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Will it Take a Stampede for Unions to Take Security Seriously?

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By bringing a popular star, organising committees think their fest was a success, conveniently ignoring the ruckus and lack of security beside the glamorous stage.

Perhaps, it’s an Indian thing: no regard for personal space and history of crowd disasters. Everyone- the organizers or the participants- has normalised trampling and minor injuries. It’s seen as an indispensable part of fest experience. This explains why the President of Lady Irwin College, Nikita Tiwari, bombarded the comments’ section of our Facebook post that reported the injuries and mismanagement suffered by the guests at Quintessence’19 instead of accepting responsibility. In the same breath where they admit to being crowded, she stated how such incidents are common and regaled the tale of hard work that goes into organising fests.

At Reverie’19, the annual cultural fest of Gargi College, reports of rampant sexual harassment were especially shameful, considering the fest theme emphasised consent’s significance. Gargi’s Union had substantial time to craft a sensible reply and do a self-assessment but it chose to deliver a response devoid of any apology, even taking credit for victims who voiced their experience, by stating- “Their standing against the discomfort experienced by them due to some ill elements present in the crowd, stood testimony to the success of our theme.”

Maghendra Pratap Singh, Cultural Secretary of Hindu College Parliament, told DU Beat that the medical room in a building in the sports’ ground was open, and volunteers were available to assist anyone who needed help. Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) was on the same bandwagon, but both the colleges failed to provide concrete answers about why this information wasn’t publicised. In case of an emergency, how can a non-Hindu or non-SRCC student be expected to know where the medical room is? Does the union expect the aggrieved to look for volunteers, instead of rushing to a designated help desk that should have been placed?

In the backdrop of Pulwama attacks, India is vulnerable to terrorist attacks; fests, like all mass gatherings, have a risk of being a terrorist attack target, which makes the first line of security at the entrance gate crucial. The top colleges of India seem to forget this and open their gates for all. On the last day of Mecca (Hindu College), the gates were left open without guards at later hours of the fest. The Parliament had no response for this. In SRCC, the entry (that was initially via passes for non-SRCC students) was opened for all. When asked about it, a union member said the decision was made by the administration to curb passes’ sale.

There is also a trend of hiring bouncers from private firms to guard star nights. The SHO of Maurice Nagar, Mr. RA told DU Beat that police can provide close to 100 personnel for a DU fest, but witnesses present only saw a maximum of 12-15 men.

At the risk of being highbrow, LSR practices strictness like no entry post 4 p.m. and pass-entry only. Kaushiki Arha, President of the LSR Union, explains how the security team of Tarang had a total of nine heads and sub-heads, around 30 core team members with close to 600 volunteers who were divided into different slots over three days. She said that in addition to basic medical facilities available in the campus, they tied up with Apollo Hospital, who provided them with a doctor and an ambulance on the second day of the fest since it was expected to see the highest turn-out. LSR doesn’t hire any private security, and has proven to be self-sufficient in terms of crowd control. If Tarang can have this sorted, then why can’t others

If organising committees can spend to book popular celebrities, then it is realistic to expect that they make sure that barricades, police, ambulance, entry-exit procedure, etc. are in place. The only reason why we see a pattern of crowd disaster is that unions don’t care enough about security. No doubt that immense efforts are invested in organising a fest, but the argument here is of a continuous negation of apt security measures. With manpower, money, and time, the organisers don’t get to play helpless when things go south.

Feature Image Credits: Rishabh Gogoi for DU Beat

Niharika Dabral

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Campus Central

Fest Season: A First Experience

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Massive crowds, endless music and celebrations, food, and fun; fest season in the varsity was a delightful time, with its own moments of ups and downs.

“For the longest time, having lived around the North Campus since childhood, I had heard a lot about college fests. We could hear the music at our home, the roads jammed because of crowds, hundreds of students seeking shelter in the cafes of Hudson Lane. I had anticipated a great time for my own first-hand experience and truly, the hype lived up to it all!” An excited first-year student from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) exclaimed, reminiscing the good time he had at Crossroads – the annual cultural festival of SRCC.

