The much celebrated fest season of Delhi University has almost come to an end. Most of the colleges have had their annual cultural fests with spectacular performances in the competitive events, and to the amazing EDM and Star Nights. With the tribal theme on point, Daulat Ram College successfully organised its two-day fest Manjari’17 on the 22nd and 23rd of March. The pots painted with warli paintings and tribal masks: everything was splendidly placed, decorating the entire college premises beautifully.
The audience relished the amazing performances of different colleges in the western dance competition Laasya, folk dance competition Ulhaas, classical dance competiton Yogya, and semi classical face-off Darpan organised by Zenith, the western dance society of DRC and Annhad, the Indian dance society of DRC respectively. Alahyaa, the Indian Music Society of DRC held its annual music fest Aaroh’17 where the leading music societies competed in the different events like Sur Sangam, Jugalbandi and Annhad. Memesis, the theatre society of DRC organised Adakari’17- the theatre festival of DRC which saw a vast multitude of spectators pulled towards the amazing annual productions of the different theatre societies. Annual exhibition Taabeer’17 was organised by Sepia, the film and photography society of DRC. ‘Shades’ was organised by Spectra– the fine arts society of DRC. Tajagna, the quizzing society of DRC hosted Big Fact Hunt- a general quiz. All India Mushairah was also organised. A talent hunt competition was held for the visually challenged students. Events like Promenade by Debonair, the fashion society of DRC and Zaahir-e-Hunar, the open talent hunt, had immense spectation.
Superstar singer Guru Randhawa of Suit, Patola, Yaar Mod Do fame ignited the evening with his peppy numbers, making the crowd dance on their toes. The two-day celebration was drawn to a close with Bollywood hits like Pee Loon, Tere Sang which are credited to the name of the soulful singer Tulsi Kumar.
Vivre – The Film and Photography Society of Hindu College was formed with the aim of bringing together students who share a love for photography and an eye for filmmaking. Every year Vivre organises SNAP – The annual Photography festival which is the biggest in DU with participation from various universities. Snap, now in its 7th edition, organises events such as workshops, talks, discussions and an exhibition is set up showcasing our best work along with the winning entries. This year Snap featured Asutosh Kashyap along with the members of People’s Instagram page India in Black! Snap was a 2 day event this year.
Day 1
The audience was mesmerised by the talks of Mr. Dinesh Khanna and Mr. Gulzar Sethi. It was not an ordinary interaction session, it was a session which enlightened our paths as young photographers. Gulzar Sethi’s team also accompanied him to Hindu College, and personally guided our society members. It was a cherishable experience for all of us. After the talk, BRC took the eminent photographers on a ride full of creativity and imagination. On that day BRC was capturing the essence of SNAP, and inside of it was a magical world of photograph entries from across the country. Mr. Dinesh Khanna judged the entries on the theme ‘colour’ and shared some dazzling techniques on how to play with given camera tools. Mr. Gulzar Sethi judged the competition themed ‘manipulation’. Later, both of them shared their views on the photographs shot by our society members and taught a better way of looking at the world from behind the lens. We wrapped up the day by capturing our blissful moments with Mr. Dinesh and Mr. Gulzar Sethi.
Day 2
At 6:00 am it started. Yes. With sleepy eyes, in nightwear and camera in hands, our society members along with the members of India In Black, were ready to capture one of the most captivating sights in Delhi – Chandni Chowk. It was a memorable experience for all of us. And back at Hindu College, at 10 am, BRC was casted upon, with the society members’ photographs. At 1:00 pm, the photography treasure hunt started and one could easily find people running from one side of the college to another. And then the highlight of the second day was the Boomerang competition, themed on the famous melody of Shape of You by Ed Sheeran. Contestants were given 20 minutes to make a Boomerang and we received amazing entries, some dedicated to social causes like body shaming.
We wrapped up the last day of SNAP with hopes of making the next edition more exciting and entertaining to the young hotographers.
Watch the incredible work of the society in this hyperlapse video here.
The final day of Tempest 2017 witnessed a huge footfall for competitions organised and the much awaited Star Night.
The first event of the day was the Acapella competition organised by Orpheus, the western music society of the college. The event saw a string of high voltage performances by all the major music societies of the university. The event which was adjudged by Awarthanga Chiru, the prodigal musician and Laura Santana, an renowned jazz performer, saw Zephyr, the music society of Kamala Nehru College emerge as the victor followed by the western music society of Lady Shri Ram College and Swaranjali, the music society of Hansraj College ending up as runner up and second runner up respectively.
The second event of the day was Sangam, the solo instrumental competition organised by Geetanjali, the Indian music society of the college. The event was adjudged by Dr. Bipul Kumar Ray and Ranjeet Bishwas, both prominent musical artists from varied fields of the art. Budding musicians from varied colleges gave their best in the game, which eventually saw Shikhar Aggarwal from delhi Technological University win the first prize, Rohan Prasanna from Hansraj College win the second spot and Sanjay Anand Menon from DTU ending up third. In the following western choir competition, Hansraj College emerged as the winner for their outstanding performance, with Gargi College and Hindu College trailing at second and third positions respectively.
