On a sultry fore-noon of October 15th 2010,
Bro Mangcha on his way back, to the hostel, from his centre bumped into Sis Hoineikimm, who was then fresh as a dew in a sprawling,
1019.38 acres JNU campus, at Mamu Dhaba. He asked
her what was she doing there and the response amused him and tickled 'the child
in him' so much so that he couldn't wait to share it to every one. At that
point of time, JNU eimis would often flock together at Sabarmati Dhaba in the
evening, took chai together and what not, share few jokes and
banter until they forget all about the pressures sitting on their
head-termpapers, presentations, date-lines, sessional exams, assignments etc.
It
seems to me now that, on that day, the hands of time must either be limping or
had difficulty ticking, if it didn't stood still at all. So, after lunch, bro Mangcha,
henceforth Mac, with free SMS backing him like the Spartans, sent SMS retelling
the account of his encounter with the lost kiddo to every eimi in his contact
list. We got the message loud and clear, those who read it- laugh out loud, and
even those who forgets how to laugh, owing to their strenuous schedule, managed
to smile. That day, the heebie-jeebies Hoineikimm couldn't locate her class room
so she had to come back without attending the class. (Trust me, the original
SMS was hilarious)
Mac spread the news under the banner 'Campus
Huinun' and later that day, over a cup of hot chai, he asked me and bro Thangboi a.k.a. Kempth to take it
from there. At first, we laughed it off, not knowing it could, one day,
snowball into a laughter-pill to tired eyes and weary minds. Nobody has the
faintest idea that CH had the potential to become the unofficial glu or
'fevicol' in binding us together like one close-knit family. Few minutes into
cajoling, we did agree to take over without batting an eye-lid. We exercised
our new-found power by renaming 'Campus Huinun' to 'Campus Huilhi', CH in
short, that very day and started bombarding those in our contact list with info
both useful and 'muse'-ful. Hence CH, in mobile SMS gupshup avatar, started its
maiden voyage.
Soon, the onerous task of eavesdropping and
'oops! hunting and taping' became our favourite pastime and strictly speaking,
our 'odd job'. Like journalist on a sting operation, we would keep our ears
wide open and observe closely what our little 'chatterbox' has had to say when
they were in their elements; of 'blah blah-ing' and speaking their minds out
without the slightest care in the damn world. Bro Kempth, for better or worse,
became 'Kempth-corder'; no funny or erratic moments of CH celebs escape his
ears. Kimrose became the girl next door; an overnight
sensation. Attaining CH celeb status was what a million girls would die for,
soon 'newbies' on the block made a bee-line to become one. Amongst the
millions, only few D Cecilia, KýmSàràh, Kimboi, Cate, Christina, Aalhing, Hevah, Kimneilhing, Bempi, Alphonsa Lhingboi, Bibi, Kimneijou Rosy, Chongboi, Theim, made it to
the final list after rigorous rounds of screening and brain-storming interview.
If
losing phone, every semester, wasn't my 'Achilles heel' I might still have some
of their famous quotes, quips and oops! (or verbal 'faux pas') as I archived some of the SMS-es. CH doesn't discriminate people, be it a Ph.D or a B.A.-Foreign
Language student it has the guts and the calibre to pull the legs of everybody
equally, at par. It was a bold move in a society that has a
glorious past of wanton uses of 'honorific'; a society strictly based on
patriarchy and laden with multi-layered social dogmas. Our family back home
were still strictly governed by the head of the family first, who rules the
roost, and then the rest of the members were assembled in pecking order.
Even
in our absence we often got 'news feed'-hot as a cake and funny as a
tickle-torture from almost everyone. They contributed what CH needed; sometime
in a group of three, one would carry out voluntary sting operation. If that
could be used as a yardstick to measure the popularity of CH mobile gupshup, it
won't be a flattery to say the least that CH was a force to reckon with.CH was
an instant hit, its mass appeal soaring new and greater heights every passing
day. And in no time, it reached out even to alumnis scattered elsewhere in the
country. Some 'must share' rib-tickling happenings (mishap) too, reach some section of
DU and North Delhi.
