IFE chauka!

Intelligent freak events: the baby turns four

The one thing which is inseparable from us is our childhood. Childhood when we had time only for our friends, school and homework. The long days of leisure and adventure. The times when recreation was a priority than an option. Adulthood brought with itself wisdom and ambition. Wisdom lead to complication and ambition led to monotony. The “time-hi-nahi-milta” phrase became the new mantra. Some keep cribbing about it and some just jump the hoop and breakfree. There’s where it all starts .Welcome! To Intelligent freak events where the people are more freaks than intelligent but balance it somehow. When one gets over the choice of words to name themselves you concentrate on what’s it all about.

 Apparently it all started as a facebook group four years ago. Sigh!  4 years and still active , talk about sustainability . So is there any particular qualification to join it . Probably not , if you think you are a freak, Voila! You get admitted  automatically. Being intelligent is an added bonus. One would think what they do. The FAQ’s for them be like

Do you travel?

- Yes ! Yes! Yes!

Do you meet to eat?

-A lot

Do you flash mob?

-In style

Do you celebrate festivals?

-Unlike any other
Do you adventure sports?
-Hell yeahhhh! \m/

Do you social work?

- Duh! Its more about it than the rest

In spirit and in soul they are truly democratic. The profile of the freaks boasts of  doctors, engineers, lawyers, professionals, teachers, politicians, students, managers, business men, unemployed and many more. If we get over the professional designation you would find rebels and dreamers, artists and musicians, clueless and go-getters, visionary and sleepyheads, drama queens and sweetie pies, story tellers and poets  . A mesh of different extremes of the personality spectrum coming together , travelling , eating , discussing , debating , sometimes competing and occasionally complaining. IFEians have colored the deserts of Bikaner red and have camped at Rishikesh’s blue. They have rocked the Spiti Valley and mocked at Mcleodganj. The food walks is more about food than calories , the social service is more about children at shelter homes’.

It isn’t a rosy world out there. There have been goof ups and disasters . Well! That’s the USP of it. Its just like life imperfect but ever going. Along with the troubles comes an important lesson . They learn and go on to never repeat the mistake again but to make a new one. Oops! Freaky aren’t they. So every event has a story with the beginning “ the one where ****some incident***went wrong. Classic adventurers!

The person who incepted the idea of IFE and keeps it running for all  the other intelligent freaks considers it his baby. Well Piyush Acharya ( who emphasizes on being called creator and not founder of IFE) you aren’t getting any footage since its IFE’s fourth birthday not yours (you still stuck somewhere being an eight year old though).

So the next time when wanderlust sinks in and your friends are too busy to plan a holiday or an event. It wouldn’t hurt to turn to IFE ,as they say

“ Ae umra kuch kaha maine ,

Shayad tune suna nahi,

Tu chheen sakti hai bachpan mera,

Par bachpana nahi!”.

Happy fourth year fellas!
- Contributed by an IFE admirer :)

Odeon Paan: Old wine in New Bottle.

One thing predictable about Intelligent Freaks is their unpredictability. And same would be explained in this blog.

Delhi is a city of politicians, political supporters, businessman, call centers, govt. employee and unemployed groups. All in considerable population, complimenting each other.
You'll find all kind of people over here and from each part of the country and surrounding. South- North- West- East- North  East and Bangladeshis too.

Delhi has everything that you can ask for. The real beauty of being in Delhi is that you get almost everything from every part of country over here.
This city is not just limited to it's versatility, it is in fact a heritage city too, with a vast and interesting history.
A business center and capital city of several kingdoms since 8th century.

Anyway this blog is not about Delhi or it's heritage and existence.
This blog is about Intelligent Freak events and their visit to Odeon paan Shop: A famous paan waala in heart of Delhi- Cannaught place area, inner circle, situated along Odeon cinema complimenting cinema hall's existence over there.

Paan has its own traditional, cultural and ethnic image.
It holds it's unique unchallenged importance in life of each Indian. At least of the generation born before 80's.
And due to it's importance in Indian's lifestyle a paan waala is always expected to be neat, clean and hygienic.
No matter what kind of locality you come from, but you would want your paan waala to be up to the mark.

