1 software MNC. I joined an International Sales company and now I’m in a Top  startup doing exactly what I want to do!!! The cultural team has always meant a lot to me and it always will !!

I call upon all juniors to come in large numbers and participate , support your branch and in turn your college. Organising a fest is not as simple as it looks , so please forgive the errors if at all you find any. I wish the Secretaries and their team all the very best for the upcoming Parichay!!

WE WILL BE THERE TO WITNESS ANOTHER SPECTACLE !!

Parichay '15

The Journey to the Stage

Divas Mishra

A series of events happening over four years ought to tell you everything you want to know about yourself, and should bring you closer to what you really are. And the Cultural Activity Team did just that for me. It showed what I was good at, and brought forward a part of me that I did not know existed. So I believe re-accounting my journey chronologically would do it justice.

When I joined the college in 2010, and stayed back only for an hour after regular college time for Parichay (early curfew at home), the one part I noticed was the dedication of the Cultural Activity Team, and in particular the secretaries. And that stuck with me a long way.

I’ve seen it all here: tears of sorrow, tears of disappointment, and tears of joy. Back in 2012, a few  2^nd years (Myself, Balajee, Harisha, Nirupama, Prerana, and a few others) were given the huge responsibility of driving all the back-end work related to Pantheon 2012, a fest which was till then known to be the best opportunity for students to take a long weekend off, and run home. And in 2012, we changed that. We were a brilliant team that year, led by ruthless and dedicated secretaries, and newcomers like us, keen to leave a lasting impression.

Parichay 2013 was a different story entirely, with us organising a fest while there were abuses being hurled at us from every direction (the CAT trolls episode). People in the team were reduced to tears, their self-confidence shattered because of the blatant disregard for the work they were doing. And in spite of all that and more, we pulled off the classiest Parichay ever conducted, and managed to shut everyone up.

And then came the mammoth task of rising above and beyond the expectations of Pantheon 2012. Pantheon 2014 was an idea, a chance of showing the city that ours’ was a fest worth reckoning. As secretary, I had the added responsibility of answering to the management, faculty, sponsors, and most importantly my team: 40 of the most talented, hard-working and passionate people I have ever come across. We had our differences, our struggles, our share of pain. The end result: We organised an event with arguably THE BEST publicity campaign the city had ever seen. A campaign which made every single student stay put and watch what we had to show. A campaign that caught the attention of the people who had never heard of a fest called Pantheon. The fest was a thumping success, and it was more than I could have asked for, in terms of a fitting farewell from college.

In conclusion, there is one thing I want everyone to understand about the Cultural Activity Team: It is not easy.

We face criticism from the teachers for being an obstacle in the way of academics. We face criticism from the students for not helping them bunk in the name of “CAT kelsa”. We face criticism from the management for spending too much money. We are abused by some clueless and unfortunate people for keeping all that money to ourselves.

In 2012, the CAT room had chairs, a table, and an air conditioner. In 2013, it had chairs and a makeshift table tennis table, forget the AC. In 2014, it had no chairs, just a table tennis table, and no electricity at all.

During fest season, we have to forgo food, recreation, academics, and social life: only to put up a good show. We have to take up several roles: that of an entrepreneur, a manager, a designer, a creative head, a peon, a janitor- it’s all here.

So why do we do this?

The answer to that lies in my title. When you’re on stage, and you see a mob of almost a 1000 students, swaying to the music, making noise at par with a fighter jet in flight, and dancing without a care in the world, you realise that it was all worth it. When you scream in the microphone and call out “WHAT’S UP RNSIT!’, and get back a roar of approval from a thousand-headed beast in return, you know that you’ve done something right. It’s a heady mix of ecstasy, joy, pain, relief, and exhaustion, and it is what the Cultural Activity Team lives for.

For the CAT always,

Divas Mishra.

Kaam Chalu, Mooh Bandh

Harish Shivashankar

Helllooo aaannnddd here is my catkelsa tale.

I worked as a volunteer during Parichay 2012 just by sending messages and updates regarding the event via way2sms to everyone in my department, so as to keep up the spirit and guess what? We got the award “SPIRIT OF PARICHAY” for our department. Later my friend and my senior recognized my talent and introduced me to the CAT, I still thank them for doing that. Later came Pantheon 2012, and I started to go out & sell tickets for the events with a team of mine. Though the team used to change every day, I didn't give up and did my best in selling those tickets and made a bench mark. In the back of my head, I still had an ego saying "Why should I do this in the hot sun?" But this got me to realize my talent in marketing. Later in Pantheon 2012, I even got a chance to head the volunteers team which was a very difficult task for me as I had to handle 100 – 150 people which I thought I am not good at, but did realize that I can do this & again guess what? I was honoured with the award “BEST CAT MEMBER” in front of all the dignitaries.

