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Auburn Umbrella: The Ultimate Fest Season Look-Book

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This year’s fest season has started with a bang, and LSR’s Tarang, JMC’s Montage, and Miranda House’s Tempest have already raised the bar high for other fests to follow.

The coming fests are expected to be greater than ever, but can we say that about our fashion sense? If not, here’s a guide to help you bring the house down, wherever you go.

 

  1. Lush Life: This look is for the easy-going girls who are part-chic and part-hep. Pair black pants with a crossed blouse and block sandals and you’re ready to go. To add an extra flair of chic, wear pastel earrings, and a bold lip colour. If your outfit seems bland, by any chance, adding a pop of colour with a bag will surely be the icing on your cake. LushLife
  2. Back to Black: If this year’s Golden Globes taught us anything, it is that there’s nothing called too much black. If black is your aesthetic, consider this look tailor-made for you. In this look, we matched a Bardot top with ripped denim and ankle boots. Throw on an oblong scarf to take your look to the next level. Black is the new black, now and forever.Back to Black
  3. La Vie En Rose: This next outfit is a combination of numerous trends. Beginning with the trend of ‘slogan tees’, make a political statement at this year’s fest. Reclaim the chokers and pair them with white sneakers. It’s no denying that chokers and white sneakers were the biggest trends in 2017; almost every girl has them! An outfit like this is the perfect combination of sexy and comfort. LaVieEnRose
  4. Blue Jeans: The staple of any person’s wardrobe is blue jeans. Sometimes, it seems unbelievable how soviets spent their savings on getting a simple pair of denim jeans! Pairing your favourite denim with a crushed velvet top will make you look expensive. Don’t forget to accessorise with complementary coloured earrings.BlueJeans
  5. Mother Earth:  If you’re not a fan of bright colours, then earthy colours are your best bet. You can be in your comfort zone without stripping yourself of any colour. Overalls are a great option for fests. Pair them with your converse shoes, a maroon lip colour, your college bag and you are all set to go. Mother Earth

 

Pro-Tip: The key to dressing well for a fest is to take your everyday college look and to turn it around. Avoid wearing particularly uncomfortable pieces of clothing and just walk like you own the world!

 

Feature Image Credits: Tyler Joe

Raabiya Tuteja

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Cultural Festivals

Montage 2018 at Jesus and Mary College: Highlights

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Montage 2018 was held at Jesus and Mary College on 16th-17th February 2018. Here are the highlights from the same:

Montage’18, the annual cultural fest of Jesus and Mary College (JMC) held on 16th and 17th February, was inaugurated by Sister Rosily, Principal and Sister Lawrence, Superior General of the college. The lighting of the lamp ceremony was initiated by the sisters and the teachers followed while Tarannum, the Indian Music Society of JMC, performed on the stage and then the fest declared open by the Student Union.

Ashwamedh, the theatre society of Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT) kick-started Stagecraft, the stage play competition, Ibtida of Hindu College won the prize and cash money of INR 10000. The best male actor award was given to Akshay Raheja of SSCBS and female actor went to Devanshi Khanna of Hindu College respectively.  

 

The most coveted, insightful, and fun-filled event of the day, Awaaz ’18 was hosted by Kahkasha, Hindi Dramatics Society of JMC. The first prize was bagged by DramaNomics, the Theatre Society of College of Vocational Studies, whose heart-wrenching performance on ‘rape’ shook the audience. Lady Shri Ram College for Women finished second performing on the crucial issue of ‘Body-Shaming’. Abhivyakti, the dramatics society of Indraprastha College for Women, was awarded consolation prize for their special performance on the theme of ‘Body-Shaming’.

 

  Engaging the audience in their aesthetic rendition of the Bihu dance, the team from Kamla Nehru College was the curtain-raiser for the group dance competition of Montage. Nrityangana of Sri Venkateswara College bagged the first place, while SGTB Khalsa College won the second position. Maitreyi College secured the third position.  

 

In the A capella competition Finding Do Re Mi, The Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College of Women was awarded the first position as they sang “Show me how you Burlesque” by Christina Aguilera. Dhwani of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies won the second position in the same event.

 

  The eventful and lively concluded on a musical note with DJ Zaeden’s groovy and upbeat tunes.  