Although the standards have fallen down these days, still there are places where you'll find a paan waala running a shop the way it is supposed to be run.

Most of the paan waala in delhi (at-least the older ones) would be found wearing white dhoti-kurta or white kurta payjama with a red striped towel resting on their shoulder. Lips red with katha (an ingredient in prepared paan) and color of paan leaf.
An orange or red tillak (teeka) on forehead. Often referred as pandit-ji, these people are respected by youth and elders both.

The best thing about these paan waala (the experienced ones) is that they have a collection of home remedies and Ayurvedic treatments for small-big and common diseases.

Preferably listening to old songs or news on radio, these vendors would most of the times found smiling and preparing some or the other thing.

A conventional Paan waala look like this.
:- A counter of - 4ft * 2ft * 3ft (H*L*B) or 10ft*4ft*4ft (H*L*B) not exact dimensions though.
Though a bigger shop can vary as per the size of shop in market.

Several small (usually steel) boxes, containing ingredients for preparing paan, an agarbati for constant essence in air and to keep away the mosquitoes and a photograph of Hanuman ji (A hindu god) resting on counter.

Odeon:
Having one of the best locations in Delhi, Odeon gets good business from regular as well as random customers.
Situated almost opposite to the Odeon cinema hall, but on the same lane, it gets a good business from people who come for movie.
Constructed in circular shape, it is divided into four arcs giving births to four different counters easing handling of large no of customers at the same time. Each arc measuring 90 degree.

The man who holds seat at one of the counter (where we had Paan) looks exactly the way a traditional Paan wala should look.
Sitting comfortably doing his work and his assistant handling on the spot activities.

USP:
What holds Odeon at the top positions among other Paan shops is the variety it offers for different kind of people.
Looking at the varieties you will definitely fall for at-least one of them either out of curiosity or for the love of that particular flavor otherwise.

Few Varieties offered by Odeon are as follows.
1. Chuski Paan (Specialty)
2. Ghundi Paan
3. Meetha Paan (Filled with Gulkand: Preserve of Rose petals in Sugar)
4. Coconut Paan (sweetened Coconut powder)
5. Strawberry Paan
6. Butterscotch Paan
7. Mango Paan. (Was not available, as season of Mango had already gone)
8. Competition Paan
9. Chocolate Paan
10. Fruit n Nut Paan
11. Nutty Chocolate Paan
12. Frozen Paan
13. Chipas Paan. (With Molasses)
14. Nirala Paan (Was tasty and had few dry fruits with some special Chutney)
15. 5 pm Paan (No one tried it. The name suggests that it's made for people returning home from office and possibly could contain tobacco or Zarda. Nobody even bothered to ask for).
16. Cho Mocco Paan
17. ITR Paan
18. Maghaj Meetha Paan (Maghaj is a dry fruit with high medicinal value and good taste)
19. Flood Paan
20. Blackcurrant Paan
21. Ice Flavor Paan (Meetha Paan with Ice added separately. It's different from Chuski or Frozen Paan)

I.F.E's touch:

Apart from organizing a freaky event to taste and savor different Paans, IFE had to do something different in it. So here we are with our Intelligently Freaky Idea.

We had a round of Chuski paan before getting to taste other Paans. And an informal competition of who could eat the biggest Chuski Paan and then have one more again.

What exactly is Chuski Paan?

Two leaves of Paan are taken together with one overlapping the other from sides. The guy preparing would hold them in his hand and the mount crushed ice on it. Different type of flavored syrups would be added to it, including Rose and Chocolate to enhance the taste. It is then folded and then served directly to your mouth by the hands of the assistant who prepares it.

Yes! you read it right. This Paan is served directly, into your mouth and will not be given to you in your hand.

It's size is far more than the size of your mouth and only the expert knows how he manages to fit a paan of that big a size in customers mouth.

The best part was to see the face of each and every member victimized by the hands of Paan waala when he forced the big Chuski paan into their mouth.
Big sparkling eyes with swelled up cheeks filled with Ice, unable to open lips or to speak.
With that big amount of ice and stuff filled in mouth no one was even able to chew it or gulp it all.
For few seconds you go into the "Unable to do anything" pose.

