The New Normal at RCNM
“True life is lived when tiny changes occur.” – Leo Tolstoy
A change in the working of a person, house, institution, or the world often poses a setback. Those who rush past the turbulence of that significant change and adjust to the new situation have an inherent habit to constantly grow. RCNM is one of the many organizations that continued working through the pandemic. It is, however, one of the very few that did wonders while looking at the world through its computer screen.
The world felt a lightning bolt when the word 'lockdown' hit all the news channels and newspapers. It swept the roads clear of human chatter and took away all chances of students going back to their college and school anytime soon. Rotaract Club of N.M. College, like other student associations, found itself in trouble because no matter how many intellectual people you
have with you, it was a matter of big changes.
First up, beginning the first virtual year, the terms of selecting the core team and board of directors were through online interviews, consisting of several network issues, adjusting with other family members as they were travelling in the same boat, and wearing pajamas to interviews for the first time. Time had changed; rules had changed BIG time. When the Departmental Executives had been selected, it became difficult to get so many people to connect with each other. Having learnt from online college lectures that accidently or ever switching on your camera was a grave sin, people found it troublesome to open up easily. How do you even begin to say hey to someone to a moving computer picture without an old-fashioned handshake?
Anyway, it seemed like this dent on the road only fueled the core's passion to make something bigger and better than all the past years. The events we did - and received massive participation for - were the brainchild of the best, most intellectual, and most practical minds we had witnessed. Long story short, no stone was left unturned. Nothing was left at the mercy and chance of the lockdown lifting. We did everything according to the same system, and we did it pretty well.
Until two months before RotoFest, we had been hearing the core team not even remotely considering the idea of an online festival. But there we were - hosting online event meetings flooding with participants. The idea of an online fest really did lure audiences and artists and influencers.
When we recruited the avenue-wise members towards the end of 2020, we were awestruck by their sheer enthusiasm to connect, talk, open up so easily, create a family and many memories, and, above all, work to prove their worth. The teamwork and participants definitely came from a place of wanting to connect and doing every least bit to experience the highly-glamorized "college life". RCNM truly tried its best and, in outdoing itself, maintained its prestigious image in
the eyes of the district and people who had a hand in making every little thing happen.
Stay Safe and Stay tuned!
- Rtr. Yashika Chaturvedi, Editor of The Rotaract Club of N.M. College 2021-22