 

The second day of Montage 2018 began on a musical note with Swaraangan, the Indian Musical Choir competition of Jesus and Mary College. Alaap of Sri Venkateswara College bagged the first position followed by Sangeetika of Kamala Nehru College and Swaranjali of Hansraj College were declared the first and the second runners-up respectively.

The highlight of the day was Chimera, the choreography competition hosted by Western Dance Society of JMC. Judges Benjamin Jacob and Himanshu Sharma announced Sparx of Gargi College as the winner. Terpsi Chorean of Hansraj College grabbed the second prize.

Playback singer and music composer Nakash Aziz of ‘Highway’ and ‘Rockstar’ fame ignited the stage with evergreen Bollywood hits such as ‘Humma’, ‘Badtameez Dil’, and R. D. Burman’s ‘Bachna Ae Hasino’. His versatility was on display as he effortlessly switched over to newer Bollywood hits such as ‘Pyaar ki Pungi’ and ‘Ilahi’. With this JMC’s Annual Cultural Fest Montage 2018 drew its curtains.

Feature Image Credits: Akarsh Mathur for DU Beat

Anagha Rakta ([email protected])

Prachi Mehra ([email protected])

Oorja Tapan ([email protected])

Radhika Boruah ([email protected])

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak ([email protected])

Anukriti Mishra ([email protected])

 

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The many firsts of college life

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College is the beginning of a new phase of life. You leave the often claustrophobic (read protective) environment of school and home and move into the ‘real world.’ As you get busy with admissions, moving out of home, moving into a hostel and then with the general life in this entirely new setting, here are a few a few milestones you pass as you meander through the three years.

1. First elections

Quite a lot of universities have a well formed political base with strong student unions. Delhi University has an extremely active political environment and a student union which remains in news throughout. As a fresher, you are literally thrown into the vortex of student politics when college begins as different political parties persuade you to cast your vote for them in the elections and campaign around day in and day out. And for most of the students, these are the first elections they witness, albeit on a smaller scale. Enjoy the elections; make an informed choice and most of all relish your first experience of taking part in your very first elections.

Image Credits: Youth ki Awaz
Image Credits: Youth ki Awaz

2. College Fests

The Delhi University fest season is crazy. The season which begins in February has each college organize a festival which involves a series of extra- curricular activity competitions, lip smacking food and a hectic line up of events. The fests also see a myriad of artists performing on star nights to close the fests. This year, Delhi University saw artists like Salim Sulaiman, Farhan Akhtar and many more perform. The fest season is like one never ending party and something that every fresher waits for with bated breath.

Image Credits: Chirag Sharma for DU Beat
Image Credits: Chirag Sharma for DU Beat

3. Freedom

College gives you a taste of unrequited freedom, a way to get away from the shackles of the protective environment of home and school. For many students this freedom is very new, something not a lot of them get to experience very often. Bunking classes is easier in college and helps students to explore the city and what it has to offer. It is often in college that many students realize their love and passion for travelling and exploring the unknown. I for one can vouch for that!

Image credits: modifylifestyle.com
Image credits: modifylifestyle.com

4. The home away from home

Relevant mostly for outstation candidates, the home away from home- the PG or hostel experience is something the majority experiences for the first time. The mess food is a struggle of its own kind and the deadlines are often infuriating. But the PG/ Hostel life has so much to teach! For one, you become a pro at handling your expenses (keeping in mind the amount of times you have to order in.) Accommodating and adjusting are not words but virtues that you add to your skill set.

Image credits: Gettyimages/ Hindustan Times
Image credits: Gettyimages/ Hindustan Times

Featured image credits: bestofpictures.com 

Akshara Srivastava

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DUB Speak

Have DU college fests lost their essence because of star-nights?