But it's fun to experience it. I can guarantee that you will enjoy that moment and obviously the taste of the paan.

Our competition winner (Ankit Awasthi)

Best and Worst at Odeon:
Chuski as I have already mentioned is a must try.
Apart from that Coconut, Niraala, Nutty chocolate and freshly prepared Meetha paan are really good.
Fruit n Nut was a disappointment. Frozen Paan wasn't any good either.
Rest depends on the taste of a person.

Beware of:
1. Supari (Beatul Nut)
One of the most common ingredients in paan is Supari. A Paanwala would have different quality of Supari with him. But majorly it is available as wet and dry.
In case you've never had Supari in life or have never had paan before try avoiding this.
Chances are you won't know how to chew it and when to throw it out. Some people swallow it after chewing it thoroughly but again you won't know how to do it and might end up coughing up at the end.

2. Tobacco:
Although in big cities like Delhi you won't find Paan being served with tobacco, at-least not at the good shops.
In-fact you won't be given tobacco unless you ask for it.
If you are elsewhere in country like in a smaller city you might be served tobacco in paan without you event asking for it.
Try avoiding it, as it has severe bad effects on health and is basically used for intoxication.
In India Tobacco would be called by different names.
(1). Tambakoo
(2). Jarda.

3. Smoking after Chuski Paan
Don't smoke after having Chuski Paan. You'll be doing a dental suicide. You won't feel anything initially but after 3-4 hours you would die of pain.
Few members of our group had few puffs and kept complaining about the pain for next 3 days.

PS: Rather than surfing net for different Paans, go out and try it. We had an amazing experience and I wish you too have a wonderful time enjoying Paan.

Coming up blogs on Shakes, Navratre and Dushehra in few days, in no particular order. Stay tuned and follow us on facebook.
Page: https://www.facebook.com/IFE.NewDelhi?ref=hl
Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/intelligent.freaks/
Check out more pics at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.597750783597006&type=1

Stay Happy and Be an Intelligent Freak
Piyush Acharya
9953227975

Naivedyam (Hauz Khas Village): A South Indian Paradise.

Do you double check your wallet while entering Hauz Khas village? Because every-time you go there you come out with with a light weight pocket. The sole reason is as soon you enter Hauz Khas village, your wallet starts exercising as if it is in Gold's gym.
Most of the time you exit Hauz Khas village with half filled stomach, with a dialogue on your lips, "You know I am on diet" or "I was just here for drinks".

Delhi is a place where you will find people of all genre. But mediocre always are in majority, be it any front.

Land cruiser, Jaguar the latest new introduction to Indian roads...(thanks to TATA), are a common sight in Hauz Khas village these days.
BMW, Benz, Audi still continue to maintain there space in DDA parking Hauz Khas Village.

But the interesting part is that the majority is of cars over here are like i10, Swift, Santro, i20, other common hatch backs and few low cost sedans too . This proves that most of the people visiting Hauz khas village are from middle class.

Anyway this blog is not about the kind of crowd that comes to Hauz Khas village or the automobile they drive.
This blog is about Naivedyam, the South Indian eating joint in Hauz Khas village.

As you enter Hauz Khas village after crossing the barricade that says 'andar sirf gaon ki gadiyan ja sakti hain'. You or your driver will have to park the car outside in the parking area or on the sides of the road and walk in to the Huaz Khas village.
As you cross the barricade there's this famous Khokha on the right hand side. (Khokha: In delhi a small counter where cigarette, paan and other such items are available)

On the side of Khokha keep walking inwards and then starts the proper constructed area of Hauz khas village with initialy buildings on the left hand side only. Just as the buildings start, there's a small passage going towards left, follow it. This passage will automatically take you towards the a small ally which ends on a turn from where it becomes even more sleek and serene.
But you don have to follow it into the sleek passage. Just on the turn you'll find yourself between few buildings with a couture and an art gallery on the left hand side. Straight in front of you will be a stair case with lots of plants and pots, misguiding you about the service provided over there.
Seriously at first I was confused whether it's a restaurant or a nursery. :D

Well as I have observed in most of the South Indian restaurants in Delhi, serving good food, there's a long waiting time. You are always in Que, be it lunch time or dinner, you'll have to wait at-least for 15-20 minutes.
So just like Sarvana bhawan- C.P & Carnatic Cafe- NFC, Naivedyam will also keep you waiting as it's always packed with customers, which even though is a bad trait but a good sign.

