PAIGAAM

The Experience of a Lifetime

Paigaam, a peace conference held at Dhirubhai Ambani International School from 10th July to 15th July, had over 44 participants, five of whom (Kartik Bhargave, Swati Mandloi, Saloni Bindal, Aayush Agrawal and Akshat Mahajan) were from Daly College. It aimed to foster a sense of unity among Indians, and invited schools as regionally diverse as Vivek High School, Sanskar Valley School, and, of course, Dhirubhai Ambani International School (DAIS) itself.

Our time at Paigaam was a riotous mix of fun and education that began from the moment we arrived and continued over the course of Paigaam. It was not what we originally thought; it turned out to be more of a lifetime experience than a boring conference, with fun and excitement competing with each other every second.

DAY 1: We arrived at 9 in the morning, and headed first to DAIS for snacks and refreshments. We were introduced to the 39 other conference delegates, only to be surprised by the bombshell that dropped: we had to share rooms with people from different schools  still complete strangers to us. We were uncomfortable at first, but soon became the best of friends.

The day was filled with games, such as Labelling and Stereotypes, where we were divided into different groups and sent away to different rooms. Small labels (containing the name of a known occupation or community e.g. 'terrorist') were stuck to our heads, and people were to treat us as stereotypes of that community, helping us guess what was written on our heads. After this, we spent some time with our reflection groups, where we were supposed to reflect on the activities of the day, and how it made us feel, after which the day officially ended.

DAY 2: The second day came the Apocalypse. Before you say anything, the Apocalypse was the name of a game we played at Paigaam not the end of the world (thankfully). We were asked to choose four people out of a possible eleven to survive doomsday and continue civilization; the list included an ex-terrorist, a five-year-old and a homosexual. With the choices offered, we ended up racking our brains for the best combination  the game weas meant to teach us the difficulty of making big decisions.

After the Apocalypse, we went on to become submarines  more precisely, groups of four and five, the first four blindfolded, the first armed with two glasses of icy water, and the last free to see. We had a lot of fun trying to drench the other submarines with our arsenal! The game ended very quickly, but not before we had tremendous fun.

Then came the serious part. Armed with a page of facts, impersonators (namely, us) of the Muslim League and the Congress debated over whether Pakistan should be created (the debate was set in 1946). Heated arguments soon followed.

The best part of the day  indeed, the whole conference  was the Amazing Race. Similar to the Race on AXN, we were tied together and given clues to various 'cities', really boards with the name of cities written on them spread throughout the area. After finding the city, we then had to search for a clue near the board and proceed onward. The thrill and exuberation of the race was unmatched by any other event  fortunately, there were three phases of the Race, so we had two more to look forward to.

DAY 3 : The next day began eloquently it began with debates. We were divided into various groups and told to compete with a rival group, on fun topics ranging from whether cell phones should be allowed in schools to the 'Oomph factor', which was the factor that made a girl's presence felt in a room as she entered.

After this, we met Mr. Rakesh Mehra, director of Rang de Basanti and Delhi 6, who was our guest lecturer. We watched a movie on war and the difficulties of it with him; Mr. Mehra later led a serious discussion of the film and the subjects it touched.

This was followed by the Media Game, where we were asked to report an incident, but in the style of, variously, the paparazzi, a news channel, a Hindu extremist group, a Muslim extremist group and Reuters. Needless to say, it was great fun.

At the end of the day, we all had played a game of cricket in the rain  which rocked! And so the day ended but not before the Amazing Race was played.

DAY 4 : We set off for a tour of Mumbai, stopping first at Nariman Point and later at the Gateway of India. We lunched at the Leopold Café, which still bore the marks of the violence of 26/11, after which came the part the girls liked best : shopping. We came back tired and exhausted for the XY game, whose rules are too complicated to describe here. We retired to our beds after practicing for the cultural performance we were to do with our reflection groups.

DAY 5: We had an action-filled day ahead of us. We played cricket yet again, but this time in teams  the Deccan Chargers, the Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Superkings and the Delhi Daredevils, one after the other. The teams fought it out one after the other, in torrential rains and in clear daylight; for those interested, the Daredevils won.

Next was our cultural performance, for which everyone had been practicing, and proved to be both a source of great fun and a serious activity. We danced, acted, and even sang on stage! The performances, obviously, were hits, but nothing compared to the sheer action of the party that followed  it lasted till 12:30 am, and intense dancing was the norm, to songs both English and Indian.

And that was Paigaam, an experience unlike any we had ever had. To those of us who are lucky to go next year, know just this: we envy you.

-  Akshat, Saloni, Swati, Kartik, and Aayush