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The fest season of Delhi University swings by every year like clockwork, starting in the end of January and lasting till early April. Colleges host several competitions, headed by their respective cultural societies. Another feature we’ve recently come to heavily associate with fests of DU colleges are star-nights and star-appearances. Colleges have increasingly been getting top actors, singers and DJs to perform at their college fests and have been rewarded with increased footfall and many hassles to go along with it.
It’s not hard to realise that cultural fests are lately being reduced to just the star/performer nights taking centre-stage. Where the focus should actually be on promoting cultural activities, the students are being sold the commoditisation of their fests in a glittery, star-studded package that they won’t hesitate in accepting. Since the entire fest revolves around the stars, schedules often go in for a toss and events are disrupted and delayed to accommodate celebrity visits, to the obvious chagrin of the participants. It’s getting increasingly common to find no events scheduled for the entire day save for a few informal events and a big star-night at the end of it. The security hassles that accompany inviting a big star are another inconvenience in themselves.
While it’s definitely worthwhile to consider that star-nights allow students to witness celebrities and performers they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise, it must also be recognised that the appearances are getting repetitive, with the Badlapur cast having visited numerous colleges in the span of two months during the last fest season and Mohit Chauhan, who performed in SRCC last month having performed in several colleges already. It’s an exercise of picking from the same overused pool of performers that is mostly static save for one or two new additions every year. It is also disturbing how colleges participate in the consumerist tactics used by celebrities who visit colleges solely to promote their films.
Performers’ nights in themselves aren’t a bad idea. We need to move on from them being a platform for already established performers who don’t need it in the first place. Performers’ nights can instead act as a stage for new and upcoming artists to perform, who will neither charge money enough to empty the union’s coffers nor have as many logistical nightmares associated with them. They will, infact, be more appreciative of the platform. The audience will also take back a broader knowledge of the indie-music scene and not just the din of the usual Bollywood tracks.
While definitely an unpopular opinion, it’s important to consider what we’re giving up when we reduce cultural fests to just status-symbol clashes over stars and not a place for culture and new talent to flourish.

Image Credits: Chirag Sharma for DU Beat

Akshara Srivastava
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Shubham Kaushik
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Bazinga

Winners at college fests to get full marks in internals, ‘Non-ECA’ students left in dismay

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Are you one of those students who have no idea about their classmates and subject names? Are you the epicentre of low attendance jokes and are often called ‘Eid-ka-chand’ because of your hectic society practices and competitions? If the answer to these questions is a yes, then you have a reason to rejoice my friend!

Recognising the fact that a lot of students participate and win competitions at various annual college fests but don’t get any academic benefit of the same, DU has issued a notice regarding imparting of full marks in internals, to students who have won first positions at various college fests this year.

Insiders tell us, the administration was compelled to make such a move owing to the constant complaint by students, especially ECA students, who are often subject to bias of teachers and low internal marking due to their inability to attend classes all through the year because of society commitments. Thus, acknowledging the unfairness of the situation, the University has decided to accord full marks in internals to first position holders and 75% marks to second position holders in competitions such as Western Choir, Solo Dance, Street Play and many more. In order to maintain the credibility of this new scheme of marks distribution, colleges have been instructed to collect original winning certificates of the relevant students by second week of April.

While the move is being applauded by societies across various colleges, it has also invited criticism from various ‘Non-ECA’ students who think this move is unfair to hard working and academically inclined students who attend classes the whole year.

Expressing her disappointment at this announcement, a student said, “ I am appalled at such a strategy being introduced. People like me work day and night, attend all classes to fetch decent marks in internals, and some students will now be served marks in a platter”. Some students however are celebrating this move, “  I am glad some sense dawned upon the authorities to give us the credit and respect we deserve for representing our college and winning”, remarked an overjoyed ECA student.

*Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated, not accepted.

Image Credits: www.dailymail.co.uk 

Riya Chhibber

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Four Festivals To Attend This Winter

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The Festival or “Fest” culture is an integral part of college life and something no one should miss out on. Other than the DU fests we all know and love here is a list of five festivals that we think everyone should try and attend this winter or at least once during the course of their college lives:

 

  • Jaipur Literature Festival

    The Jaipur Literature Festival is one of the largest literary festivals in the world and not to mention one of the most exciting and intellectually stimulating. The 5-day extravaganza includes talks on numerous topics by world-renowned authors and speakers, book signings, concerts etc. Some of the speakers who have already confirmed their presence such as Barkha Dutt, Shobhaa De, Stephen Fry, Rohit Gandhi are sure to make this year’s JLF as exhilarating and enthralling as it always is.

    Image Credits: Creative Jobs
    Image Credits: Creative Jobs

  • Sunburn Festival

    Entering its 9th year the Sunburn Festival held in the last week of December is one of the most awaited events of the calendar for a majority of music fans. With over a 120 artists and 5 different stages this year’s festival is sure to be their best festival yet with international sensations such as Martin Garrix and David Guetta gracing the occasion. With over 3 lakh attendees last year, the organizers have made arrangements to ensure that this year’s festival is bigger, better and an experience like no other.