Rich or Middle class, Delhi-ites or Outsiders, American or European, you'll find all the race of people sitting and enjoying South Indian food.

IFE's group (around 20-21 people that day) was lucky enough to not to have to wait for too long, even though the restaurant was full on that Sunday afternoon.
We told them about our group and our reach-out online. A small tip (or you can say maybe bribe, hahaha) got us a quick way into the restaurant. Initially seated in small groups of 5-6 each separately we finally managed to get a big long table for everyone to sit together and enjoy the meal.

Ambiance:
Dim lighting enhances the beauty of this place filled with the aroma of Sambar masala and Rassam.
Decorated with South Indian designs this place is quiet with soft music playing in the background occasionally.
Sitting arrangement is quite conventional with wooden chairs, which I felt could have been a bit more comfortable, no complaints though.
Mobile network is big issue in this restaurant. It seems like they have installed network jammers inside giving a straight instruction 'Sit & eat, And talk to the people who have accompanied you', :D .
Well sometimes it's better to just enjoy food rather than being busy with other things.
"My mum always says: When your mind is on other things while eating, the food becomes poison". So definitely this lunch at Naivedyam had no chance to become poison for us. :D :P

Taste:
You show me a good South Indian restaurant  and I'll show you Naivedyam.
Taste unbeatable, although you can compare few of their items with Sarvana Bhawan and Carnatic cafe, but still Naivedyam has it's own charm and rejuvenating taste.
All the items at Naivedyam will taste different and genuine. Certainly not like all other places where while eating with closed eyes you can not differentiate between Masala Dosa and Masala Uttapam.

The Rice is one of the unique kind over there. I have had rice at several South Indian restaurants and this one was completely different.
The proper Kerala rice, thick in size, smaller in length, very subtle taste, genuine like a rice coming direct from field.

Must Try:
Out of all the great things offered by this place, the Uttapam, Fried Idli and Thali were my Favorite.
Rassam with Pappar before the main course meal is served, is exceptionally good. Rassam is served hot, straight from the pan to your table. A bit spicy with pinch of black pepper that will hit you in your throat.
Served in typical south indian style steel glasses, it will kick up your appetite.

Thali: Served in three different categories.
1. Normal Thali.
2. Tiffin Thali (Lunch hour special)
3. Maharaja Thali

Normal Thali: Vegetables-3, Kadi, Rassam, Chapati/Poori, Arhar Dal, Kheer, Rice, Sambar, Pappar
Chapati-2, Puri-2 or Chapati-4. You can't ask for more, once you have had your share of Thali you'll be full and maybe some space for Dessert would be left.
Costs: Rs. 175

Tiffin Thali: Something I won't suggest others to go for. It's good in taste but something not for a proper lunch, at-least not recommended if you are a North Indian. The quantity served is not sufficient for one person and in-case you are with your friends, a strict NO. You won't even realize when the Thali would be empty.
Costs: Rs. 175

Maharaja Thali: Equally good as Normal Thali with few add on in the vegetable and sweets.
Again a good option for a proper lunch if you are looking for more variety. One of the group member had ordered it and was more than satisfied, but was not able to finish the complete Thali.
Cost: Rs. 225

Dosa is also a very nice option with very subtle taste and not the Punjabi style Masala dosa served elsewhere.
Served with Nariayal ki chutny, Tamattar- lehsun ki chutny (tomato-garlic Chutny), Pudhina chutny and Sambar. Nothing you can complaint about.
Cost: Varies between Rs. 75-115 for different variety.


Value for Money:Few of the prices have already been mentioned and rest can be guessed looking at the above mentioned prices.
In short meal for two will cost something between Rs. 300-600, depending on your capacity/appetite and your order. For people living in Delhi this is a fair deal.
End of month and need to go on a date with your GF. Take her to Naivedyam, she won't be in a condition to eat anything more after coming out from Naivedyam.
Family dinner planned- Naivedyam is right place with nice ambiance and good for family dinner.
Group of college friends looking for food and budget: Naivedyam is the place.

