Rock-N-Honour-Rolls
Photo Credit: Manik Oswal
A first-person essay on juggling rock music and college life in India
My name is Manik Oswal. I’m in my third year in Kirori Mal College [KMC] in New Delhi, studying Economics. I’m also the drummer for the college’s music society, MUSOC.
While deciding on what colleges to try for, I, like all of my batchmates in MUSOC, tried to keep in my mind the various music societies of the colleges. I didn’t really have the marks to get through general admissions, and the only way I could get into Delhi University would be through the ECA [Extra Curricular Activities] Trials.
My choice was basically made for me when I got admitted into KMC and it’s prestigious music society through the ECA process in the first round of admissions. Since then, college for me has been a learning experience, not only in academics, but also other spheres of life. From sitting in dirty rooms trying to finish songs, going out to beautiful campuses for outstation competitions, to preparing for the various (and often dumb) college performances, there haven’t been too many “free” days.
For most of the people in my batch of MUSOC, the choice between music and studies was pretty easy. None of us ever really wanted to study, and coming to KMC just made it impossible to do so even if we had ever wanted to. We spend most of the semester working, going for competitions, and then during the last week of the semester, scrambling around to get the readings for our papers. This is how it has been for the last two years for me. And, if the past month is any indication, this is how it’s going to be all semester.
I’ve always felt that being in a college like KMC is a privilege. This is because, unlike other colleges, KMC is a lot more supportive of it’s societies (like MUSOC) and does a lot to support extra-curricular activities. It was extremely surprising to us, in our first year, when we got to know that we were one of the only college societies to have our own music room, which we could use to work and to practice any time of the day. Most other colleges have to depend on strict timings and random rooms that are assigned by the administration on a day-to-day basis.
That too, however, comes at a price. We are often times the college’s band-for-hire, and have to perform in events where we don’t get the respect we deserve. The most shocking experience was when we were called to do an entire hour-long performance without amplification and without a stage that we were supposed to set up in the middle of the college ground.
College for me has been a learning experience, not only in academics, but also other spheres of life. From sitting in dirty rooms trying to finish songs, going out to beautiful campuses for outstation competitions, to preparing for the various (and often dumb) college performances, there haven’t been too many “free” days.
In most of these situations, our staff advisors Dr. Sumitra Mohanty and Dr. Shalini Baxi have had our back. They've made sure we either get the basic conditions to put up a good show, or the right to refuse to put up a show if those conditions aren’t available. Travelling as a society/band is always an experience, especially when trains are delayed, and rooms with about 40 other people are involved. Most universities like IIT Kanpur and BITS Pilani usually just set you up in the Table Tennis rooms, with bedding that is far from sanitary (the last time we went to Kanpur, our pillows were filled with newspapers).
IIT Bombay, however, gives you one room for the whole team to share and the setup is actually pretty comfortable. IIT Bombay was the best experience we’ve had as a band. After two gruelling rounds over two days, the call at night informing us that we’d gotten through to the final round gave us quite the adrenaline rush (especially because we weren’t really expecting it!). We didn’t do too badly in the overall competition, and came third after only two or three real practices. Throughout the competition, we’d wake up early in the morning, get our band slot, wake up the rest of the band, and rush for sound check. On all three days, we were basically done with most of our work by 2, and then had the rest of the day to goof around in Bombay together as a group, which was pretty exciting.
All in all, I’d say that one of the main reasons why I decided to join Delhi University is because I knew it would give me the chance to try out music for a living. Although, I’m still not where I’d like to be, I’m going to continue to try and make something out of my passion. I’m extremely grateful to all the teachers and instructors I have gotten a chance to learn from so far. I believe there’s a lot I still have to learn, and I hope to continue on my path.
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Manik Oswal, a student at the Kirori Mal College in New Delhi, plays drums for the college’s prestigious MUSOC band. He is part of a an indie-folk band Kabootar (@kabootarmusic on Instagram). He is studying under Berklee College of Music alumnus Kartikeya Srivastava. He recently recorded an album with Berklee student, Aashna Gupta as well as various singles with multiple Delhi-based artists. You can follow Manik personally on Instagram at: @manik_oswal.