The fest season is, undoubtedly, one of the most exciting times on campus. Seeing as how it has almost come to an end by now, some of us have been left asking for more. Amidst the glamour and celebrations, there is a sense of connect that builds up between people. From charged dances to singing songs together at concerts, we all come closer. And it is these moments that some of the fondest memories of college life materialise.

Having observed most of the major fests in campus; from Reverie to Mecca, spread over almost two months, there was one thing that remained constant. Despite all the problems due to huge crowds and corresponding unruly behaviors exhibited by some people, there was a lot of joy that hit at the end of it all. “And that is what matters,” said Atima Bakshi from Hindu College, “To feel this sense of togetherness and joy with the right people.”

Truly, with the right company, enjoyment multiplies manifolds. Even as fests have become spaces for interactions and connections and celebrations, there is a lot that is awry about their organisation that needs addressing. For instance, dealing with some uncontrolled fanatics who barge into crowds; inebriated and wild. Fests have not been entirely joyous for a lot of people. There have been reports of people indulging in inappropriate behavior during fests. It is almost right to claim that fests have been given to celebrate cringe-worthy displays of power, usually by drunk men perpetrating toxic ideals of masculinity.

Every college union attempts to invite the most famous artists to their fests. This year saw performers like DJ Chetas, Guru Randhawa, Jassie Gill, Vishal-Shekhar, and Jubin Nautiyal with various other bands like The Local Train and Indian Ocean. This pursuit for the most famous artist becomes an invitation to a more rowdy crowd. Although the central idea is to invite the participation of maximum people, it is undermined by how poorly the crowds are managed.

For everyone who witnessed these fests for the first time, certainly the experience has been an amazing learning opportunity. Undoubtedly, it was an absolute joy listening to The Local Train’s tracks, or dancing to Vishal-Shekhar’s peppy Bollywood numbers at Crossroads and Mecca, respectively. But it was also a study in tolerance.

The idea of the fests wherein all colleges and their respective societies and departments conduct so many interesting activities, allowing an exploration into a plethora of talents of students, is also commendable. In the highly commercialised food stalls and high-end designed posters and merchandise, it is good that a space for art and aesthetics is retained.

Street plays, dance performances, fashion shows, singing competitions, or fine arts’ events and exhibits captured the spectators in stunning displays of aesthetics. Hansraj College’s Swaranjali to Hindu College’s Alankaar, or Gargi College’s Enliven to Miranda House’s Tanz – every respective society in their respective events presented perfections. The hard-work and efforts put in by students throughout the year were made absolutely apparent, with the performances only improving successively from Reverie to Tempest to Mecca.

As it was a first experience for many of us, it was also some people’s third and final time celebrating companionship and love and joy at a concert in their college. “This season has always been a blast. It is so difficult to believe that it has finally come to an end. But I feel that despite my third year, this was a first experience and it was superb. So I guess we could call this a first too!” said Bakhtawar Iqbal from Hindu College as he exited from the scintillating Vishal-Shekhar concert at his college, one last time.

There is some simple yet elevated joy in this season; something that I felt so strongly, something that I cannot wait to feel again. What about you?

Feature Image Credits: Saubhagya Saxena for DU Beat

Kartik Chauhan

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Campus Central

Highlights: Crossroads, the Annual Cultural Fest of Shri Ram College of Commerce 

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Crossroads, the annual cultural fest of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) was held from 17th – 20th March 2018. The four-day long extravaganza saw an array of competitions, contests, and this fest season’s most hyped star nights. Dotted with vibrant stalls and a jolly fun zone, the SRCC campus was a happening place during the fest.

Day one of Crossroads’18 started with The Game of Notes, a capella competition, organised by Catharsis, the western music society of SRCC. The seminar room was decked up with red fairy lights for the same. The competition hosted a total of nine teams. The judge for the event was Mr. Joezhotso, or, lovingly referred to as “Jojo Sir” by students. Mr. Joezhotso is a trained opera singer who has been a part of the international music industry for 21 years.

Enactus SRCC and the Travelers Society also hosted their annual event Leap, where they entertained and engaged kids in fun activities.