The beauty of Hauz Khas village compliments this place and the location of the restaurant a bit away from the populated Hauz Khas village main street makes it a better experience for you.
For people who don't want to go deep in the streets of Hauz Khas village, this is a very nice and comfortable location.

Join us for food events, Food walks and Food raids across Delhi.
Connect to us through or Facebook page and group.
Page: https://www.facebook.com/IFE.NewDelhi
Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/intelligent.freaks/
Contact: 9953227975
Piyush Acharya

A day with Street Children'ss home

I live in New Delhi where at-least 50% of working population (I just made up that data) are not born here. People come from all parts of the country to work here. This city is national capital of India, but yet lacks some basic structural arrangement.
We have ministries here, defense head quarters, offices of big Multi-nationals, Townships, big markets and malls. But still there are people sleeping on side of roads. Often neglected and sometimes accused.

Well this blog is not about Delhi or Business and Govt offices. this blog is about Intelligent Freak events visit to Street children's home.

On 1st September a group of around 50 people gathered together at Umeed Sneha Ghar. A shelter for street kids below 18 years age.

We floated the idea of jamming and distributing sweets for Orphans and street kids. Any kind of donation was welcome, be it money, food or stationary.
Response was amazing. A lot of people were interested in being a part of such noble cause.

This was not the first time I.F.E had taken up such an initiative. In 2012 I.F.E had done similar event at Manav mandir gurukul. A Orphanage where some odd 50 kids live.

So all set for spending a day with street kids we left our home. There was one common thought in every participants mind. "We are going to help and bring smile on face of few kids"
Trust me all were wrong because it came out to be other way round.

It was a bit hot that day and not to forget a Sunday too. Not so jolly mood on our faces but yes a determination to do something for kids. So with different images and perspective we entered Umeed Sneha Ghar.

We entered the campus and after crossing their play field we reached the corridors where in hall all the young (below 10 years) kids were sitting on a carpet.

All cute faces with a spark of naughtiness in their eyes sitting together waiting for some people in anticipation.
None of them new why they were sitting their. Maybe they were assured of sweets.
Believe me the minute we entered the hall all that we thought vanished in vapors. We found ourselves on the receiving end.
One by one as volunteers kept entering I could see a gradual smile growing on their faces.
Kids were still sitting and watching us enter.
It was magnificent to see that a group of small kids sitting quietly and saying nothing, doing nothing simply took away whole weeks stress. And we thought we are going to help them.

Help them? Were we even capable of doing something of that sort.

Till now kids were silent and quiet but you know kids, they understand people and their behavior/nature before even a seasoned psychiatrist could do.
Withing minutes they realized that these people are up to something entertaining and enjoyable.

I stepped out to direct few people who came late. When I came back I saw each of these kids dancing and jumping here and there. Volunteers were looking for help. Laughing, amused and confused about what to do.

So the in-charge entered and like a headmaster of school asked them to maintain silence.

But kids you know, In-charge left the room and they took the charge back.
after 15-20 minutes of victimization (although everyone was loving it) few activities were started. Meanwhile more volunteers kept joining in and the hall became too crowded to handle so many kids and still have jamming.
It was a mad house for few minutes. Kids jumping around volunteers.
Looking at this I couldn't resist myself from picking up the most notorious one in my arms. And this was my biggest mistake. Each and every kid around wanted to climb up in my arms. I literally had to run away from there.

To continue the jamming we took everyone out in garden area.
We thought we'll sing songs for them and they'll enjoy.. but kids have their own rules of entertainment. Song requests and excitement of playing all the music instruments was high.

Photographers were saving their Cameras, Musicians were saving their Instruments. Kids literally were chasing each. :D and I was like.. WOW!!! what a sight.

After jamming a small drawing competition was organized and we were simply amazed to see that these kids were so good at it.

Few were exceptionally good at such a small age. Which raises a question on system of society. 'Who teaches talent? Schools? Seriously? Nope it's god who teaches.

