CARMA-V

By: Raja moini

When we first landed in Lahore, all anyone could think of was how cold it was going to be outside.  We grabbed our luggage and headed towards the gates wanting desperately to take a whiff of that cold Lahori air. I can recall it all happening. Infact, for some odd reason, in my mind, it always happens in slow motion. Getting our suitcases, running to the gates of the airport, stepping outside AAAAAND, well, that’s it really. We just stood there waiting for the intense cold to hit us any second, but… it didn’t. The weather was ‘pleasant’ and that was definitely NOT what us Karachi walay were expecting of Lahore. Little did we know how badly we’d be proved wrong that night.

I believe introductions to our made to win, beyond awesome teams are in order before I proceed any further.  Starting off with the star team of PAF Chapter, Team A, we had the incredible photographer Faizan Alamgir (better known as Jalebi to over half the school), the amazingly expressionless Hamza Mandviwala, the extremely hospitable Shayan Baig, the quiet Haniya Ahmed, the sweetheart Maria Imran and of course, Aamna Aziz, who scares me a little (read: A LOT).

Coming to Team B, the extremely homesick (but nonetheless awesome) Amna Khan, Sundus Qureshi (who can apparently sing REALLY REALLY well), the intelligent Maheen Ahmed, Waleed Ghani (who takes really awesome pictures as well), the beautiful Bazigha Hudda and myself. Last but most definitely not the least, Team C. There was the most incredible senior ever, Marium Tariq, the coolest A2 Huda Raza, Afif Ather, who I heard talking only TWICE (yes, I counted), the awesome (I’m running out of adjectives) Moiz Khan, the amazing future RJ Rushna Burney and finally, the person who proved to me that the best things really do come in small packages, Maheen Arif.

Our first adventure in Lahore was at the famous Joyland. As we stepped out of the car at night, the true Lahori winter slapped us in the face (really really hard). Stepping into the park, we ran to the scariest ride we saw. After being whirled in every direction imaginable and being inches away from going ker-splat on the ground  I can confidently say that that is the closest I, and I’m pretty sure everyone else on that ride (judging by the level of screaming I could hear) has never been closer to death. And of course, like any successful trip to the amusement park, there was throwing up (and we were lucky enough to catch it on tape). Coming back, Faizan made us all walk choo choo train style to make sure none of us got lost, and as is apparent, none of us did.

Entering LUMS, us CARMA first-timers were awestruck. Calling the campus big would be an understatement. Gigantic suits it better. It was beautiful; with trees everywhere and the red bricked building reminding me a little of school back home. Lugging our suitcases inside the gates, little did we know that what we saw was just the tip of the iceberg. With those moronic, tourist type grins spread across our faces we tried making our way to the dorms.  That is when we came to realize the sheer enormity and brilliance of the campus. It was a city within a city. And a beautiful one as a matter of fact.
After settling into our dorms, we made our way to the first (and probably the most exciting) event of the day. The shootout. Let me tell you this, we do not give our news reporters enough credit. After being pushed, trampled on and almost crushed to death in a stampede of pretend news reporters eager to get footage of a pretend protest, all the news channels out there have gained my unconditional respect. We spent the night exploring the campus, enjoying the bonfire at the carnival arranged for the delegates and relaxing at one of the hip cafes at LUMS.

Came day 2 and we all geared up for the chilly weather outside wearing nothing less than three layers of clothing (in my case, four) and still shivering all the way to wherever we needed to go. It was a day well spent with phase two of the shootout and other journalism events all taking place. Finally, the night we’d all been waiting for came. The concert. The opening act, Abdullah Qureshi had the girls screaming their lungs out, including myself, even though I had never seen or heard of the man in my life, but, oh well, I have no regrets because  the amazing songs later had me singing along anyway. After making us wait for quite some time in the freezing cold, the main act of the night, lead singer of one of Pakistan’s most celebrated pop bands; Farhan Saeed came to treat our ears to old favorites. The awesome music, cold as ever weather and of course, our team members crazy (literally crazy) dance moves made it a night impossible to forget.   

Day 3 arrived and getting lost in the huge campus became routine. Severely sleep deprived and running purely on caffeine, we prepared ourselves for Anchor IT. Pretending to be a real life news anchor was definitely on my bucket list, and no matter how horrible I was, a dream came true that day. With the print pandemonium (a magazine each team had to create regarding CARMA V) deadline and shootout submissions the next day, everybody started going slightly, if not completely, loopy.  Everyone frantically put together whatever little footage and write-ups they had managed to get and added final touches to their videos.

Day 3 also happened to be the day for the Voicebox. The radio event at CARMA in which our teams did an amazing job getting praise from everyone, the competition included and although we did not bag the award, we had our heads held high, proud of our very own radio jockeys.  

Day 4 arrived and it dawned upon us that the end to our adventure was coming close. We woke up to the shouting of the student volunteers telling us to pack up and empty the dorms A.S.A.P. as they had delegates for their next event coming in. Mustering whatever little energy we had in us, we threw all our belongings in our suitcases and dragged them out in the hallway and to be honest, I almost fell asleep on mine. We headed out of the dorms with our bags and looked back wondering when, if ever, we’d come back.  

Came the closing ceremony and we celebrated as one of our teams was awarded second place at the shootout. Although we did not win many awards, we gained an experience that was definitely more valuable than gold. Walking out of LUMS, we were happy and sad at the same time. Happy because we had made some great memories that would last a lifetime, and sad because our journey had finally come to an end.

Our last day in Lahore was an adventure all on its own. Having no car to go anywhere far out in the city, we decided to walk to the nearby Hardees in Lahore’s famous Y- Block. We left the house (provided to us by the extremely generous Shayan Baig) and started walking towards the restaurant, having only Hamza’s trusted GPRS to guide us. Stealing baby oranges hanging from a tree in someones garden on the way and almost getting chased by the chowkidaar of the house, playing an awesome game of ding dong ditch and having one last meal together before heading back to Karachi, it was a day I’ll always remember.

Incredible, crazy, exciting and just plain unforgettable (for all the right reasons). That is what describes LUMS CARMA V for us in the best way. It was a roller coaster ride we will remember for the rest of our lives. Winning is not what it’s all about, and CARMA has taught us that better than anything else. We faced our fears, experienced life in a different way, laughed till our lungs were on the verge of giving out but best of all, we went as friends, strangers even, but came back as family and nothing less than that. It’s not the destination that matters most, it’s the journey. And this journey was the best of our lives.