MHK Report: Mar 2008 Panchavati

Imagine the innumerable tangents along which thoughts will fly when four hundred odd, high IQ individuals congregate. Just the mere thought of it fills me with a positive feeling. We strive to experience a fraction of that at our MHKs and we just get better each time.

The March MHK in that sense was quite a blast with a turnout of 15 full Ms and 6 guests. Now if one were to come up with reasons, apart from planetary alignments, this MHK was unique in the sense that it combined elements of, an insight into a serious hobby with fun and rejuvenation. And of course, how can I forget the meticulous planning by Roshin, who conducted the photography workshop. Before I move on, let me just encapsulate the story behind this MHK. It was a lot of insistence and zeal from Ananth that made me pester Roshin. And a final appeal from the secretary, Guru himself that made Roshin lunge forward.

It all began on the morning of 8th March, ’08 on the outskirts of Bangalore. Tucked away somewhere out there is a farmhouse, Panchavati. The five owner friends rent it out only to friends and relatives, so there are no formalities and it is a family atmosphere. Well, there we were, going to be amidst nature, all simply set right for a photography workshop. The planned time to begin was 10am, but as it turned out we were at the Banshankari bus stand buying watermelons and chatting. Asif and his wife had arrived well ahead of time and were sweltering in the sun when Roshin, me, Tharunya and Shaheen joined them. Anette with her family joined us and we headed to our destination. Finally around 11am, the theory session began, in all earnestness. Our ears and eyes glued to Roshin and mouths busy munching goodies. At certain points, the session got so interactive that a particular slide refused to move and make way for the next. However, somehow managing to wade through it all, we emerged an enlightened crowd, or so we think. If I forgot to mention, we did have a lunch break and were served with some sumptuous vegetarian delicacies.

The twilight hour was welcomed by amateur photographers setting foot to capture anything and everything that sparked the creative hormones hidden in them. At the back of their minds was the prize for the best photograph and the desire to win it. That resulted in some amazing photos and acrobatics by the photographers. But alas, we didn’t have the time to choose the winner and so it was decided to have the contest online. I am sure Kiran will be glad about that as he had to leave early and now that means he isn’t missing the fun part. In the meantime, some hot, boiled sweet potatoes and spicy savories added a new dimension to the energy and passion of all present there. This write up will be incomplete without the mention of three adorable stars, aged 3.5, 1.5 and 1.5, children of a German couple, who had us in splits with their cute antics and indeed, were every photographers’ delight.

Evening turned into night and we bade good bye to quite a few, but also welcomed one, Ali, who chose kick boxing over photography. We tried hard to tempt Sugandhi, Sharmila and a few others to stay back, nothing worked. So we reconciled to that fact and entertained ourselves with some Monty Python to begin with and a lot of carom thereafter. Around midnight, Varun and his friends had to take leave for mysterious reasons. So we just let them be. And it was almost 5:30am when the last few dozed off.

The sun brought with it a new day which was mostly spent lazing around, tossing a few balls and humming to guitars. Ravi joined us a second time after having gone back the previous night to give company to his dog. There were a passionate few, Tharunya in particular, who spent hours solving two jigsaw puzzles of five hundred pieces in the morning and the grand finish was celebrated with tea and more photographs. To add to the celebration, we were told that this event would be partly sponsored by Mensa. And then, when we were just about to wind up, someone come up with a great idea for the next MHK. Well, that will be revealed in due course.