Be thou the Twentieth Muse , much more glorious than the previous Nineteen. (Shaksphere, with a little twist from my Side)
300 days and Still counting ! It has been a tough journey – a roller coaster ride indeed with lots of thrill, enough humps and bumps too in its course. At this point Let me humbly place on record our sincere gratitude to everyone who made this Ride – AUTUMN MUSE 2010 memorable and so successful.
Our beloved Director – Rev. Fr. Lawrence Dsouza from his busy schedule managed to spend hours with us for the success of Muse. We had long meetings and discussions at his office often from March 2010 to analyze each and every step in our Muse. Out of his vast experience he could guide us perfectly on how to manage such a huge event. Having your Director literally on your side especially during crucial moments was a great relif. When about 3000 + people where getting restless outside the gate for Muse Rock as we could not start on time due to Technical errors, Rev. Fr. Director intervened and took a lot of pressure from our shoulders. We knew our Director and Management were with us. He gave us confidence to manage the commotion and go ahead. The Result everything was so successful. Rev. Fr. Lawrence always used to remind us “This event is name of St. Johns and we should not let our name go down” And now proudly we can say we kept up to this.
Rev. Fr. Glen Mascheranes, we have troubled him several times with our doubts about accounting, legal issues and so on. He gave us permission to walk up to him and consult him on any such issue any time. It was our luck and privilege to take tips from this real genius on how to go about sponsorship proposals and accounting for Muse.
Rev. Fr. Immanuel Raj, silent in Muse Meetings when we talk our crazy plans, used to add at the end very valid and highly important points which everyone would have missed. And these saved us many a times and showed us the track when we were about to be lost.
Rev. Fr. Prakash was present with us in every single meeting. He made it a point to take our side always and give confidence every time a doubt on our capacity to go on a bigger scale was raised. Many a times he walked into Lawns during his evening walk to know where the preparations have reached.
Ofcourse, Without our beloved ADC, Autumn Muse 2010 would not happened in this Scale. Right from the first meeting in his office on March 3rd, 2010 with our mentors Rev. Fr. Mathew was involved in Muse thorough out as much as any of our committee members. We have troubled him a lot with late night phone calls for permissions and what not. It was always last minute that we used to walk into his office and ask for advance money sanctioning, signatures etc. But he never had an issue and all we got was ‘OK’ s to all our plans ! Apart from all this, who will forget the Associate director who didn’t refuse when all the students wanted him to be on the ramp during Muse Hues ! We got our new Students Association Office and the Muse Office (Musuem) only because of Fr. Mathew ! Big Thanks to you from all of us for giving us FREEDOM and trusting us with that.
Dr. Prem Pais, Dr. Sandhya T Avadhany, Dr. Karuna RameshKumar all were part of our planning process towards Muse from Day 1. Dean used to eagerly enquire about the preparations and sponsor responses. And For the Name of the Festival remaining Still as “AUTUMN MUSE” all the Johnites owe Our Dean . Dr. Sandhya was kind enough to discuss with us as early as in December 2009, when she prepared the academic calendar and created a window for Muse in August, if we could get the permissions. At various stages of preparation for Muse, she enquired the progress and encouraged us to do our best. Thanks to her constant reminders we didn’t forget the fact that we are medical Students and have to study also and attend classes in spite of busy Muse work. Dr. Karuna, more than a vice Dean, was a true Autumn Muse Fan when it was conducted in the olden days. We realized that she was one of our strong support from the Faculty side to bring Muse back to Johns in a much refined way.
Our committee was blessed with four excellent and enthusiastic mentors. Often they were beyond the level of teachers, interacting and spending a lot of time with us as if all of them were of our age group and one among us. I’m sure they took Muse to heart as much as we did.
Dr. Kutappa right from making the first monetary contribution to Autumn Muse, he stood with us till the end. Must admit that about half of the Raffles tickets and a good chunk of Muse Rock tickets went through his contacts and that was a big boost initially when we were struggling to get enough money. Also when we ran out of money he offered even his credit card to make several important on spot payments. Without considering his health condition he always took the Extra bit to help us. We learned that he cancelled his UK trip also for being with us during our tough times before Muse. I recollect 4 days before Muse he was admitted in Hospital and when I went to meet him, he wanted me to give him few More Muse Rock tickets so that he could sell those to friends who are visiting him. Finally, much against his Cardiologist’s advice he came for Muse Rock 2010 and stayed throughout just to help us and ensure that the show goes on well ! Hats off to you Sir !
Dr. Anuradha Ananthamurthy always made it a point to ensure that we have a proper plan before we commit to any proposal what so ever. She listened carefully to our plans and then gave her suggestions at each point. Even when we got busy and failed to update she used to make the extra effort to ring us and follow up the progress.
Dr. Nachiket Shankar, our favourite right from First Year became our Mentor and that made all of us even closer to him. We used to look upon him for those extra guts to take bold decisions at times. He filled us with courage to face criticism and deal people who were trying to demoralize us at various stages. We all had a great comfort level with him and often could be free as if we were with an elder brother. He ensured that we account everything for the sake of future batches also and insisted on sending him mails on minutes and abstracts of each meeting. I’m sure this would help all the future committees, because from our mistakes there are a lot to be learned.
