Sunday, August 23, 2009

Hatrick @ Leela Kempinsky, Gurgaon

"Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Deva…
Mata Jaaki Parvati Pita Mahadeva…
Ek Dant Dayavant, Char Bhuja Dhari…
Mathe Sindur Suhai, Museki Sawari…
Andhanko ankh det, kidhan ko kaya…
Banjhanko putra det, Nirdhan ko maya…
Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Deva…
Paan Chadhe Phul Chadhe Aur Chadhe Meva…
Laduuonka Bhog Chadhe Santh kare Seva…
Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Deva…"


To release this blog, can we find a better time than the auspicious birthday of Vighnesha : the 'Remover of obstacles' , the Lord of Beginnings, the patron of arts & sciences, the Deva of intellect & wisdom and as relevant to this story.......................the 'GOD of Success' ?
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LIGHTS....on...CAMERA...rolling....ACTION…





The three golden words which never ceases to fascinate me…never ceases to remind of the STAGE where I enter with a confidence which comes after hours of rehearsal and the desire to see the audience waving from remote corners of the Auditorium.


It was not long back, when every ‘Cultural Nite’ at college meant hours of planning ,theme finalisation, days of casting, rehearsal and stage arrangement just to ensure that the Audience get their share of entertainment.


STAGE : Perhaps the most sacred word in an Artist's dictionary. For the audience it might be nothing more than a small piece of area but for an artist its a Temple where he/she must visit so as to get the chance of seeing the GOD (its audience) one day or the other. A simple 5 letter word, but surely as strong as the dedication of its performers, as vital as the focus of its artist while being as perfect as the audience in judging the Talent...all this while History is in making. Although decoration plays a major role in giving the much required feel to the overall performance of an artist, as known to the 'Performing world', the real talent lies in making the Best use of available Stage area however small it may be.


For me the STAGE CALLING dates back to 1996. From the first performance 'Daskathia' ( a well known Folk Dance of Orissa) to the now-popular play 'Once Upon a Time in REC Warangal' , it has been a 'Gratifying' experience for me in true sense of the word. Unfailingly, every stage has brought with it the pursuit to do something new and the excitement to see it come alive.



The recently held Engineering Conclave'09 ( an annual event organised by the R&D division of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd to showcase previous years achievement and 'the road ahead') was no exception. This time the challenge was twofold : 1) Creating an AV (Audio Visual) on ‘Best practices followed in R&D’ and 2) performing a theme song for the event .

Although it was the second time I was making an AV (Named “Living Life… the R&D Way), the experience, I must say, was entirely different. Contrary to the previous case (Delhi 6), where editing was done simply by using the available photographs , here the scope of work extended to making a COMPLETE movie. Story line : as decided by the TOP MANAGEMENT, Photography : as the Script Demanded and Editing, Sound Mixing : Using a Laptop that never lets its users miss the WINDOWS 98 environment (an avg of 3 Hangs per 5 Min).



(a 7 Second Preview of the AV)


In a nutshell, 2 script changes, 6 Hours of Photography, 12 Hours of Sound mixing, 20 Hrs of Management Review, 180 Hours of Editing, Innumerous Hangs, 15 ‘Hours’ of Last ‘Minute’ Changes.... And I was ready with the AV of ‘68 Seconds’ duration. Can't wait to watch the Full Version of such a unique AV ? Unfortunately, the copyright is not with the Production House.


To compensate, of course there was another side of the coin.


Based on this year's theme 'Engage, Execute, Excel : Drive the Future ', a theme song was composed by Mr. Ashwinder Singh (an R&Dian) and he was in the search of playback singers to complete the recording process. I was called in.
6th Aug 09 : 15.00 Hrs


Padpad ganj


Entering inside a music recording studio was definitely an unforgettable moment. The studio was located in East Delhi and belonged to Music Director Kuldeep Sandhuu, a thorough professional ( http://www.kuldeepsandhuu.com/) who has the experience of composing music




( The Theme Song : "Aao Chalen")
for about 12 Corporate firms and numerous albums. Although the recording studio was not-so-spacious, before our arrival, he had called all the artists (instrumentalists) to individually record their music in sync with the composed tune. When we arrived, he was more than eager to make us listen to the recorded tracks and complete the vocals with the help of his asst Jeorge. Although for us, the whole experience was one of its kind, perhaps what will remain even more special are the compliments we received from Kuldeep and Jeorge for our performance.


From the School-Days- Make Shift stage to college auditorium to the theatres at Delhi, I have felt the STAGE and have won many awards across regions. I knew the STAGE set for Conclave will be another such place which will critically evaluate my ability to please the audience.
But what if the same STAGE becomes the holy ground of Winning AWARDs for not the performance I was so keen of ..but for something beyond my expectation ?