While this drawing competition was on, we were asked to view a video by the administration.
And a suddenly reality hit us on face.
All these kids were either rescued from some place or lost and don't know where they used to live. Some had parents who live under flyovers, collect garbage for living and beg to survive.

All the laugh and smile on our faces vanished in a go. And looking back at those kids gave us (at-least me) strength to face life.
Those kids sitting over there face not just pain of not having home but the worst scenario of this city. Some of them don't have parent's and still they live facing each day like a warrior.
Stop complaining about luck and life, I told myself.

Anyway it was time for some refreshment for kids. Chocolates, fruits, juice, biscuits and few more items were distributed and parallel medical checkup was being done by few volunteers who were Doctors.
This was the best scenario of the event. Kids took away stethoscope from doctor (volunteering in event) and started doing medical checkup round of doctors themselves. It was an amazing sight.
Someone mentioned later looking at the pics. "Shikari khud yaha, shikaar hogaya".

Nothing could have been better than spending few hours with such energetic and enthusiastic kids.
The experience can not be explained in words. I would ask few more volunteers to add their feedback and we'll add it into another post over here only.

 For more pics you can visit: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.594479977257420&type=1

Visit our group and page
Page: https://www.facebook.com/IFE.NewDelhi
Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/intelligent.freaks/

Piyush Acharya

Intelligent Freak Events

9953227975

Intelligent Freaks and Flash Mob

Well Wikipedia explains it as " A Flash Mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression".

Now how do we explain it in New Delhi (saadi dilli), well who cares of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression.
The only thing Delhi is unbeatable at is being cool. And more than being cool it is trying to portray yourself cool.
You may defeat Delhites at anything but never at showoff.
I have a strong feeling that The Facebook revolution somehow had happened due to Delhites only ;).

Three things in Delhi made Flash Mobs happen successfully
1. Competition with Mumbai (as always).
2. Facebook.
3. SLR revolution.

If you are thinking of some healthy competition then you are wrong my friend as Delhites can not digest two things at any cost (a): following rules (b): Mumbai showing off more.

1. So here comes an explanation to our first point "Competition with Mumbai".

As a tribute to people and soldiers who died on 26th November 2008 terrorist attack Mumbai youngsters organized a Flash Mob at Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus on 27th November 2011. The Flash Mob was a big hit in public and Media too.

Now once Media gets a topic they stretch it beyond the limit of elasticity. Media played the video of mumbaiya's (young guns of Mumbai) dancing on the beats of Rang De Basanti again and again on the loop. Every f*****g channel played it for days.

Now that was a challenge for Delhites. Soon we found different groups gearing up for Flash Mobs. Including my own group Intelligent-freak events. https://www.facebook.com/groups/290957074276380/?ref=ts
Ask them a reason and they proudly say "We just did it for fun". So what was the fun part in this? Here comes the significance of second point

2. Facebook.

Most of the people shared the Mumbai CST flash mob video on Facebook and few took it as an advantage to do it in Delhi too.
Now what was the actual reason that made everyone interested in getting a flash mob done in Delhi? And the answer is just one word Facebook.
The video, the hype, the comments, the media coverage and most important is the pictures in albums... the only thing that lasts longer than your life.
Well all the wanna-be's just jumped out of their closet on the roads... and started shaking their booty on Bollywood songs.
But how did this happen?? well another question with the same answer... Facebook.
people created groups and pages ask others to join and just like a chain reaction. I was one of those people  who created an event for flash mob.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLig5xnMMgk

3. SLR revolution.

Well well most of us remember the time when u had a limit of 36 photographs in camera roll (disadvantage) and the only place you could show the pics too your friend was the real world where you actually can meet them, which was second disadvantage of reel cameras.

Technology changed and so did our needs. Digital camera's were introduced in market and our limit of clicking reached just infinity. But you know technology keeps changing and improving. Now with increasing standard of lifestyle and prices of DSLR's coming down it became way too easy for a common man to get them.

What else does a performer needs more than attention and if attention is of good quality no body can stop disguise.

So these DSLR's brought with them a greed of posting more and hence receiving more attention.
Well somehow it was good to have new gimmick in town. A lot of pent up energy was utilized for fun and attention. :D

Intelligent Freaks USP in Flash Mob.

