Meaning of fan following to Me

FAN FOLLOWING GETS A NEW MEANING

Staying in a small city, I had always heard or seen in the television what following a “star” is. Sometimes I used to think that the media portrays things in an exaggerated manner. I wondered how can people go crazy about any one, that to for a person who is quite unreachable, a “star”. But when the Amit Paul craze hit our quite city of Shillong I started realising that media wasn’t after all wrong. They showed the reality. There are people who are “die- hard” fans of these stars.

In Shillong, Amit Paul has broken the barriers of age among many other things. Old and young love him, adore him ad even fantasise him. Everyday I hear strange stories about what people did to meet him either from my mom, my friends, or else where. But in the last two days I have witnessed such a die hard fan. She is my classmate and a good friend. She just can’t stop talking about Amit. Yesterday, she went about telling everyone in our class, individually, how she had managed to touch him!

It was quite amazing to see and hear her. People were making fun of her, some others were being jealous at her luck. But when I came back home and thought about it I realised that she wasn’t just another fan of the singer. She signified (atleast for me) what fan –following really means. People really do get crazy and can go up to any extent to get a glimpse of their star.

Before this, Shillong had never had any one going to the national level in such a big way. Thus Amit has become an icon who symbolises similar dreams dreamt by many. He has made youngsters believe in them and in the fact that they too can do it. and as far as fan- following goes, for me, it also symbolises the need of the people to call someone their own. Today any Shillongite going outside proudly says that “I too live in Shillong, where Amit lives”.

Shillong Opens Up To The Rest Of The country

Shillong tucked away in the mountains of the north east hardly seemed to attract people from the “mainland India”. The people lived here among themselves, quite happy fighting and loving one another. But as the word “global village” has slowly creeped into every corner of Shillong, we have opened up to the rest of the country. Rather, the rest of the country is getting to know this place.

Over the last few years, there have been many such instances which proof that Shillong is no longer a long forgotten hill station. Music bands like Micheal Learns to Rock, Petra and the likes have chosen Shillong as the only place to perform against the rest of the country. Why talk about a few years back, jus this month Channel V came to the city in lieu of their programme called “My India Report”.

“My India Report” is an initiative by the channel to find out what the youth think about their nation. The programme is all about the youth, their thoughts, their ideas, ideologies and observations of the growing nation. The programme is conducted by six bloggers who have been chosen having varied background and each with a different approach to life. MIR as they call the programme is covering 8 cities around India, namely Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Kolkata, Shillong, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Cochin. Their idea is not to go to only the metros but to penetrate into the other cities which also have a very strong youth population and capture their thoughts and opinions. In each city they are focussing on a different issue varying from religion to love and marriage, entertainment, sex, politics, environment, future of India, social issues.

For Shillong the MIR team settled with the topic of entertainment. This was a conscious decision on their part knowing fully well the strong musical influence the city has. they of course haven’t been disappointed in any way. After a little chit chat with them anyone would guess how much they have liked the musical scenario here. We found music in every corner of Shillong, that’s what they say. They also felt that not only are there numerous bands here but also there is a strong awareness of different genres of music both national and international, here.

In Shillong they visited a lot of places, like Tattoo Artist Christopher who also has a band called “Project Blend Limited”, St. Anthony’s School and College, Swish Café, NGO’s like Impulse, Kripa Foundation,Don Bosco Youth Centre, Chilli Breeze Graphic Service and local filmmakers and music directors. Through this varied blend of people they tried to find the answers the nation is seeking. Most importantly they felt entertainment plays a major role here.

When they were asked about what they felt about the city they quickly agreed that they have not come across a more hospitable environment in their tour yet. However they felt that there is more potential in the area but due to lack of knowledge, interest of “mainstream India” it hasn’t come to the forefront yet. They felt to a certain extent the media of the country is to be blamed as they haven’t showcased the region properly.

Their coming to Shillong is a strong indication of the changing times. People from around the country have started accepting us and taking utmost interest in our city. Not only are they aware of the name of the town but also what it has to offer to others. There exploration to the unexplored places will definitely take India to a better future tomorrow.