People Set Trends In People's Lives! - Ballabh Kishore, IIM Ranchi

Now when I grew and joined IIT Patna, I carried the same attitude developed at a young age. I vividly remember when I was heading the Cultural team of my college's Festival, I suggested the idea to expand the fest from a regional level to the national level. For promoting the fest at a new level it was necessary to hold some regional level elimination rounds in different cities.  There were some reservations from a few of the members but then finally we decided to target 3 cities Indore, Lucknow & Kolkata.

The plan of action was decided and the preparatory activities were lined up as follows: First to freeze venue & logistics at minimum cost in the new city; Second was to get leads about the probable participants and getting them registered; Finally confirming eminent personality to judge the elimination rounds.

I was in the Core-Committee member but I decided to go along with my execution team to organize the first auditions in Indore. We manage the getting a Venue & Judge but drastically failed in getting the participants. The option of on-spot registration was explored and we could manage to somehow run the show.

Although it was our first try to move out of the state for expanding the festival but the expectation of the team was high as far as the participation was concerned. As a result, the plan to conduct additional rounds was in danger. I convinced the team and they allowed me to go ahead for the Lucknow auditions. We worked well in advance to tie-up with the State Engineering Colleges and ensured a good number of participants. There was some issue still faced as the mall owner refused to give the middle space in the mall and rather suggested to organize in a dead-end of the mall. We informed all the participants accordingly and it was a great success. The last auditions at Kolkata were even flawless since we already signed MoU with the Mall administration beforehand.

The college fest is one of the biggest festivals among the IITs and me silently within myself recognize that it was me who is partly a reason for this growth; this which gives tremendous satisfaction. The initiative and the success achieved through a lot of hardships gave me the confidence to set trends where ever I go.