A Mid Summer Night’s Dream

Elvis is back, back in the building, with a resolve to write more often.

Saturday was Election Day in Bangalore. The roads had a deserted look and it seemed like responsible citizens were cooling their heels at home after having cast their votes. The slightly irresponsible ones chose to stay indoors as well. Why? Well, maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was a dry day.

Let me set the scene more elaborately. Imagine a bunch of 5-6 bored souls. I’m talking about a close-knit gang of mechanical engineers who spent 4 amazing years together at college. They are now in their mid to late 20s - some on the verge of tying the knot, some far from it. But all of them have a common thread running. They dream big, hate routine, get bugged with monotony and they all swing between the responsible/irresponsible categories, depending on the direction of the wind.

Now here’s a series of no-brainers, if ever there was one:

What do you think happens when old pals like these get together on a quiet Saturday night, with nothing much to do? Do you think they would get a little twitchy? Hell yeah.

So what does it take to turn this yoga class kind of setting into a rock concert? Not much really. A car, some stocked ‘refreshments’ and G’s room - equipped with guitars, a music system, a computer and an awesome balcony. A fridge would have been the icing on the cake, but we were more than happy to ignore the minor inconvenience.

What followed that night is anybody’s guess. Philosophical discussions squeezed in between loads of trash talk. Politics (keeping in tune with the day’s proceedings), sport, the environment – you name it. It was almost as if the exuberance of youth (creative use of the phrase) was making a statement on democracy’s showcase day – we are FREE, and we love it. Should there be more to it than just celebrating our freedom, without contributing to its sustenance? Maybe that’s a question for the ‘responsible’ citizens to answer. That night, we were just happy to be there - looking back and looking ahead at the same time, and happy to dream on. Perhaps it is just a matter of time before the winds will blow in the right direction. It’s about time too.