In Nazakat, the solo classical dance competition,  Suryansh Dixit of Maharaja Agrasen College got the title of Utkrisht Kalakaar and emerged as the winner. Karishma Sahoo of Pannalal Girdharlal Dayanand Anglo Vedic College (PGDAV) came second and secured the title of Uttam Kalakar. Adira Das of Dyal Singh College was announced as the Ubharta Kalakaar and came third.

Known for her highly energetic onstage performances, Teri Miko infused hard hitting trap beats with electronic sounds. Being a new-age electronic music producer who has been a part of major festivals like Sunburn Festival and Vh1 Supersonic, the ‘Fukuyo’ hit-maker amazed the audience with her remarkable compilations.

 

8. The ‘Stomp on the Yard’ Competition held at the front lawns was a site of enthusiasm and zest as the estrogen-packed dance societies of five colleges battled in three hectic rounds. While the first round was themed around freestyle dancing, the second round involved a one-on-one face-off between the teams. The third and the final round witnessed the finalists, Team ‘Verve’ from Sri Venkateswara College and Team ‘Zest’ from Dyal Singh College clash. Team ‘Zest’ was declared the winner by the sole judge of the competition, Nimble Funk.

Bollywood singer Benny Dayal’s closed the second day of Crossroads. His energetic performance was an instant hit with the crowd. His rendition of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” and even a Tamil song were a testament to his versatility as a singer. He charmed the audience with his lively exuberance as he moved from “Bachna Ae Haseeno” onto the chart-topper “Badtameez Dil”.

Day three at Crossroads began with the Indian light solo song competition organised by Aarohan, the Indian music society of SRCC. Thirteen students from different colleges performed a range of semi-classical and Bollywood songs. The audience seemed to be visibly delighted by the melodies. Sharath S. Kumar, from Hansraj who presented a rendition of Jhanak Jhanak Tori, the iconic Manna Dey song, was declared the winner. Sukriti Poddar from Gargi college was the runner-up while Amlan Sarkar of Ramjas College and S. Arjun of Zakir Husain Delhi College were both the second runner-ups. Commenting on how the essence of an artist’s performance lay in his attire, the judge, Carnatic maestro and Bharatnatyam dancer, S. Vasudevan congratulated the participants for their dedicated efforts.

From teams which displayed terrifying passions through their ragas to teams that enveloped their performance in a state of perfect peacefulness, Saarang, the Indian choir competition witnessed versatility with finesse.

Fashion Walk, the fashion show competition, saw seven top teams compete for the top title. Amidst much controversy, Glitz, the fashion society of Kamala Nehru College secured the first position at while Prophecy, the fashion society of Lady Irwin College, came second. Demeanor, the Fashion Society of SRCC, presented the clothing line of Lulu And Sky as they walked the ramp at Crossroads on its third day.

Astitva, the multi-genre band performed songs spanning varied genres. The ‘Patang Dor’ hit-maker presented hybrid styles of exquisite melodies such as “Take It Easy Urvashi” and “Humma” to evergreen pop hits like “Dil Chahta Hai”. The audience sang along as the lead vocalist Salman Khan Niazi crooned to “Dil Diyan Gallan”. In the highly spirited performance, their renditions of “Om Shanti Om” and “Tumsa Nahi Dekha” won over the audience instantly.

The final day of Crossroads started with a choreography dance competition.

DU Beat got an opportunity to interview journalist Faye D’Souza on the final day of Crossroads.

Nucleya’s performance was considered by some as the biggest performance of the whole fest season. Despite heavy security, crowd was not managed well. However, no undesirable incident came to light and Crossroads’18 concluded with a bang.

 

Feature Image Credits: Akarsh Mathur for DU Beat

 

Niharika Dabral

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Bhavya Banerjee

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Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

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Day 3 at Crossroads’17: Fashion Show and Dancemob take the spotlight!

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The annual fest Crossroads’17 of Shri Ram College of Commerce hosted the Indian Choir Competition Saarang on the third day which had participants from eight different colleges. The competition was judged by Renuka Arya where Samranjhini of Gargi College emerged as the winners. Swaranjali of Hansraj College and Geetanjali of Miranda House jointly bagged the second position in the competition. The Indian solo singing competition Alaap where Dhruv Pargai of IIIT Delhi sang the winning song. Vaishnavi Tyagi of Hansraj College and Lakshay Kapoor of Ramanujan College got jointly awarded the first runner up in the competition.

