It's here!

Article 19 is here!

After 7 months of endless discussions and hard work, it's here!

I am very happy today. The event was started with the unveiling of a screen where the official A19 2009 video was screened.

It's all cool and all.

Folks, it's Bijlee time!

A whiff of freedom

We at MIC are all set. Article 19 flags are being cut into shape and are being pasted all over the university-town. Sound scratches about Article 19 play are playing in every restaurant in Manipal. The Hawaiian Luau Fun Fair work is in full swing, happy Hawaii colours make the college look very nice indeed! Signature campaigns have reached a big fat number for Power Off. There is constant calling between delegates and us. Arrangements and the jazz for the resource people is underway. It's all work here in college.

Right now, posters of mine are being put all around Manipal. I am famous, dude! Everybody knows who Bijlee is. I am shocked at mine own appeal. whiff

After the amazing entries we got from 5 continents, we are very content. The nominations are out and the list is available on the Article-19 website.

The festival is here and we are ready.

Freedom. Your right.

Freedom is Firangi!

We have the right to freedom of expression in this country, so we must all express our love for each other! Happy belated Valentine's Day to all of y'all.. The pink chaddi campaign sure managed to make some noise against the Amnesia incident..!

It is important that cultures should inter-mingle. If a culture is closed, it will saturate and burn out. But if it is open, a lovely amalgamation will happen. We must allow some Westernization in India. It will only be good. And, anyway, globalization has taken us places. So Valentine's Day is not a bad thing, you know..


On this note, I must tell you that: Article 19 has gone international! We have 12 entries from countries other than India.. Freedom is firangi now! Yay! Lets' rejoice as we will see different perspectives from across the globe meet at Article 19 this year.

Reminder: Registrations for Article 19 shall close at 10 am (Indian Standard Time) on 16th February. So hurry up! Register now! It is the eleventh hour, literally.

The Gimmick

This post is catered to Manipal crowd. Outside people can read it though, it's a free country after all!

On 9th February, at around o7:15 pm, I was at KC. All dressed up in a killer attire, I felt like a star. Four body-guards were around me and they were distributing pamphlets to all the onlookers. People were giving me strange looks. Why? Cause I have a bulb-head, not the most normal thing now, is it?

Then... I heard a conch shell blow in distance from three different spots, Campus Stores, Shivas and Sutta Point.. And the drum beat began to echo from the three directions.. It was Euphoric.. The next thing I saw was many people holding candles and they were progressing towards me..

I was the star, the center of attention.. A street play happened about my life.. Freedom of Expression came out through this theatrical piece.. Then? The banner of my friend Rahul Bose coming for A19 was unveiled.. What a finale!

A19 is so far so good.. It will only be better if you guys send in your entries.. Also sign up for Power-off, be part of this amazing cause..

FYI

If you were wondering where I was and why I didn't update for so long... I must tell you that I was in the midst of a lot of work. Entries have started coming for Express Awards and MMSC. Power Off for an Hour gimmicks are happening all over Manipal. Article 19 pre-events are also raising some funds for our main event.The pizazz has hit our student town.

Randomly, I would like to make an announcement. We have increased the time limit of Short Film category to 15 minutes, 7 minutes was too short even for a short film. And the time limit for documentary is now 45 minutes, reality needs time to unfold, after all!


And our resource people list has gotten bigger. After Rahul Bose, Prahlad Kakkar, Sankal Meshram, Kiruba Shakar, Third Thought Entertainment, and more... We have got Mike Pandey, yes, the famous guy who makes wildlife conservation documentaries. Awesome, isn't it? To know more about the resource people, click here.

So, register now! The last date for registrations is 15th February. You really don't want to miss this now, do you?

Energy, Life, and Guilt

Energy!

That's one thing MIC has been brimming with in the past few weeks. As I walk past the corridoors and peep into rooms, always contemplating how I should convince everyone in Manipal to power-off my brethren for one hour, I see groups of people talking, discussing, scheming and plotting. That's the thing about MIC - something is always up! If it's not Article 19, it's the group assignments, the presentations, the plans for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the trips to Goa and Gokarna, Student Council...



There is life in every corner, and there's so much emotion and energy!

It was on one such walk of mine, observing all these students, that I walked into this room with some young researchers and designers. They were the brains working on the campaign for 'Power Off for an Hour'. From what I heard, they've found these really killer facts about why we should conserve electricity. Frankly, I hate it when I'm switched off - but after listening to what these people... I'll just give you one small fact from what they told me:

"Bonded child labour is one of the biggest problems faced by India. The average amount of debt involved ranges from Rs 500-7500.

Saving 5 hrs of electricity wastage by lights and laptops for a year can free abt 18250 children for life."

Well, I'm feeling so, so, so guilty, I'm going to turn myself off for sometime now. No wonder Rahul Bose wants us to Power Off.

re-public day

Now first thing's first.. I would like to wish all of you:

Happy Republic Day!

Jai Hind!

Anyway, getting back to the point. I would like to make an announcement on Republic day. This blog is for the janta i.e. the public. The blog is today declared re-publican. On this blog, from today onwards, reading interests of the public will be taken into consideration. I hear from many sources that I must try and innovate more with my PJs. But if the standard of PJs are raised, do you think they would be PJs at all?

Heh!

Another one..

Be kind my re-publican readers. Criticise, comment, freedom is your right! And, that's what we are advocating through this festival. Freedom of expression, through A19.. Full on!

A few days ago, we got some more news about the moolah that matters. Union Bank has agreed to sponsor power-off-for-an-hour! Yipee! More money! You know, we can be hippie and say, money can't buy us love, but the truth remains, love can't buy us money either. So, it's all clear and simple. Money is most of what we need.

Now, besides this jazz, I must tell you another interesting something.. Mike Pandey, one of the country's most acclaimed documentary film-maker and wild-life activist has agreed to judge our entries for Documentary Express. Isn't that cool? The going just got tougher! And, the time is such that the tough should get going as well. The registrations being open is big news, you know..

All the volunteers are all enthused about Article 19. The publicity and other work is on in full swing. The college is shaken up with Article 19 meetings every single day, between 6 to 7 pm. Buzz and business of Article 19 is leaving most of the students breathless.

That's it from the Bijlee bulletin, no more news is worth being the breaking news. No Prince fell into any hole, after all.. Nor did any Aishwarya Rai get pregnant! Eh, commercialization of content in journalism, something like that.. All of this is and more, to be discussed at MMSC this year. Well, we got some food for thought there!

I shall bid adieu to all of you, please supply me with your honest opinion in the form of comments so that I can improve and all that. But just remember, my improvement is losing the essence of a PJ!

Oh yeah, one last thing.. I still don't see the point of power-off-for-an-hour! In the process of saving electricity, they are turning me off! I need a turn on!

Hope your heads be wise!