12th and 13th of March marked the annual cultural fest of Motilal Nehru College. Both the days comprised of competitive events and performances by versatile musicians, namely Agastya, the Sufi Rock band, and J – Star.
Day 1
The first day of Phoenix started with Quest, the western group dance competition. The judge for this event was Shashank Rai, who started dancing with I – Dance India and has worked with the likes of Saroj Khan. He is proficient in hip–hop, jazz, Bollywood and funk dance forms. The event displayed talent across teams of Delhi University and IP University. The winners of the event was Misba, the dance society of Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce. The second position went to Natya, the dance society of Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology and the third position went to Verve, the dance society of Sri Venkateswara College.
Along with the western dance competition, a solo Indian music competition was conducted. The judge for this event was Sri Honey from the band Rizwaan. The winner of the first prize was Avanija Rao from Jesus and Mary College and the second prize went to Manya Arora from Miranda House. There was a close competition between all participants.
The final competitive event of the day was the Battle of the Bands which, although did not see a good deal of participation, witnessed some experimental compositions. The sole winner of the competition was Stable Flux from College of Vocational Studies. The judge for this event was Agastya, the band which later performed.
While the music and dance events were in progess,the street play event named Mukaam saw the maximum participation – around 14 colleges participated. Dramanomics of CVS won with their play, “Nabbe Second Ki Redlight” depicting the plight of beggars in our country. 2nd position went to Vayam, the street play society of Shivaji College for their play – “Jaane Kahaan Gaye Wo Din”. The third prize was shared between Rangayan of ARSD College and Et Cetera of GTBIT. The best male actor was Amit from Shivaji College and the best female actor was Gagandeep from Daulat Ram College. Best music was awarded to Verve of SSCBS. The judges for the event were Himmat Singh Negi and Saurabh Singh.
The day ended with a performance by Agastya, the Sufi Rock band. They frequently engaged with the audience and sang covers of popular songs, performing a few originals too. They performed for a set of one hour.
Day 2
The second day of Phoenix started off with the Indian music vocals competition, which saw participation from more than 10 teams. The judge for this event was Shri Avinash Kumar who is a faculty member of the Music Department in the University. The winner of the first prize was Sri Venkateswara College while the second prize was shared by Miranda House and Daulat Ram College. The 3rd prize went to Institute of Home Economics.
Along with the eastern vocals event, the solo dance competition, Akshara, was conducted in the front lawns. The judge for this event was Himanshu Kataria who is a trained dancer in various forms, and is currently working with Bollywood choreographer Mr. Sandeep Saparkar for his upcoming films. The winner of this event was Manpreet from Rajdhani College and the second prize was shared between Mansi from SRCC and Neeraj from Shyam Lal College while the third prize went to Deepak from SOL.
After the end of the competitive events, popular Punjabi pop-singer J –Star graced the 2nd and final day of the fest. He enthralled the crowd with his hits like ‘Na Na Na Na’, ‘Hulara’, ‘Dream Girl’,‘Gabru’ and many more.
Chandan Munjal, the Cultural Secretary of MLNC, recalled the challenge of organising a college fest with a tight budget, thanking volunteers while speaking to DU Beat.
Image credits: Raghav Khanna
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