Dr. Mary Varghese took care of us like how a mother would do. At certain times, when we were over exerting ourselves, pushing ourselves to the limits… Dr. Mary used to intervene and reminded us to take care of our health and state. Her phone calls reassuring us that things will be all right made a lot of difference. There are days in which I thought few of us might go into some nervous break down. If it was not for Dr.Mary’s presence at those trouble times things would have been different. She got worried when people around were criticizing and questioning our credibility. She had full confidence in us that we would pull this out somehow. Believe Me, Only Mothers trust you this much. She was our source of all the optimism we had !
Dr. Binu Joy and Dr. Anil Abraham two veteran Johnites were adopted as our ‘Muse Mentors’ by the batch of 2007. Since then they both were with us and our actual Committee mentors working towards the Big Goal.
Binu Joy and Jino Joy the rhyme in names may be just a coincidence but the common interests and also common ailments (diagnosed Hypertension during Commettieship) made us bond together in this work. I haven’t talked over phone for such long hours to no other faculty member in Johns. Hour long discussions at various occasions often changed the course of Muse Preparations. Being a Johnite to the core and more over a very successful General Secreatry in the past who conducted one of the best and biggest muses in history, he was the right person to take opinions from. It’s said ‘Strike the Iron when it is hot’. Dr. Binu was the perfect man who could tell us when to Strike. We struck and it worked.
Dr. Anil Abraham – ‘Al’ ways a Johnite was the Faculty Mentor of our Sponsorship Secretary and as the Muse Work started became a mentor for all of us too. We experienced his support and guidance in all the events our committee organized and especially our Muse. Not to forget the huge sponsorship amount he got in, single handedly through his contacts. These promises gave us confidence to scale up our fest even without having a big brand initially with us. Also, he constantly reminded us about the importance of Scoring Marks in the Internal Examinations and ‘prove a point’ to many. Thanks to his daily inspirational messages, we all managed to do quite well in our Internals that came few weeks before Muse.
Dr. Varghese, Mr. Appanna, Mr. RajaRao, and their team were in charge of the security and general discipline. All credit to them for managing it so well. On a personal note, Dr. Varghese was like a mentor for me who helped me handle various problems and people that I had to face during Muse Work and even otherwise.
The chairman of Staff Council Dr. Ravi Nair, Dr. Reji Koshy, Dr. Bobby Joseph, Dr. Arun Shet were few others who were always available for us with their support and advice.
On the sponsorship front, Dr. Anura Kurapad the man behind the name ‘Autumn Muse’ , gave the contacts to our title sponsors to christen muse this time as – ‘Pepsico Autumn Muse’. Dr. Mosses Dsouza coordinated a lot of Pharmacology Companies for us and also got in our co-sponsors Caffe Mateo. Dr. Andrew Vaisnaik was our contact point to Titan Fast Track (Co-Sponsors). Dr. Andrew always occupied a special place in the hearts of 2007 Batch Johnites for the special care and affection he has shown to our batch.
Dr. G. D. Raveendran, Dr. Brian Martis, Dr. Carol Dsouza, The UK Alumni Chapter, The Alumni from 1983 Batch, Dr. Dominic, Dr. Preetesh are names to mention a few among Johnites who helped us in organizing Autumn Muse this year.
Our Physical Director Mr. Ramanujappa and his men ensured the success of all the sports events. Even when there was a lack of communication on our side, he handled the sports arrangements most efficiently. Preparing Grounds at two completely different venues was not at all an easy task. With limited staff, time and resources he did a great job.
Muse 2010 was possible because of the support of lot of other people in Johns. Sr. Sahaya, Secretary to ADC with all the help and the valuable prayers was part of our team indeed. All the staff from ADC Office, Directors Office and Deans Office made our life much easier with their helping hands and good will. Sr. Spesiosa and her team at the Students Section special thanks for acting as the crucial links for many official works in administration. Also it was for her kind heart that we could use the Museum as our Muse Office.
Handling about Rupees 30 Lakhs and keeping track of that was not at all an easy task. We were particular in accounting every single rupee and that would not have been possible without the support of Mr. James and Team from Accounts Section. Mr. Mathew , Mr. George and their team from Estate section ensured the electricity, maintenance works, transport arrangements etc. were done in time. Not to forget the other staff, contract workers, Mess Staff, Drivers, Security Staff etc.
Mr. Francis from Total Productions took care of our Stage, Light and Sound Settings and made our fest an audio visual treat by bringing in the latest and most sophisticated processors, consoles and light sets. A good friend, a humble human being – Francis, it was our privilege to work with you. Mr. Satish and Team (Arjun Electricals) and Mr. Ahamad (Buzzintown – Ticket Partners) also were ready to help us in all possible way to conduct the best show in town.
Big thanks to Parkrama and Avial for graciously accepting our Invitation and performing for us at Muse Rock 2010. Mr. Subir Malik and Mr. Aditya Jha who represented these bands were kind enough to adjust with our limitations and even slash their rates for St. Johns specially.