However,
Newton Third Law of Motion states that "To every action, there is always
opposite and equal reaction". It was also true in the case of CH. As JNU
is a cauldron or melting pots of all minds-fresh and seasoned, those with tight,
suffocating schedule felt that CH 'put too many eggs in one basket' (too many
SMS-es for a day). Some fearing the potential threat of attaining sudden
'stardom' would zipped their mouth shut and avoid talking freely. That was sad,
strictly in contrast with CH dhaba ethics. The irony, however, was when CH kept
mum for a day stones often started squabbling. In hindsight, it was an
established fact that everybody likes CH. Of course, it should be as it was
FREE!!!. CH office got the notion that it was only the frequency of the
incoming message ringtone or alerts that some labeled a nuisance. Some told us
that they had to delete the previous SMS to read the new one. Such was CH wave
and CH becoming the part and parcel of ones' daily life.
It
appears as if the 'god of telecommunications' heard their woes (those who find
CH a nuisance). A. Raja, the then Union Telecom minister, soon, put in place
the draconian law which forbid sending of more than 100 SMS per day from a
single registered number. It was a setback for CH, 100 SMS per day was enough
for an individual but not for a conglomerate (einch!) like CH; at one go a
single SMS had to be sent to more than 30 numbers. The new TRAI regulations
curbed CH freedom of speech and expression.
Keeping strictly in pursuit, CH theme of
'Publish or Perish' in tandem with 'You'll Never Smile Alone' line of
functioning, Sawn came up with a novel idea of creating a group in Facebook. Without
second thought, we gave it a nod and further instructed him to create one.
Thus, CH Facebook saw the light of the day. It had a slight glitch (snag)
though as it couldn't cater to immediate circulation of info; it couldn't serve
the 'mouth-watering' dish while it was still hot, also hardly anyone has the
time and luxury to stay online 24x7. So, it was decided that CH mobile has to
go on alongside CH Facebook- both doing what it was created and designed for in
the first place. The advent of CH Facebook was a reprieve for both the
subscribers and the editors in a big unimaginable way. The show, in both
avatars, thus go on and nobody complains it. Or did anyone desirous of filing a
complaint find too daunting a task to accomplish and just stick to status quo?!
Also,
at that period of time, SMS pack became costlier from one coupon to another. It
was not surprising as skyrocketing inflation hits everywhere and everybody. We
ran from pillar to post to keep the 'show' going and decided to use internet
based SMS; at first, 160by2 came to our rescue and then, fullonsms heard our
pleas. CH embraced almost every new gadgets and technologies that the IT market
has to offer in its 'silicon' platter.
CH
T-Shirt
For
quite sometime, the need to have CH tees had been doing the round and finally
with the active participation of Qai we approached his friend Ngamboi, Munirka
for help. What we had in mind, he had the expertise to make it come alive on
his computer screen and our 'nagging' and 'interferences' paid rich dividends
at the end. With Bro Thangminlen and Qai, we toured Delhi's flea markets but it
was a disaster but we were informed of one computer printing in C.P. which
might meet our requirement. They had the shirt with them and the printing
prowess so we had no option but to agree to their terms & conditions. For
the first time in CH illustrous history, it's own catch-phrase- "I'm going
to make him an offer he can't refuse" back fired!!! In a weeks time, CH tees was launched amidst
all fanfare and thunderous applause. With CH tees, CH foray into its own brand
merchandise and its own clothing line. The demand, for CH tees, couldn't meet
the supplies.
CHFC
'Impossible is nothing' Adidas boast. And with
the founding of CHFC-Campus Huilhi Football Club, Adidas became nothing but a
mere apparel. CHFC has the power to make someone who had never wear a
soccer-boot in his prime-time, buy one-brand new, at a phase when only few
strands of hairs strut from his scalp. That, Adidas couldn't even dare to
dream. Mangboi Kipgen don the hats of manager-cum-keeper, he and Dominic
generously coughed up enough funds to buy a set of brand new sports jersey. We
print, painting with a brush of course, the number and logo ourselves one night
in Naramada #120. Qai chose jersey #13, when it was time for #13, not wanting
any smudges on the cloth he took upon him the task of painting the number
himself but in his ecstasy forgot to put a cardboard inside the jersey which
helps prevent the colour to get imprinted on the other side. It was a sheer joy
watching his face turn ember red and the burly built Qai panicking.
We
played many matches and won as many to our credit. We managed to beat
Nirvana-Delhi based Nepali team, Nehru Vihar, Munirka team etc but failed to
beat the much younger team-'The Singtangmites'. As most of its players were
from JNU itself they could read us, knew our strategy and our style of play. CH
girls and celebs often come in dozens to JNU stadium, our Anfield, to cheer and
support us. Sawn befittingly gave the title CH superstars and fans to the
combined team of CHFC and CH celebs. There were times, when we get on the field
without a morsel of food, panting for breath but hungry for goals. Match after
match, Kempth managed to break his own records; CHFC highest scorers-a feat no
football star has ever even come close to.
