The Five Day Capsule ~ Nixor Media

By: Aman Rehan

So essentially what do capsules do? They help you cope with something for a specific time, and eventually wear out.

Of course, every capsule has powdery ingredients inside it, and for the Nixor Debating Team, the ingredients were quite unique. A question which everyone asks: How can members of the debating Team go through exhausting training sessions, pull all nighters to research and yet have the capacity to enjoy themselves, that too under immense pressure to perform? The LUMS Model United Nations (herein referred to as LUMUN’) is truly the most prestigious and challenging Model United Nations in Pakistan, so what keeps the Nixor Debating Team going throughout the five days of the conference? Given the various distractions (yes, the usual distractions for the restless youth) which exist in Lahore and the beautiful campus of LUMS? The answer is simple; it’s the five day capsule, with its miraculous ingredients.

But wait, what’s the five day capsule?

I am sure, dear reader that you are in a very confused state of mind at the moment. Therefore, I have undertaken the duty to do the universe a favor by answering all these questions.

Imagine three to four hours of intense training sessions revolving around the problems of the world and how you’ll solve them, four days a week. Tiring? Yes it is. Everyone loathed the ‘worst delegate’ award, and the ‘best delegate’ award, although immaterial, was everyone’s aim because of the inner satisfaction it brought. So you see, we had sufficient motivation to bring our A game even to the training sessions. Our coach, Sir Nadir, gave us brutally honest critique and it seemed our lives revolved around LUMUN(I found myself doodling a caricature of me receiving a ‘best delegate’ shield during physics class. I am normal, I swear). However, the training sessions were not dry at all, there were many light moments and a lot of ‘LUMUN jokes’ originated as well. One of these was bucking each other up by the phrase ‘Boy, bas tu hee hai!’

I am sure; some of the questions have been answered already. The next ingredient is teamwork. It’s a cliche, but cliches are cliches for a reason, it’s because they are tried and tested, and they usually work. Team spirit is something which has been imprinted on the heart and mind of every member of the debate team. It exists in many forms. Our seniors helped us wholeheartedly, to such an extent that at times, it seemed sacrificial on their part. I had the misfortune of having my mattress stolen in the girl’s dorm at LUMS. Luckily, my fellow debate team roommates came to the rescue and joined their mattresses to make room for me. No one from Nixor Debating was ever seen researching alone in the computer lab because we researched together. If someone was done with their work, they would research for someone else. You could never venture into the foggy roads and trees at LUMS alone (unless you wanted to, that’s another case), because there was always someone from the NDT to share the walk with you, and give you moral support.

Helping each other look, shall we say, ‘presentable’ for committee sessions was part of team spirit . It is when my friend was picking out shirts for the next day and asked “Aman, is this shirt ‘diplomatic’”? that’s when I discovered a new category of clothing. Our captains gave us motivational speeches which made everyone go ‘heyyy’(another debate team joke) and the solidarity was so evident that a person from another school, who happened to be a spectator of one of them said “I hate my team”. Breakfast and dinner used to be two times of the day when the team ate, laughed, and momentarily forgot about the stress of the day, and how tired they really are.

Soon the closing ceremony took place, the announcements of awards. It’s one of those paradoxical things which we all dread, but wait anxiously for. We were on the edge of our seats for every committee which was announced. Tears were shed, and leaps of joy were made. We were tied together so strongly, that even if a member won, he wouldn't be completely happy. It sounds unreasonable, doesn't it? But it’s only because even in times of victory, there is only momentary ecstasy and then the thought of team members who lost invaded one’s mind. We could not win best delegation, but we looked around the LUMS sports complex, where the closing ceremony was held and vowed that we’ll be back next year, with a vengeance.

Now that you have read the crux of this article, I am sure you have come across many ingredients in the five day capsule. Motivation, dedication and solidarity, all of these had been crammed into the capsule, so that the debate team is able to survive the five exhaustively exhilarating days of LUMUN. I shall ink up now, and hopefully I’ll be able to write another article for all you inquisitive minds out there.

Nixor College ranked second at LUMUN, and we are currently the best debate team in Karachi.