Hakuna Matata

What a wonderful phrase! But what does it mean?

Counselling Service IITK
Nov 1 · 4 min read

A Swahili phrase by origin, it has now been co-opted by the English Language after being immensely popularized by the 1994 Disney classic The Lion King.

A cliche scene from the classic film

Aw man, so how do we know what it means? Sadly, it lacks a perfect translation to English, but we can still experience what it means. After all, practice is more fun than theory!

Incorporating the essence in a festive three-day affair, we planned the Hakuna Matata, and here’s how it went!

Karaoke

25.10.2019

It was Friday, after a tiring week. We’ve just recovered from the hangover that followed Antaragni. Soon, we’ll be having quizzes and lab exams and all sorts of academic pressure. Oh, you want to chill out a little bit before diving head-on with your studies. How about a rejuvenating evening of frolicking around with friends, old and new?

Jaise Jeene Ko Dil Chahe Jee Waise Tu
Meri To Hai Bas Ye Raaye Ki
Apne Jitne Bhi Armaan Hain Poore Karle Tu

-Farhan Akhtar, Rock On!

That’s exactly what ensued in the first event, The Karaoke Night.

The ambience set for the night.

It was a fun evening of singing, and for some, even dancing with their friends. All of this took place in our beloved OAT. A warm way to kick off the Diwali festivities, with quite a few beautiful tracks ranging from those of friendship and love like Yeh Shaam Mastaani to energetic and carefree ones like Rock On! All in all, it was an evening well spent which set things into motion for the days to come.

Zumba

26.10.2019

For the second night, we had the good old Zumba dance session. Lots of people swayed and bent to match the Zumba artist. Some did it gracefully, and some knew they were doing awkwardly. However, an unnaturally large number of people probably thought they were graceful but looked rather awkward.

balter [ˈbɔltər] — v. to dance artlessly, without particular grace or skill but usually with enjoyment.

Not that perfection is the point of Zumba. We were here just for a nice break to juggle up our muscles, not showcase our non-existent dancing skills! And that’s exactly what we did!

The Zumba night!

We swayed our arms and our legs. We kicked one another and pretended it was part of the move! We pushed imaginary walls and plucked non-existent fruits from thin air, lots of em! What a show it was! And then we finally left with sweet exhaustion. There was a bounce in our steps, and we went on with the night with friends in our arms, and hum in our tongues. Tired, happy, sweating — we went to a dreamlike slumber.

Lanterns

27.10.2019

It looked like a usual night in IITK, but when you got within 100 feet of the Hockey ground, it was a different place altogether! Then you saw glowing lanterns gently rising into the sky and realized that tonight something unusual was happening.

Lanterns being released

Yes, Diwali had come around, and with it the final night of the three-day-long carnival-Hakuna Matata! Floating lanterns, glowing diyas, incandescent candles, the fairy lights — it was a real Festival of Lights.

You saw the majority of the campus in full celebratory swing, donning traditional attire, having fun together while trying to fly their lanterns.

The hockey ground in the night

New bonds were made, and old friendships were strengthened. You saw people having fun — happy, unburdened from worries and tension — a true reflection of happiness, of exaltation, of freedom. And nothing comes closer to the true meaning of Hakuna Matata than the feeling you had when you saw all of this play out in front of you. A time well spent with the community around you. After-all, we owe what we are, to the community around us!

That’s all from us today, and until next time — farewell.

    Counselling Service IITK

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