“When the moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas”

December is Alcher’s prelude in more ways than one. It is our Oracle. If there is one month that is more important to Alcher than any other, with the exception of February itself, it is December. When the entire student community are consumed by their winter breaks back home, and the spectral silence of winter is only broken by the occasional sound of the distant trains that skirt the campus on their way in or out of the North East, Alcher’s mould is given its incisive crowning touches. Hundreds of IITGians, who by this time are in all parts of the country and abroad, work days and nights to fix the big jigsaw that Alcher has come to be. I am one of those hundreds. Greetings!

As you might know already, this blog in intended to be our medium to talk to you, way before you actually come to our festival. Every once in a while, one of us will share our hearts, and minds with all of you out there. Feel free to reciprocate as and when you wish. This is as much your festival as it is ours. Work is going well around here. People don’t seem to care about sleep anymore. But let’s not talk about that. I’ll share this little surreal experience (you will have many around here if you stay long enough) I had when I was coming back from the city the other day. But for that, I’ll first have to tell you a little about how Guwahati is laid out.

The city of Guwahati and the IIT campus are on the opposite sides of the mighty Brahmputra. The Saraighat Bridge is the only way across by road in a hundred kilometre radius. But it takes you nigh on an hour to make the journey by road from campus to, let’s call them, the more important parts of the city. Luckily, there is a faster and more exotic option available. ‘The Ferry’, as they call it here. They have these ghats along the banks from where modified skiffs ferry people, and even their two wheelers, right across the river. The journey which took you an hour by road takes you less than half that time, plus you avoid being annoyed by the traffic that you would encounter by road.

The Ferry System here, and the people that operate them are a wonder in themselves. The Brahmputra is a restless river around here, yet these ferries manoeuvre the voluminous waters with impressive guile. There craft is most admirable when you see them operate in the dark, with nothing but the distant lights from the city and the occasional moon to guide them. It was one such ride in the dark that left me speechless. We were in the middle of the river on our way across and I was overwhelmed with awe at what I saw.

The moon was shining in all its glory towards the East bathing the Saraighat Bridge in its eerie light. The wind had picked up and towards the west I could see clouds approaching, with frequent lightening. The Kamakhya hill, specked with tiny dots of lights looked more divine than ever. The skiff’s constant drone was the only sound against the wind’s dulcet whistle. You could sit there forever in one with the heavens, nature and God. It was surreal, so much so that words fail me.

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature."
-Anne Frank

Dry withered leaves stir up memories....

Ram Sharma, a commerce student at Piprahiya Public College, Peero was kind enough to share the experiences he had with us at Alcheringa. Before we say anything, it would only be fit if you read what those who have seen us have had to say. The below is entirely Ram Sharma’s work and though his views might be slightly embellished, we reproduce it here as he wrote it. Feel free to send us your opinions, however critical they might be. Cheers!
It was in the Fall of 2010 that the entire story began. Our Art teacher, Sanjay Sir, had summoned us to his home for evening tea. We were to meet some other College kid who studied in the Far East and had come to tell us about their College cultural festival. At college, gossips had been doing the rounds about how this festival was really taking youth and celebration by the scruff of the necks and leaving them enchanted, and how this was the next big thing on the Indian College scene. Someone had told me the other day that it was an IIT, one of those premium engineering institutes that had recently become the source of our neighbour Mr Patel’s income who had opened ‘JEE-For-Sure Coaching Classes’. That evening, for lack of anything better to do, I went and met that guy from IIT Guwahati.
He was enthusiastic, and yet precise. And convincing. He gave us ten reasons as to why we should come and be part of their festival. And some 4 months later, on a pleasant Spring morning, we boarded our train to Alcheringa (that is what they call the cultural festival at IIT Guwahati). It took me 3 complete naps of sleep, or some 20 hours in the outside world, to complete that first journey to the North East of India. Now that I look back at that serendipitous sleep on the train, I feel grateful, for the next time that I really slept properly was only on the journey back!
The North East, often misconstrued as notorious and unsafe, is one of the most beautiful places I ever had a chance to visit. Right from the moment you land amidst the mountains, by whichever means, a feeling of awe and veneration starts to seep through you. From the Railway Station, we made our journey to the college across the mighty Brahmputra. I have seen a few rivers and will see a few, but I have a feeling I won’t see anything like this river anytime soon. Flanked by hillocks on both sides with the mountains peering over in the distance, it is grandiose! The IIT Guwahati campus is, simply put, beautiful. Now, this is the handicap you face when you start writing about your journey to this festival. In the first few lines of the first few hours, you start to run out of adjectives! We had arrived on Day Zero of the festival, and after a glamourous opening ceremony and beautiful performance by Advaita, we settled in for the night. So much had already happened, I was having trouble sleeping. Ramesh and me roamed the campus till past midnight amidst a milling crowd that had come from all parts of the country. It was only when Sanjay Sir insisted that we find some sleep, that was necessary for us before we took part in our events, that we went back to our beds.
The next three days were a blur of activity and celebration. From stunning performances by professional artistes, to break-neck competition in all events, to dancing to the tunes of Bollywood maestros under the night sky, to donating blood for the needy, to playing with poor children Alcher had brought together, I was awed, inspired, exalted and in the end, very happily tired. In fact, the only trouble most of us had was that we couldn’t see everything, because there was so much going on all the time! At Alcheringa, there is everything happening for everybody, at all times of the day. And the bottom line if you have been to this festival, is that you realize that you cannot possibly successfully describe to people on the outside all that happened. Alcheringa is one of those things you experience, not one you read about. And since I have had that thought, I think I will stop.
PS : Do not miss this festival, for the world.