Picturesque, punchy and unabashedly stylish, the five colleges that participated in Crossroad’s Inferno, the Fashion Show, definitely made an impression. Judged by Harsh Khullar and Ashmita Jaiswal, Kamla Nehru College emerged victorious in this battle of the trends with the likes of fashion societies from Maitreyi, Keshava Maha Vidyalaya, SSSGC and GNIOT providing stiff competition. The overriding trend seemed to be dark lipshades and eccentric outfits. However, Glitz,the Fashion Society of KNC stole the show with its performance on the theme ‘Savage Mind’ in shades of blue, black and grey. This event was undoubtedly a feast for the eyes.

The MTV Campus Diaries Dancemob Faceoff started off with some power packed performances and energetic beats. Judged by the iconic Salman Khan, former winner of Dance India Dance, his personal commentary carried the entire event and inspired the teams to give some killer performances. He also joined one of the teams on stage for a little jig.

Participants included a total of 13 teams, but Zeal, the Western Dance Society of Maitreyi College bagged the winners’ cheque for Rs 50,000. A night promised to be full of excellent dancing and good music, this event definitely set the tone for the rest of the night. 

The night closed with a crowd-pumping performance by DJ Rave Crave, who mixed up various dance and EDM numbers to make the crowd groove to the beats!

Anagha Rakta
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Radhika Boruah
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Anahita Sahu
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Feature Image by Sahil Chauhan for DU Beat
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DU Annual Fest Season

Crossroads’16 at SRCC: Events and highlights

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Crossroads’16 – the annual cultural festival of Shri Ram College of Commerce was a grand 4 day affair from 5th to 9th March which saw an amazing lineup of stars, activities and competitions. While the number of competitive events were far less than what we’ve seen in other college festivals this season, SRCC exceeded expectations when it came to star performances, with actor and director Farhan Akhtar with his music ensemble ‘Farhan Live’ performing on Day 1, music-composer trio Shankar Ehsan Loy performing on Day 2, Indian band Euphoria performing on Day 3 and finally Bollywood Singer Mohit Chauhan ending the fest with his performance on Day 4.

Here are the main highlights of Crossroads’16

Day 1: Farhan Akhtar Live and Asmita Theatre Group

Day 1 began with the setting of the stage and sound testing for Farhan Akhtar’s performance later at night. Asmita Theatre group began the performance of their production ‘Dastak’ based on atrocities against women.

Asmita Theatre Group performing 'Dastak' at SRCC Crossroads | Image by Vegh Dawani for DU Beat
Asmita Theatre Group performing ‘Dastak’ at SRCC Crossroads | Image by Vegh Dawani for DU Beat

Despite a brief spell of rain, the performance by Farhan Akhtar Live started in the evening without interruptions. Farhan along with his music ensemble performed various songs like ‘Socha Hai’ ‘Khwabon Ke Parindey’ ‘Rock On’ and ‘Mai Aisa Kyu Hu’

 

Day 2: Informal events and performance by Shankar Ehsan Loy

Day 2 started with informal events like Stomp the Yard, the hiphop dancing competition. A bike stunt event was organized as well.

The Bike stunt competition at the Parking Lot. | Image by Prateek Singh for DU Beat
The Bike stunt competition at the Parking Lot. | Image by Prateek Singh for DU Beat

 

 

Shankar Ehsan Loy started their performance in the evening. Shankar Mahadevan, the lead singer was in awe with the audience and expressed his gratitude to be performing in SRCC twice in four years.

The music-composer trio proceeded to perform their hit numbers ‘Breathless’ ‘Hindustani’ ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’

 

Day 3: Choreography, Fashion Competitions and Euphoria

Day 3 of Crossroads started early with Verve, the choreography society of SRCC organizing the choreography competition ‘Requs’ on the mainstage. Hindu College’s Srijya emerged as the winners of the competition while Hansraj College’s Terpsichorean were declared the runner ups.