There
was an isolated incident where two top-notch players went on a rampage, on the
field, without wearing any underwear underneath their shorts. Getting too comfy
in 'boxers' led to the catastrophic 'wardrobe malfunction'. One of them was
heard saying, after the match, that the dangling balls sway left-right-left
like soldiers march passing. That was inevitable in the absence of a fabric
(wrap around) to restrain the 'free and wild'.
The other quipped "No matter which direction your feet kicks the ball, the
ball flies to the direction where the cannon (pumpi)
points".
CH
blog
With
the passage of time, CH grew by leaps and bounds and was open to all avenues of
growth and opportunities. CH management requested Sis Moi Sitlhou to
open a blog and thanks to her programming skill and technical know-how, we now
have our own blog to boast of. This serves as a safe-deposit box and help bridges
the gap between campus students and alumnis especially those who are yet to lose their social networking sites's virginity.
CH First Anniversary
Chai-time
at dhaba is not restricted only to
'sweet li'l nothing' and a mere ' blah blah-ing', sometimes, the best of ideas
exploded from there. While couples, scattered almost everywhere, were heaving
the first sigh of romance that's blooming and waving in the air and coochie-cooing
over a cup of chai and 'garam-garam' pakoda CH founder Mac with the editor-duo,
in the presence of CH reporters and celebs, aired the idea of celebrating CH
First Anniversary across the noisy, trotting table and was unanimously given a
'go ahead' by those who has ears to listen. And lo! it was in the pipeline.
With
the selfless help and invaluable inputs from Thanggoulen, CH own Rajinikanth,
the three Idiots, on the spots 'tech-savvy', were at the helm, steering the
plan clear off the roadblocks and pot-holes that stood on the way. Sabarmati
#167 became CH default headquarter and there were times we shoo away, the legal
occupants, bro Mac and worked our ass off in peace. What was convenient about
Sabarmati #167 was the strategic and ideal location; it has chai 24x7 at our
beck and call. Also, bro Mac was the then president of KSO(D) and was always on
his toes leaving his den empty and accessible. He must have had a hard time
cleaning up all the messes we gifted for him in return for his hospitality but
he didn't complain.
For
the venue, we booked FSA (Foreign Students Association) hall in Tefla through
Libi, the Gen. Secy. of FSA now ISA (International Students Association). Few
months prior to this, I 'gate-crashed' into Sabarmati #167, one afternoon, to
find bro Mac and Pastor Letlal, the then KSWD pastor, in an animated
tete-a-tete with a firangi named Libi. I got introduced to her. Libi, a Jew
herself, was interested in doing 'extensive research' among the Jews of
Manipur. 'Seize the opportunity' became CH teachings.
Celebration of CH First Anniversary on October
15, 2011 was a huge success. Thanks to CH celebs, who dressed up for the gala
event, CH rockstar Tong and John, CH-P.P.Bus band Bro Thangminlen & Aalhing. And CH, in its life-time, won't be able to thank
enough Bro Satminlun, winner of master-chef UK, Australia & US
for the sumptuous dinner. Mentioned may be made here, of the presence of
esteemed guests and dignitaries- Shri Paothang f/o Christina, Bebem Khongsai s/o Thanggoulien, Amin, Letminlun, Nom Haokip,
our paparazzi and CHFC players- Manager Kipgen Mangboi,
His Royal 'Huskiness' Dominic T, The Wall Qai. To
commemorate the anniversary CH Oopsy Rosy Award 2011 was also constituted in 27
categories. The winners were awarded 'Midas'-fork which was the first of its
kind in the history of Award ceremony in the world.
CH
Whatsapp
Marlon
Brando in one of his famous interview said that "the dialogue changes but
the motivation doesn't" and it is the same with CH too. The 'medium'
changes but the 'motivation' doesn't. Cecilia created a group in whatsapp as
'JNUPC' and by popular vote, it was renamed as 'Campus Huilhi'. CH evolves with
the coming and going of technologies and with the changing of time. One thing
remains constant: "The show must go on". It does and it is...
(The ex-editor and the writer, Nehtinthang Haokip can be reach at haokipln@gmail.com)