  • Mood Indigo

    Regarded as one of the finest college events in the country, IIT Bombay’s annual festival Mood Indigo attracts students from across the country every year. With a footfall of over 1 lakh every year, nearly 200 events and participation by over 1500 colleges, Mood Indigo is known for its elating atmosphere having hosted renowned artists such as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal-Shekhar, RD Burman and many more over the years. Here’s a round up of the events last year and here’s a list of the star guests and pro nights.

  • Unmaad

    In a city known for its music and culture organizing a college fest that does justice to the same is no easy task. Yet IIM Bangalore tries and makes its annual fest Unmaad bigger and better each year making it one of the biggest B-School Fests in India today. Scheduled to be held in the last week of January it is the perfect getaway from the harsh Delhi winter and platform for musicians, actors, debaters and fashion enthusiasts to showcase their talents.

With numerous other collegiate and non-collegiate festivals due to be held in the months to come, all of us can surely expect a fun filled winter!

Featured Image Credits: Sunburn

Shraman Ghosh
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Campus Central

Star appearances at Delhi University Fests 2014: A DUB timeline

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“Cold winter evenings. Crimson – teal hued lights. Deafening beats. One man performing on stage, like a fireball. Innumerable enthusiastic spectators. Dancing to every line, singing along every stanza, cheering with praises, crying with joy, shouting in ecstasy and smiling with lips and with eyes. Flash of cameras to capture the moment and relish it for a little long, for in a few hours, it’ll all be gone.” What if not this, was the scene at the fun replete star nights that we attended and enjoyed? Delhi University college fests have always been like a carnival. The year 2014, was no less. Amidst the competitive air, star appearances added further to their charm and glamour quotient. Not only did Indian and international singers visit for star night performances, but leading Bollywood actors also have routed their movie promotions through platform of these fests. So before all of us get engrossed with semesters preparations, and some of us eventually walk away from being in the DU ambit, here is an endeavor to remind you of all the amazing fest star nights you’ve been to (or you missed) this year. So go through what we call, ‘the timeline of memories’ , catch hold of a thread and maneuver  to your moments. Happy flash-backing guys! Featured Image Credits: Kartik Lav for DU Beat.]]>

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Kirorimal College

Star cast of Main Tera Hero visits KMC

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For the post festival celebrations of Renaissance – the annual cultural fest of Kirori Mal College, the star cast of Main Tera Hero visited the college for promotions. The much awaited event saw a turnover of around 3500 fans of Varun Dhawan and Ileana D’Cruz. The stars who were expected to arrive at noon, reached the college premises by 1:30 pm. But the wait seemed to prove worthwhile for the crowd by Varun’s dance performance right after his entry. He then asked the crowd to chant the name of his co-star from the film to welcome her on stage, and the fans willingly obliged.

Varun Dhawan then told his fans about his movie and his character ‘Seenu’. Seenu’s character, as defined by the actor himself is chichora and nautanki. He also delivered a few famous dialogues from his movie. “Jab main sheher chorh ke gya tha na? Mujhe poora sheher chorhne aaya tha.” On the audience’s demand, both the actors then danced on their song, ‘Palat’.

Dhawan also mimicked the famous wrestling champion, The Rock. The organizers had chosen five lucky girls from the campus to meet Varun Dhawan on stage. The stars also performed on ‘Besharmi ki Height‘, another number from Main Tera Hero. Bharat Jain, who has hosted most of the star events in Delhi University, hosted this show too. Bharat, on Varun’s request chose five boys from the standing audience to come up on stage and show their ‘besharmi ki height‘ in front of Ileana. Ileana, who received many ‘I love you’ confessions in various styles, told DU Beat, “It was crazy to see fans showering their love on us. Delhi is insane.”

Varun then sang the famous Punjabi rap of ‘High Heels’, which he’d also sung at Shri Ram College of Commerce last year, for promotions of ‘Student Of The Year’.

Towards the end, he thanked the college principal, Mr. S.P Gupta by calling him up on stage. He also thanked the Union members for the organizing the event. Saurabh Prabhakar, the event head and Marketing Consultant for Main Tera Hero remarked, “The visit to Kirori Mal College was the best decision. The film and Varun, both have a huge youth connect and what better platform than Delhi University to promote a film.”