IMG_9736
Kamala Nehru College’s choreography society Adagio at SRCC Crossroads’16 | Image by Mridul Kumar for DU Beat

The event was quickly followed by the fashion walk competition organized by Demeanor, the fashion society of SRCC.  The results are currently awaited.

As the fashion competition ended, sound check started at the mainstage for Euphoria’s performance. The band entered in their iconic outfits. Palash Sen, the lead singer of the band was ecstatic to see the crowd and expressed his love for playing for students. He also emphasized his likeness of the audience’s knowledge of non-Bollywood music.

The band proceeded to perform on their hit compositions ‘Dhoom’ ‘Mairee’ and ‘Meri Gali’. They also played renditions of various Bollywood music numbers.

Day 4: Western dance and Mohit Chauhan

The fourth and final day of Crossroads started with the Western dance competition organized by Panache, SRCC’s Western dance society. The competition was judged by Sahil Aneja, founder of Brooklyn Academy. Misba from Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce emerged as the winners while Tanz, Miranda House and Afroza, Indraprastha College for Women shared the second position.

SGGSCC emerged as the winners of Thirak'16 | Image by Sahil Chauhan for DU Beat
SGGSCC emerged as the winners of Thirak’16 | Image by Sahil Chauhan for DU Beat

 

Later in the evening, Bollywood Singer Mohit Chauhan graced the stage with his performance of various songs like ‘Tumse Hi’ ‘Pee Loon’ ‘Jo Bhi Main’ ‘Saada Haq’ and more. Though at the last few minutes of performance, the crowd went a little out of control and people were caught up in horde as Mohit Chauhan made an exit.

 

This is what Crossroads’16 was all about

Find the full album here

Kartikeya Bhatotia

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Shri Ram College of Commerce

A ‘Shaan’dar inaugural to SRCC’s Crossroads 2014

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SRCC’s four day cultural festival ‘Crossroads’ that is proudly celebrating its ‘last party before forty’  kick started its first day with the‘shaan’dar performance of the singer cum stage performer Shantanu Mukherjee, commonly known as ‘Shaan’ at Encore. Shaan is best known for  playback singing for top Bollywood actors, anchoring and dancing.

The concert though began an hour after the scheduled time, yet the singer’s charm and melodious voice made the audience soon forget about it all. Shaan took a heroic entry singing the famous lines ‘mujhko pehchaan lo, mai hu kaun?’ This was followed by a number of his soft romantic melodies including ‘Tune mujhe pehchana nahi’, ‘Chand Sifarish’ and ‘Jabse tere naina’.

 The singer was seen building a nice rapport with the crowd, occasionally handing over them the mike and questioning them on how did the audience expect him to perform and if the audience wanted him to sing some famous composition of another music artist. The highest notches of the night were scaled with the performance of famous songs like ‘Woh pehli baar’ and ‘Tanha Dil’.

shaan1

Acknowledging the new talent in industry, Shaan sang the chart buster Arijit Singh song ‘Tum hi ho’ from  the movie ‘Aashiqui 2’ on public demand and referred it to be one of his favourite songs too. Not only did he sing romantic situational songs, but also flavoured up the night with peppy numbers like ‘Mai aissa kyon hu?, ‘Partner’, ‘Ladki kyon’ and ‘Chanda maama so gaye, ‘Koi kahe, kehta rahe’ all coming back to back without pauses.

The powerful performer not only did sing, but also entertained the audience with light hearted jokes on him ready to be called ‘Uncle’ by the audience and his ‘Jhalak Dikhla Ja’ dancing venture. Stating the reason for having taken him this long to come for a college performance in years, he expressed his apprehensions about the taste of the young generation in music, taking a dig at the current songs happening to do great in the market despite of any sense, being largely replete with cuss words and liquor.

 “The genres of his music aren’t the favourites of many people today, but with his innocent looks, electric energy and commendable music, the performer was a fireball on stage.” said, Nidhi Bhalla, a second year DU student and Shaan fan.