Later I got into the Core-committee of the CAT, courtesy of all that I did previously and gave my best there, this time for Logistics which was a very huge and important part of bringing up the fest. I was a part of the same team for Dandiya 2013 and Parichay 2013. Another herculean task which I got while I was in my final year, was to be a part of Pantheon 2014. There were no seniors this time around and my CAT team, with the Secretaries, had to lead. Until now, we were just happily working under people, but for this mega event we were burning our ass, forgetting our family, day, time, food & mainly classes. The goosebumps we got once the event started made us forget all the pain & sacrifice, and it turned out to be a proud moment for us.

All the hard work that I had put in did not go to waste and I now work in the field of event management. All the experience which I have got, is making my work so easy. So no regrets! I can never ever forget the journey which I had in the Cultural Activity Team, and am very proud of all the life turning moments I went through.

I whole heartedly thank all my friends and seniors for being so supportive and especially I thank my lecturers for being a backbone. They have never questioned me for anything, they knew that I am good at this and kept supporting for whatever I did, and I wholeheartedly thank them again for their support.

And yes, I am eagerly waiting to meet and interact with the new buddies of mine who are going to be the future of my team and will always be there, supporting you guys for whatever you need. Have fuuuuunnnn in planning and you people have to be proud of yourselves that you are among 100s of people who are coming forward to take up the initiative for conducting an annual event for your college. Have this in mind and make your seniors proud by making Parichay 2015 a grand success.

All the best team! :D

A Secretary's tale

Nirupama Shivananjappa

I can still vividly recall the first time I volunteered for an event, five years back. The job entailed serving  refreshments to the judges and making sure all the participants for various events were present at the allocated venues. I was excited to wear a badge that read "Volunteer" but at the same time a little sad that I had to serve water and juice. It was less than a menial job, I thought. In the following year too I kept my ego aside and decided to volunteer again and work for CAT. I did enjoy it but still was dissatisfied with my job. I started to realize that being part of CAT wasn't as rosy as I had thought it would be. I had an epiphany! I realized that people who are part of CAT don't get to watch or participate in the events, they don't get to have fun or enjoy the shows, they don't get to have meals on time, they are the people back stage making things happen, so that the audience have the time of their lives. They go above and beyond to throw a kickass show. I distinctly remember when I was the Jt. Cultural Secretary, my then Cultural Secretaries were sweeping the CAT room with brooms after the fest was over. We, the Cultural Activity Team, do everything from picking up litter, serving refreshments, sweeping rooms to organizing a huge fest, getting sponsorship by running around the entire city, creating websites and apps and implementing innovative ideas every single time! We don't just talk, we walk the talk. We are a Team, a family, having a common goal. All of them who were part of CAT 2013-2014, thank you! All of you contributed in your own way and I can't wait to meet the new team. I also owe a heartfelt thank you to all my seniors who have taught me what humility, perseverance and hard work is really all about.

You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. I am truly honored to have been part of such an amazing Team. It's hard to sum up the last four years in CAT but it was an education. A very important one at that. 

Aaaaand it starts!!

Aaah! It's that time of the year again. Submission of resumes, people in formals pacing up and down in front of the board room waiting for their turn to get grilled by a every HOD inside! While the rest of the college is waiting to find out who their next cultural secretaries are ... It has started. This is a harbinger of something everyone has waited for with bated breath ! PARICHAY is back....

What is Parichay you ask? It is a celebration of the spirit that has been confined by the four walls of a classroom. It is a festival of pure unadulterated enthusiasm, joy and obviously the love one has for their department. This is seen in a series of events all through the day. In blunt words, it is a war between the branches with the victors getting the bragging rights. This inter-department techno-cultural extravaganza has a perfect recipe for a larger than life Indian movie It has loads of entertainment, high dosages of drama, the intense thrill, the joy of winning, the satisfaction of participation, the horror of losing... All culminating into this epic movie called Parichay 2015.

Come the day, the entire college will be seen decked up like a movie shoot location. The CAT members, branch coordinators and the event coordinators directing this movie to put up a beautiful, entertaining show for you! What is so special about this edition of Parichay? Well, its prequel was last released two years back! So, this has got a higher excitement level than a Nolan movie!

So, how does it work? The CAT scripts the entire show... decides the actors, locations, props etc. ( Read as the events, schedule, rules etc) The event coordinators and the volunteers ensure the smooth running of events. Each branch will have branch coordinators. They act as the ambassadors of their branches, more like commanders leading a war ! All the events have points ! Both for participation and winning. The events with a lone soldier and a battalion are allotted points accordingly ! In the end, the branch with the maximum points on board wins the shiny trophy. The branch that shows the highest spirit and participates the highest is given a  crown which has "Spirit of Parichay" written all over it. The individual who wins the maximum number of events is awarded with the "Talent of Parichay". That's basically it about the technicalities of the fest.

Parichay is not just about the events and points... It is about juniors- seniors bonding together. Meeting and battling your counterparts from other departments. It is the sheer atmosphere of this fest that makes is so captivating. It is where bonds are forged, shackles are broken, spirit goes wild, noise turns into music !! This is what makes every Parichay so far, a blockbuster.

So, brace yourselves... Time to face the camera and walk on the red carpet!
PARICHAY 2015... COMING SOON