Intelligent Freak Events decided to do something for society and Flash mob was hit at that time.
I.F.E couldn't let this concept slip from hand and to promote awareness among general public about Women's right and to stand against female foeticide.

It was a tough task although to arrange a flash mob in one of the most crowded place in Delhi.

Permissions

One of the toughest task in Delhi to get permission on first hand for one such activity and that too for one of the high alert places in Delhi. Sarojini Nagar market which has experienced bomb blast in year 2005.

1. An application has to be submitted in DCP's office at Hauz Khas Police station for South Zone. This application is forwarded to X-department.

2. Application is then forwarded to the respective areas police station. In our case it was Sarojini Nagar police station.

3. A constable will be appointed for verification of person and his intentions.

4. The constable will call you and get a form filled about the details of event and take your signature with I.D proof.

5. The area S.I will sign it and the form will go back to police station.

6. S.H.O of that area will then sign it, If he's convinced. (In our case we met him personally)

7. Application will be forwarded to A.C.P's office for permission.

8. A.C.P (if convinced) will sign it and it will be floated back to square one. D.C.P office X-department.

9. X-dept will present it to D.C.P for permission. Again if convinced D.C.P will stamp it and send an order for arrangement of security and other things to respective police station.

10. 3 constable, 1 Head constable and 1 S.I will be assigned for the event. You need to have your own volunteers for other things apart from security.

Dance Practice

Well Flash mob might look like a random dance but you need to have a proper dance practice with an intelligent choreographer, who understands that Flash Mob dance is not a dance competition but a coordinated way of pulling attention.

So we booked a hall for 2 days and had practice session with 2 choreographers who were also taking part in the flash mob.

Song selection plays an important role in Flash mob dance. You need to convey your message and bind public as well.
Dance steps should be as simple as possible. Because more open hand and body movements attract people and looks good when coordinated with large no of people.

Motive

Flash Mob without motive is senseless. Like earlier Nukkad Nataks used to play an important role in public awareness, now Flash Mobs are doing same in a bit modern way.

So it is better use such a wonderful concept for a noble purpose. Anyway things can always be used for the purpose of fun as well.
I.F.E had great fun in Flash Mob which brought a platform for some wonderful events in future.

Stay connected to I.F.E through are Facebook page and Facebook group both.
Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/intelligent.freaks/
Page: https://www.facebook.com/IFE.NewDelhi?ref=hl
Contact: 9953227975

What's there in I.F.E for you?

Disclaimer: Blog is written by an idiot who thinks he's an intelligent and tries to do freaky things.
Feel free to find grammatical mistakes it will help me ignore you. ;)

Do you wake up a Sunday morning and realize that most of your weekend is already wasted?
On a festival do you feel the celebration is not the way it used to be, when you were a kid?
Do you work in an M.N.C and spend most of the time in front of computer screen and feel you are lost, in an attempt to earn big and get huge, in this giant world?

Well this blog has no intention to make you realize your mistakes or prove you wrong.
Everybody has their own definition of happiness.
But in case sleeping and wasting your weekend or to put back in a closet due to laziness and avoid delicious food is not your definition of perfect life, then this blog is meant for you.

In my previous post, I explained how Intelligent Freak Events came into existence and why was this name suggested.
This post is about what's there for you in Intelligent Freak Events.

This group as the name suggests is a group of well read, educated and intelligent people, who try to break free from chains of daily routine, try to enjoy every bit of life, without any restriction.
People who think beyond self and try to bring smile on faces of others,
who just come to enjoy life and nature, meet and make new friends.

People who genuinely look for a chance to help others. Who like to travel with new people and try to taste not only the variety of food but also the air of every new place.

A group where people of all caste, creed, nationality and religion gather together to share their intelligence and ultimately freak out. ;)
A group where only intelligent people meet and act like freaks, because only an intelligent knows the importance of being a freak, maybe once a week or at-least once a month.

How does IFE stay Intelligent and still Freak :

Initially I.F.E used to have an event once a month or sometimes once every 45 days.
Just by running on gradual speed in last 22 months. I.F.E has covered  more than 35 events with 7 in pipeline.

