Apr 17, 2007 10:02 AM
4291 Views
(Updated Dec 26, 2010 01:54 PM)
Organizing a Mouthshut meet is hard work – but after getting some hard knocks around, I finally figured a way out : Don’t ask anyone, don’t request, don’t cajole and absolutely do NOT try to persuade. It simply never, ever works. All you get is : what about 1st, Umm... lemme see, maybe I’m busy that day, what about 4th, I’m going out on the 4th, and how about having it in Dwarka, but that’s too far, why not South Ex ? Why not somewhere else ? Should we have coffee ? No, let’s have lunch instead, Lemme think, I’ll get back to you, I’ll keep you posted, I’ll ask Mummy, Papa, hubby, wifey, kiddy etc. And it goes on.
The best way to get a meet going is to simply send a message (CC: everybody) : ‘Me and XYZ are meeting at ABC place on this day at this time. Make it if you can !’ Believe me, this ‘polite’ invitation almost always works. People travel miles and miles, wake up at unearthly hours, invent imaginative excuses for demanding families and boyfriends and actually do make it. Of course, it was not as simple as all that – I got some brickbats for hauling people from their cosy beds on a lazy Sunday morning.
So, I had to do something more than just writing that message - like waking up Itika at 8.30 AM. Also figured out why coffee_cup likes to wake her up every day – she has this lovely, husky voice which is huskier when she says ‘Hello’ in her sleep. And then after a while, I get a message from her asking me if I can make a cup of tea for her too ! Itika woken up means that half of my job as an organizer done. Then I was back to rummaging about in my wardrobe and shouting ‘what shall I wear ?’ the age-old typical question which EVERY woman on this earth asks aloud when she is going out. Sunday at 10.30 PM at Barista, South Ex Part I.
As me and Sonika (my friend who is actually a mermaid disguised as a human being) were making our way to the coffee joint, a car swept up and came to a screeching halt near us. As we peered inside, a smart driver jumped up and opened the door grandly. I half expected the bugles to start trumpeting as Queen Mags sashayed out. We just stared at the apparition open mouthed – it was as if we were facing royalty. Mags was looking beautiful in a red saree, a vision to behold. We were jolted out of our reverie by her warm hugs and sweet ‘Hello’s. OK, I’ll confess – we were dazzled.
Next to meet us was Sanjoy, the hazel eyed, handsome colonel who has now become famous on MS as this charming, perfect gentleman. So famous are his eyes that almost everyone who meets him first looks straight into them, examines them critically and then goes about professing an opinion on whether they are ‘hazel’ or ‘brown’ or ‘a little green’ or ‘maybe just close to green-brown’. The nice guy that he is, he just lets us be. I do hope he does not lose his patience with us one day. Anuj to everyone and ‘Dost’ to me walked in next. It’s hard to imagine any MS meet without his calm, steady, dependable presence. He has a sweet smile, an amazing sense of humour and hilarious one-liners that keep everyone in splits. The first time I met him I felt ‘I have known him for a long, long time’ and there was a sudden bonding.
Today, the bonding remains and grows stronger every time we meet again. But hey, the life of the meet had not walked in yet. There were sparks in the air, a sudden electricity, and there she was ! Itika ! I had told Mags that the meet is not going to be able to take off till Itika walks in and she had to admit five minutes after her grand entry that I was right. That girl is amazing – she just has to walk into a room and it suddenly gets alive. She is like a live wire – warmth, brilliance, a cute smile and a sweet, angelic face all wrapped up in one sweet bundle. She juggles words like an expert juggler, makes you laugh every minute and keeps you asking her for more ! And with her was Megha – the person I was most curious about since we had ‘almost’ met but ‘just missed’ since quite some time.
Warning : Don’t look too deep into her green eyes, you may feel like you are losing yourself in the depths. Now I’m not getting poetic just for effect - I really mean it. Megha is exactly like her online persona – friendly, warm and very, very intelligent. We hit it off from the word ‘go’ and were soon chatting like buddies. Jokes and laughter bounced off the walls of Barista as Round One of Delicious Coffee dissolved into Round Two of Terrible Iced Tea. Photographic sessions, playing musical chairs (in an attempt to know everyone better), settling the bill…And then, like everything good comes to an end, the meet was over. We were standing in the April sunshine, saying Goodbyes, promising to meet again.
One last hug, one last smile, and then it became a sweet memory to last a lifetime. So if you think that Mouthshut is only about RRC, then think again. It’s about RRCM. And all you wonderful Delhiites who wish to be a part of the next meet, please send me your emails or phone numbers through M2M. Yeah, seriously, I am thinking of becoming an event manager, enough of this science already ! ; ).
