The mood in the war room was upbeat; practically all of our groundwork had been completed.
Films are ready for screening, the schedule and posters have come from the printer. The stage banners and backgrounds have been sent for printing. Tickets and hotel accommodations were reserved for members of the Jury Committee and invited guests. The public campaign in social media and thought-free delegate pass is in full swing. The PC TV network and Nilgiri Film club are in sync with the publicity and all arraignments.
Our adversaries in Ooty and the surrounding areas of Tamil Nadu are likewise conducting a full-fledged campaign, day and night to discredit the festival and me. They made a strong campaign on Facebook by phoning all of the people they thought would attend the event.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction” – so goes one of Newton’s laws of physics, it seems to be applicable to everything our adversaries is doing. We received support from unexpected sources.
We’re only one day away from the festival’s start, and we still don’t have a Chief Guest.
I have to overcome this hurdle
I couldn’t sleep that night, knowing that all of the team’s efforts and sacrifices would be futile if we couldn’t get the festival off to a good start. A successful inauguration is now a matter of prestige for me, and I cannot afford to fail.
The first thing I did in the morning was to go to the collectorate office. I was the first person in the entire workplace. I was waiting for the Collector, Mr. S.P. Amrith IAS. I heard he is quite timely, and to prove it, he arrived on time.
To my astonishment, he accepted right away and committed to showing up on time for the festival. He gave instructions to his secretary. He was eager to learn more about the celebration, so I took more than a half-hour out of his hectic schedule to discuss it and its significance in the hill area of The Nilgiris.
There was a significant difference between the first and second meetings. His attitude and knowledge amazed me.
It’s wonderful to have excellent individuals in positions of power.
Now that the matter has been resolved, I am the happiest person on the planet.
We now have fewer than 24 hours till the opening.
We relocated our war room to The Assembly Rooms.
I re-assigned the work to the team.
Jai will now be in charge of guest hospitality and overseeing the discussion shows, Suresh of logistics, Yoga and Pasu of projection, Stalin of event promotion and live coverage, and Padu of reception. Prabu will be in charge of the visitors’ food.
Everything arrived, including banners, posters, lighting, tents, seats, and sound systems. People began to work. With so many people and so many actions, the entire region has turned into a combat zone.
Qube’s engineers Mr. Ramesh arrived, accompanied by his newly wedded wife. Mr. Srinivasan, the sound engineer, arrived early in the morning. The first round of sound checks has been completed; Ramesh will change the projector after the normal screening has concluded in the theatre. Following that, we will do a final check on the visual and sound quality.
Later that evening, we were joined by more volunteers. Mohammad Azharuddin, a bank employee, as well as Hakkim Bashith, the owner of a Care of Platform (COP) business, Balaji, a photographer, Nowshad, a young entrepreneur and Sruthi, software engineer, joined us. This volunteer squad is youthful and full of enthusiasm, and they were rushing around performing various tasks. These volunteers are attached to the core team.
By four o’clock in the evening, all decorations, lights, tent placement, and everything else had come to an end.
The entire The Assembly theatre came into our control for three days.
We turned on the lights around five o’clock in the evening.
WOW
The entire area was illuminated with a lovely yellow light, and all banners and placards were lit up. Tourists, locals, shopkeepers, and everyone began to look about in amazement and awe.
I was standing outside the Assembly theatre, appreciating and admiring the lighting, banners, and decorations and I felt a sense of accomplishment.
Someone tapped me on my shoulder and called me by my name.
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