At the end of the concert, the organising committee brought out a surprise. After viewing the trailer of Bewakoofiyaan, they made the announcement that Ayushmann Khurrana and Sonam Kapoor would be coming to promote their upcoming film on the last day of the fest i.e. 9th March. Their appearance is scheduled to happen at 4 p.m., before Sukhwinder Singh’s concert.

Well begun is half done. The performances scheduled for Day – II at SRCC include VJ Nikhil Chinappa, The Dualist Inquiry, Sharat Chandra, a classical violinist and Vlado Kreslin, a Slovenian folk rock musician. Enjoy!

Image Credit: Mehr Gill for DU Beat

Post by DU Beat.
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Events

Unusual Sightings at Crossroads 2012

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If you thought that the rodeo bull ride or a tambola of environmental terms were the most unusual things about the SRCC festival think again. We bring to you some out of ordinary sights at this much talked about festival.

  • The Tata Nano kiosk was the centre of a lot of dancing and revelry. The men gyrating to ‘chikni chameli’ presented a ‘jaanlewa jalwa’ that would have given Katrina Kaif a run for her money with their jhatkas – matkas and the sheer feel with which they danced to the uncouth anthem of 2012.
  • After dancing for an entire minute on a current Honey Singh chartbuster like a mentally unstable person as was asked of her by the emcee a girl was rewarded not with a Tata Nano but a 4 days and 3 night’s stay at the Wazirpur Depo.
  • The hefty prize money delighted all the winners. The winner of the 3rd position in the pottery painting competition was thrilled to have won Rs.600 for painting geometrical patterns on her pot with great flourish and was seen indulging herself with some crispy Jalebis.
  •  Things got wild at the wild stone kiosk, taking the battle of the sexes to a whole new level, gender roles were reversed and girls were spotted applying make-up on the face of their better half with dedicated precision.
  • Taking inspiration from Zarine Khan, who was the showstopper at the fashion show, men got in touch with their feminine side by walking the ramp while wearing crazy coloured wigs usually sported by clowns at Ajanta Circus. After all the consumers of wild stone products are wild by nature.
  • Men competing to generate the maximum amount of foam by shampooing their hair the fastest at the fest were also spotted at the same kiosk. The winners were rewarded with wild stone merchandize.
  • While leaving the venue we witnessed the endearing sight of a father holding his infant child and jumping on the trampoline. This scene reminiscent of a Jeevan Bima advertisement made us believe that Crossroads was home to some of the most extraordinary delights.

    Pragya Lal
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Interview with Nitin Gupta (Rivaldo)

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Nitin Gupta performed at the Comedy Concert on Day 2 of SRCC’s Crossroads. DU Beat caught up with him in an exclusive interview at SRCC

Q: Were you a stand-up comedian in college?

A: Yes. I started in my final year in IIT- Bombay. I was preparing for GRE at that time and I was getting very bored.

Q: Why stand-up comedy?

A: IIT organizes a lot of cultural activities and out of all of them I preferred stand-up comedy because for that, all you need is a mic and some space. The other art forms require equipment, dressing up etc. and more often than not, they’re group activities. I feel stand-up comedy is easier to monitor.

Q: Is stand-up a part-time or a full-time job for you?

A: Full time. I work with a company called Entertainment Engineers.

Q: From IIT to stand-up. How did that happen?

A: I was teaching for a year after IIT but then I decided to move into tv shows and pursue stand-up and from there on it’s just been that for me.

Q: What kind of audiences do you get in India?

A: They’re good. They’re very receptive. But there’s a difference in the kind of jokes guys and girls enjoy. At boys’ colleges I prefer political themes whereas in co-ed or girls’ colleges, I talk about romance or dating.

Q: Aren’t you being very stereotypical?!?

A: Haha…no. It’s from experience. I’ve seen it myself.

Q: Who inspires you to do what you do?

A: Raju Srivastava, Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais and a few more.

Q: How are you in your daily life? Do you usually joke around like this?

A: I’m actually very shy and stand-up comedy is my way of expressing my thoughts to others.

Q: Your thoughts on Crossroads…

A: I’ve always wanted to be a part of DU. Couldn’t, as a student, but I’m happy to be here as a guest.

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