A Rock Star comes to town

I have two vivid memories associated with Bryan Adams' 'Everything I do, I do it for you'.

I took a film editing course in college. The hours spent there were so refreshingly different from the humdrum of regular classes that it was a shame when it was over. During the course, we dissected advertisements, learnt the rules about filming and editing and got a rare insight into the world of advertising and film.

One afternoon, Bryan Adams made it to class. Not the real one (I wish!), but the video of this song which was very popular on MTV in those days. The class had to analyse the video (without getting distracted by the song), discuss fade ins & outs, dissolves, pans and all those wonderful things that you notice only after you've studied them. The song will always remain a reminder of that year and that course. Of all the clips we studied, this one sticks out the most.

Later that year (1993), our Psychology department took their annual student retreat to a nearby city. In India we call these places 'hill stations'. They are cooler than the average cities and once were escape routes for the British from the overbearing heat and dust of the bigger, busier cities.

Anyway, so there we were in Khandala (that's the name of the place). I was in my second year at college hoping to major in Psychology. The three days of the retreat would involve listening to third year students presenting papers on their chosen subject and discussing them. In addition, this was a chance for the faculty to get to know us a little better. Being at this retreat would make it easier at the time of the departmental interviews in a few months - at least we would be remembered (we hoped!)

Once the day's discussions were done, the evening was reserved for quiet chat, long walks and interesting discussions. Sounds boring, but it was terribly exciting then.

One evening, the radio was on. Bryan Adams came on with this song - he was 'live' in Mumbai, a few hundred km away. We had forgotten that he was in town - one of the first major international rock stars to make it to India after the country opened itself after a 'globalisation' policy.

I remember sitting there, listening to the radio with a dozen friends. The crickets were chirping somewhere in the dense thicket of trees. A motorcycle roared somewhere, causing a silly friend to scream, thinking it was a tiger! (Don't ask!).

Those were good days. Pity we had to grow up.