Varun was overwhelmed by the response in the University and said that he is ready to do anything for his fans.  The Main Tera Hero team was in the campus for almost 45 minutes. Ileana and Varun ended their session by clicking a selfie with all the fans.

Jashvender Chauhan, President of Kirori Mal Students’ Union, who was delighted by the student turnout for the event said, “After Gunday promotions and the main cultural fest Renaissance, this event also proved to be a grand success. Renaissance’14 came to a glorious ending. Our college will remember this year as the most memorable year of events. It was our pleasure to host their promotion today.”

Stay tuned for DU Beat’s exclusive interview with these two stars!

Image credit: Sahiba Chawdhary

 

 

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Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College

Rock Veda performs at Kalrav’14 – the Annual Cultural Festival of DDUC

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The annual cultural festival of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College (DDUC), Kalrav took place on the 27th and 28th of March after getting postponed frequently. The festival was scheduled to take place in February but got cancelled due to internal issues.

The event was exclusively for the students of DDUC. The college held its Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony for the year 2013-14 on the same day. Mr. S.P. Dixit, IAS Officer and Mr. Ravi Chaturvedi, an eminent cricket commentator were the chief guests for the event.

An exhibition of photographs clicked by the members of the DDUC photography society was put up. A very distinct event, Mera Gaon, Mera Ghar, Mera Bachpan was also held. Different departments of the college showcased memories and artifacts from their childhood. This event was especially designed for outstation students to portray the traditions and culture of their home state. The fest also saw a Grafitti contest whose theme was “The Blissful Life”. Students of B.Com (Hons) won the top spot. This was followed by a concert- Satvik Heights by Ankit Batra , an internationally acclaimed singer, an enthralling performance by the Delhi Drummers and also by the band, Solfege.
The second day began with Satvik chants recited by the Music society. Inter department contest was held for traditional games like pithoo, stapoo, rassi kood and lattoo; most of which was won by the Department of Zoology.

Exult-the dance society and Rhythm-the music society mesmerized the crowd with their performances. Yavanika- the theatre society’s performance was appreciated by all. “Their spirit was superb”, said Aashima Sharma, a volunteer at Kalrav. This was followed by the performance from Rock Veda, a fusion band that has also featured on MTV’s Coke Studio. The fest came to an end with the lighting of the sky lanterns by the college students.

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College of Vocational Studies

Street play competition and Hardy Sandhu attract crowds at CVS’ Reverie

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The two-day cultural festival of College of Vocational Studies (CVS) concluded amidst drizzles on the evening of 28th March with Hardy Sandhu performing on a makeshift platform as showers restricted the use of electrical equipment on the main stage.

The first day of the festival began with an English debate event. Teams debated the topic, ‘The result of the coming elections rests in the hands of the youth’. Arvind and Anuj won the 1st and the 2nd position respectively. Karil was awarded the Best Interjector prize. All winning participants were from the host team. The debate was followed by rangoli and poster-making competitions held in classrooms.

After a short delay, The Thespian, the street-play and most awaited event of the day, commenced at 1:00 pm. It was organised by Dramanomics – the Dramatics society of CVS. The event saw participation of 7 colleges with each college putting on display a social issue of the country. Shivaji College with their play Bas Samajhne ki Baat hai depicted the ill-treatment and abandonment of the old in our society, was adjudged the best play of the evening. Gargi College’s Joota and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce’s Chidiya ki Kahaani were the 2nd and 3rd prize winners respectively.

Samiksha (Best Model)

Manthan, the fashion society of CVS organised a fashion competition which was won by the team from Maitreyi College. The award for best costume went to Tarini Singh and best model went to Samiksha Jain, both from Lady Irwin College, whose team was adorning the Cleopatra look.

The second day of the fest began with a Hindi debate on the topic, ‘Bharat se bhrashtachar hatana asambhav hain’. Soon after the debate, the main stage was taken over by rock bands for the Battle of Bands, which was won by Kazaryth.

The weather had become overcast as the musicians of CVS played and growled to the tunes of Metallica and AC/DC, entertaining the crowd that was waiting for Hardy Sandhu’s performance, but as the evening progressed, it started raining and Hardy’s performance was delayed. Finally, the rain subsided and Hardy performed on a makeshift platform near the Student’s Desk instead of the main stage as it was wet and could not accommodate electrical equipment.

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