Surprisingly since 2006, the month of August has been THE month of success. Coincidence has got a new Height. 11th Aug'06 : Placement at MSIL, 11th Aug 07 : Best GET Award (for best project in Prodn Division), 11th Aug'08 : Quarterly Achievement Award (Dept level). But this August was different. Breaking any further repetition of history, this year 11th August came as a busy day amidst review meetings, feedback sessions, Fine Tunings of the editable file from which I made the Audio Visual for the CFT Presentation : Ideas@Work.


CFT ? What is that ? Before you ask , let me clarify that 'CFT' means Cross Functional Team which has been formed to complete a given task and as the present case goes a PRESENTATION on the current issues and how new IDEAs can help solve these problems.


Slowly and steadily we were moving towards the D-Day. One week to go.


19th August 2009 - 10:30 Hrs

Leela Kempinski, Guragon


As planned, I reached the venue along with the 'Singers'. When we reached the first floor of this 5 star hotel, it was a brand NEW STAGE which instantaneously caught our eye. The STAGE which will set the mood of the evening. The STAGE which will judge the intensity of our preparation and strength of our performance.


After a couple of rehearsals off-stage, we went to complete one FINAL STAGE rehearsal while finalsing the direction and positions of ON and OFF Stage movements.


-----------------------------------------INTERMISSION-------------------------------------


14:30 Hrs
Leela Kempinski, Guragon

The 800 strong batallion of R&D Division has arrived.


Although the Menu in hand (Program Outline printed in the diary handed over to all the conclave participants) was long enough to scare the audience which has already started missing the much anticipated visit to the nearby AMBIENCE MALL, what came to their rescue were the shortest possible speeches by the dignitaries succeded by the 'Ligshting' event. ( Top Management 'Lighting the Lamp' )

Then started the CFT Presentations. As
expected, they delivered the 'Content of the Event' . My CFT,namely fourth, was scheduled at the end of all presentations. As part of the presentation, the AV made by me was screened while all the CFT members were standing on STAGE (My 1st STAGE Appearance of the evening). Later on, I was delighted to get inspiring reviews from the audience about the AV.



( Picture showing CFT Ideas@Work on STAGE )
Just after the refreshment break, the audience slowly began to realise that this Conclave is not just only about mere presentations. This has something much beyond simple pronunciation of the word 'Creativity'. It was as if SpititZ has cast a spell with their performance. Performed in the event, to depict the theme “Engage, Execute, Excel- Drive the future” this mesmerizing play evoked thunderous applause and standing ovation from the audience. Jai Ho Team SpiritZ !!!





One last sub-event 'Awards and Recognitions' and I will be on stage to perform the theme song.

As the names rolled on the screen, backstage, preparations were on for performance of the Group Song. The team eagerly waited for the
Award ceremony to get over so that they can enter the stage as planned. (Team SpiritZ receiving award from MD)

Amidst various categories of awards like Innovative Solution, New System/Process Development, Best VA/VE, Best Cost Saving , all of a sudden what flashed in the screen was the category ‘New Initiatives’. And it take me some time to believe what I heard next.

“ Biswanath Rath ENP Dept Plastic Proto Part Development for Design Trial of New Models “

It was my moment of the evening. For the third time (in last two years) I was getting an achievement award for the project work in my core field and in that evening,ON STAGE for the first time to receive 'an award for performance' instead of 'performance'. I felt as if once again the God of success has graced me and once again made me believe in my strengths .

With a heart filled with emotions, I rushed to receive the award from the MD Mr.Shinzo Nakanishi , Dir & MEO (R&D) Mr. K.Asai and MEO (R&D) Mr. I.V. Rao. A memory surely to be cherished for long.




But that was only the second time I stepped on the STAGE.

What about the Hat trick then ? ? ?

We would recommend a flash back to the 1st scene of this script…

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____________________________________________________________________ Although the new generation R&Dians abbreviate ENGINEERING CONCLAVE as ENCON, I prefer it in its ellaborate form which as per me is.....................................................................


The ENdeavour CONtinues...

4 comments:

  1. Rath, you have done it again........... With this blog, i can easily understand how passionate u r abt stage, camera and lights....!!

    You can be next imitiaz ali........


    Jiyo zindagi, a bigger stage is wtng for a genious like you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, "Stage" has been his passion of life for a long time. Once involved he thinks, eats and even sleeps there till the mission is accomplished. As a close aide I have felt the same many a times.

    "An epitome of Dedication" is what I can say about him, the awards in the rows prove the same. Congrats for the new feather in the cap.

    I was amazed to see the shadow play by you guys. Hail to the imagination & perfection of your team.
    Wish you good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  3. what about delhi marathon

    ReplyDelete