Whenever an event is decided or is announced it's made sure that something related to culture, society or a moral should be part of the event. And if it's a trip the cultural and heritage aspect of it are kept in mind.

So events to create awareness about women's right, female feoticide etc is what we started with.
You must be thinking, where's the freakish part?

So here it is, We danced on road to create awareness. Will talk about that event in upcoming blogs.
Every event we do has a pinch of Jamming and dancing as a part of the event, no matter how small it is or how big it is.

If  someday musicians and instruments are not available, we beat tables or simply sing and clap... We improvise every time we are on an event and still trying to freak in a more intelligent way. hahaha
So here's what I.F.E offers you.
1. Time
2. Friends
3. Love
4. Knowledge
5. Unexplored places
6. Enthusiastic people.
7. Freaky actions and conversation.

Coming up in next blogs.... Write ups on our events.
So stay tuned.
Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/groups/intelligent.freaks/
also https://www.facebook.com/IFE.NewDelhi

Piyush Acharya
Intelligent Freak Events

IFE Birth and Name

We are all trapped in the robotic schedule created by machines.
We talk about having a future where machines might rule us, but we don't realize that they are already dominating us.

Before you read further, I would like to make it clear that this blog is not about machines or daily schedules. This blog is about Intelligent Freaks and Intelligent Freak events.
1.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/intelligent.freaks/
2.  https://www.facebook.com/IFE.NewDelhi
3.  http://www.meetup.com/intelligentfreaks/

Well let's start from the beginning. IFE, how did this name came into existence?

Story Behind Name.
April 2011, fed up of my schedule, outdated S.O.Ps, manager and narrow minded insecure people working in industrial sector, I decided to quit my job. This was at a point when I was a month away from my next promotion and increment.
Maybe that was even bigger driving force behind my resignation. I was afraid that once I'll be promoted, it will get difficult for me to leave this trap.
So in May 2011, I was free after serving a notice period of 40 days.

Life seemed to be difficult for the first few days. But I was happy to have proper sleep.
Boredom continued even though I was quite busy working on my new business venture of Mechanical parts designing.
So I started teaching school going kids and opened a coaching center later.

There was something that kept telling me it was not about work conditions or manager that made me leave my job. I was running from life.

So I started looking for something of my interest on net.
There were a lot of photo walks and food walks being organized in those days.
Both caught my interest but did not impress me much as everyone was doing almost same thing.

I wanted something which could excite me enough to make me jump my lazy bones off from couch.
Few months passes, I was dying of boredom. Most of my friends were busy building their career.
One fine day I decided to step to step out and meet new people, make new friends but then I was not sure if I would find people of same mental frequency.

Anyhow I tried my luck and got disappointed. So finally I decided to start something which would clearly define the kind of people someone would find just by looking at the name of the group when they visit one of our events.

I started a group by the name 'Intelligent-Freak Events' and invited my friends, who according to me were equally intelligent and freaks too.

Why Intelligent Freak :-
Intelligent is what most of us think of ourselves. No one calls him/herself dumb unless joking. :)
Even if don't do intelligent things, there's a small sensitive corner in our heart which keeps telling us, "Hey you! yes you are fucking intelligent".

And yes if you are born in India you definitely have a good brain! (please don't judge me on this :P )

So being a science student, an engineer by qualification and able to teach students I considered myself Intelligent.

Now comes the second part 'Freak'.
Freak is a term you don't openly call some one, out in public. But honestly there are times in our life when we just want to do something which would either freak others or at-least look freaky.
Freak word defines the ability of a person to do something unconventional by coming out from the closet of Right and Wrong. It tells that someone actually dares to lose themselves to fun and joy present in this beautiful world.
Freak is not a retard but the most Intelligent person who knows how live happily always.

So there it was, after spending several days thinking a name for what I wanted to do, I came up with an unconventional name in itself. Intelligent Freak Events.

That would be a small introduction of one of the most crazy group of Delhi-NCR.
In upcoming blogs we'll talk about few of our events like 'Flash Mobs', 'Haunted walk' etc.

Till then stay Intelligent and keep freaking.
Piyush Acharya
The Intelligent Freak