Among our sponsors a big round of applause for Ms. Swetha from Pepsi who flew down from Delhi only to vitness and attend our fest. Mr. ParthaSarathi (Mac Sterling Group), Mr. Aravind Padhi (UB Group), Mr. Prashanth(Kingfisher Airlines), Mr. Anshool (Fast Track). Thank you all for helping Muse make happen in a big way.
Well, Muse would not have been possible without the support of my fellow Johnites. All the batches came together and worked keeping all the fights and egos away for the college fest. This was something which never happened in the history. Thank you all !
Thank you batch of 2007 and my dear committee members for giving your 100% for Muse. As the designated leader I used to demand a lot from you all in terms of work and your time. Blame it on my Hypertension I was really short tempered especially on the days of Muse. There were incidents when I had shouted at few but big thanks for understanding me then. Special thanks to Avian, Nitin, Andrew, Davis, Swathi, Roshan and Joseph. Avian I appreciate your patience that you showed while working with me. Nitin the Cul Sec had to manage more than just Cultural Events including Security Issues, Sponsorship Deals, Press and Media handling etc. That was too much of contribution from a typhoid stricken Cultural Secretary. Andrew and Davis, along with few others had to be present for all the brainstorming sessions is B-206 prior to Muse. Apart from all the general work and help, they managed Alympics so fantastically making it even bigger than the cultural Fest. Swathi, had no option but to sit and learn Corel Draw prior to Muse. She had to coordinate the decoration team, bring out newsletters every day and finally Post Muse took up the tedious task of bringing out this Souvenir. The Mess boys Joseph and Roshan managed the stalls with out any mess. Kudos ! Really proud to be the President of such a wonderful team !!!!
Manu Abraham (2006), the 2009-10 president gladly accepted to be the co-organizing chairman for the Fest and found time even during his final year studies for Muse. Pranit Raj(07) and Ravikanth Reddy (06 ,Vice – President) managed the accounts with professionalism. They had to sacrifice all the fun and excitement to do their work because they had to be in the accounts room on all 4 days.
Anoop, Ryan, Babush, Jobin, Mathew, Abel, Maridas, Macky, Royson, Milen, Roshni, Henry, Abhilash and others ensured the sports went on smoothly. There were no issues from the Sports Complex that bothered me ever. Jeeson and Jeffry were in charge of all the Printing. Right from the brilliant back drop to the daily newsletters they ensured everything were done in time and properly. Annie, Lavina, Serin, Krupa,Chris, Priyanka, Priya, Nayanthara at the registration desk did a wonderful Job. Thanu, with hospitality cordiantion and Sneha at Announcers Desk also played their parts perfectly. Florence coordinated the Food Stalls work with her ‘Mal’ Boys – Roshan and Joseph. The target of one lakh from stalls was put in front of them two days before Muse and well, they got in much more than that in no time. Pre Muse, the invites and pre invites which were send were coordinated by Annie, Anna, Chris and others. From 2008 Batch Sharan, Anand John, Victor, Henry Kurian, Aubery, Bharadwaj, Anna, Nobin, Jobin and others worked with us for the success of Muse at various stages. Pravin, Anna , Samrat, Shanti, Liza and many others worked with Swathi and Victor to create all the wonderful pieces of Decoration. Thanks to all help from my baby juniors – batch of 2009, especially backing up when we got busy with Internal Exams and Chap. Cheers to Roshan, Gitanjali, Kurian, Jerry, Karan, Carl, Emmanuel, Nikhil, Amit and others!!
Sheldon, the sponsorship secretary deserves a special mention for his brilliant coordination with the sponsors. He did the research, got the contacts, scheduled meetings, did follow ups and everything that had to be done to get the BIG money come in. All that I had to do was to prepare the presentations and go do the talking part as per the fixed appointments. The graceful presence of Priyanka and of a cranky Cultural Secreatry Nitin made our sponsorship team complete.
Specially remembering and thanking the sisters of my batch who prayed a lot for all of us and came forward to do all the possible help from their side especially on the days of Festival.
Batch of 2005 (My Committee) and Batch of 2003 (My Grand Committee) along with other seniors of 2002, 2004 were always there to correct and guide us. Specially acknowledging Abey(05), Arun Jude (05), Tony(04), Murtuza(05), Paul (03), Sendhil (03), Glen (03), Prabhu (03), Danny(03), Nikhil (06) and others. Also thanking ‘the drummer boy’ Dr. Alex Manoj Mathews for all his support and for the wonderful opening act at Muse Rock 2010.
Hmmm…. Already this article has gone too long…. I wish I could write here many other names here and write about all their help individually. But I have to restrict myself here. Please know that all of you were important to us and together we made MUSE Possible. Now I’m truly convinced by the good old saying ‘Team work Makes Dreams work’.
I have no words to describe how blessed we were by the ALL MIGHTY. Thanking HIM for the choicest blessings He showered. The divine intervention was felt at each stage. Everything during Muse was just falling into place on its own often. This was nothing but the grace of Almighty. Thank you Dear God, for blessing us so abundantly. All Praise and Honor to thee !
Jino Joy Kayyalackal 