PIONEERING 'THE SILVER LINING'
“A small
group of thoughtful people could change the world.
Our
world in those days was NED. More
precisely, it was Civil Engineering Department. We owned it and wanted to make
it a better place. We were young. We were crazy. We were restless. We had
infinite energy and exuberance. We had obstinate optimism. We had fresh ideas.
We had all of it and much more. But what we did not have was time. We were in
our final year and the clock was ticking on it. It was then that we first had
an inkling of a possibility of pioneering an exclusive magazine of Civil
Engineering Department. Other departments had their own and were quite boastful
about it. And it of course tickled our youthful pride. “How could our
department, our world, lag behind?” asked our collective angst. However, it
wasn’t just blind rage or the hurt pride alone. The idea to launch a magazine
was also the product in part of a particular wave of nostalgia that sweeps over
a final year student. The season of farewell in the final year brings with
itself the matters of legacy and longing. In establishing the magazine we also saw
an opportunity to not only relive and recapitulate the time spent at campus but
also to etch our cries and murmurs and our hopes and aspirations forever into
history.
Hence,
this idea was born around mid May, 2009, during casual discussion among our
group of friends inside the classroom of B.E, Section-B. We were a group of seven friends who initially
mused about it. However, since it was an
idea whose time had come, we soon had the entire department behind us. And thus
began the hectic, at times hysteric, preparation of the first ever magazine. It
is not easy to end the inertia and blaze a trail. It is one thing to envisage
an idea and quite another to materialize it. Practical issues like finding sponsors
amidst the milieu of recession and quality content amidst the tons of submitted
articles were only a few of the many challenges we faced. The endless hours
spent in front of a computer screen dealing with the minutiae of graphic design
and the frequent visits to publisher made sure that we got as little time to
give to our studies as possible. Nonetheless, we were driven by a strange
youthful faith in the possibility of whatever we dream. There is something
about the years at university which makes you a ‘yea-sayer’ as opposed to naysayer.
And this is why we named our magazine ‘The Silver Living’ with the subtitle of
‘Building Hope’.
Nothing
gives us more pleasure than knowing that the seed we planted many years ago has
now grown into a beautiful tree, watered over the years by those who came after
us. The tradition has been continued with the same vitality. All of us who have
ever been part of ‘The Silver Lining’ since its inception in 2009 are bound
together by that same spirit underlying the original idea. And I can assure you
that this mix of a little craziness and confidence, defiance and diligence is
going to take you places and you are going to do great things in life.
But
remember to keep the flame of ‘The Silver Lining’ burning. Don’t let it be
snuffed out, ever.