This was followed by the Indian Dance Competition where Nrityakriti, the Indian Dance Society of Maitreyi College and SGTB Khalsa College tied for the first position. Nrityangana, the Indian Dance Society of Sri Venkateswara College secured the second position.
Mohammed Irfan drew the curtains to Tempest’17 as he serenaded the crowds with his hit numbers like Baarishein and Fir Mohabbat. He did not limit his performance to his own songs. The audience seemed thoroughly involved as he made his performance more interactive by dedicating songs to the Principal of Miranda House, the Faculty members as well as the audience.
The much awaited Tempest 2017 lived up to its expectations. A student of Miranda House, in a conversation with DU Beat said, “ This academic session had been very busy for the college. It was very impressive how the union managed the resources efficiently and blessed us with a very good fest this year”
Image Credits: Jasmine Chahal, Hitanksha Jain, Gerush Bahal and Divyansh Dayal for DU Beat.
Clad in a picturesque semblance of Dilli’s aesthetics and an aura of magnificence, Hindu College’s much anticipated annual cultural fest, Mecca, returns with enthralling events and riveting performances. This dastaan-e-dilli edition of Hindu’s annual extravaganza is a portal to transport the audience to the beloved dilli ki galiyaan and relish the nuances of the history-infused Delhi. The first edition of Mecca 2017 kick started on a musical and creative high, escalating the expectations for the next two days!
The fest was declared open by the profusely talented author, Mr. NeeleshMisra, who is currently hosting shows on Saavn. The inauguration was then succeeded by a brief reading of his book, followed by a motivating interactive session with the audience. Aria, the Western Music Society of Hindu College, organised Chorale, the Western Group Choir Competition. Captivating the crowd with their mesmerising performance, The Western Music Society, Lady Shri Ram College bagged the first award, withSynergy of Shiv Nadar University securing the second place, followed by Echo of Jesus and Mary College and Zephyr, The Western Music Society of Kamala Nehru College.
Under the umbrella of Aramya, the dance fest of Hindu College, the day witnessed the Western Dance Competition, Flair. The event saw participation from ten teams and invigorated all hearts with rhythms and tunes. V-DEFYN of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi secured the first place, followed by Zeal of Maitreyi College. The rhapsodic experience of music and dance ended with a performance by the Dance out of Poverty initiative. To touch the chords of art and creativity, the first day also saw the organisation of the Slam Poetry and Open Mic competition, along with exciting events of the English Debate and Photography competition.
The choreography society of Hindu, Srijya then hosted the choreography competition, Finesse. Yet another round of scintillating performances ensued with the performers playing on their imagination to conjure up the most beautiful performances centred around creative themes. The competition ended with special performances by Srijya themselves and by ex-members of the society. Not surprisingly, Gargi College bagged the first place while Hansraj College took the second prize home.
The eventful first day reached it’s crescendo with Shiley Setia entertaining the audience with the latest Bollywood and Hollywood numbers. While vlogging with the audience, interacting with them and egging them on to sing along, Shirley made it a point that none was left out of the revelry of the first star night. The standards have been set high at Mecca 2017, as students look forward to two even more exciting days!
February and March are pre-booked in all DU students’ calendars. The excitement of going to star nights, eating great food and having a ball with your closest friends are just some of the reasons why most Delhi University kids flock to the best fests. However, to make sure you have a foolproof fest season, we bring you some important things to remember before the spell of fun starts –
Reach the venue well before time: Make sure that you and your friends reach the venue at least half hour before the scheduled time. Even though, the show is most likely to start late, it is always better to secure a decent spot in the crowd. People will start pouring into the venue in huge numbers and the entry to the venue will be closed pretty early because of the huge crowd, so make sure you get a spot in advance to enjoy the show without worries.
Check the entry procedure: It is very important to check the college entry procedure online for the particular fest before going. Some colleges are stricter with the entry as compared to others, so make sure you know how to get in. Colleges like Hindu and SRCC have a strict entry procedure because bags are thoroughly checked and passes are required, but carry your college id to all the fests, regardless.
Keep cash: Make sure you have enough cash in this time of demonetisation. DU fests usually have stalls set up in the campus and payment would mostly be taken in cash by the small vendors.
Take permission: DU fests usually end late so make sure that you have your parents’/hostel warden’s/landlord’s permission beforehand to come back home late so that you don’t miss out on any fun!
Carry water: When inside the heavily packed campuses of Delhi University, wading through the crowd for water can be an issue. Carry a small water bottle inside your bag to avoid missing fun things while you’re in that moment of thirst.
Dress comfortably: As much as I would like sporting heels for the fest season, I know that it is going to be super uncomfortable. Main events of the fests are usually held in the sports ground, and wearing heels on a grass field is probably a bad idea. Make sure you’re comfortable, warm and snug in your clothing because fests do require you to walk around/stand a lot, in the open.
Beware of pickpockets: Crowded areas increase the dangers of getting mugged, so take care of your belongings, because a bad incident can ruin your whole day. Keep checking your wallet and phone from time to time and be alert of the people around you.
Preserve the memories: The fest season will be the best time of your college life and preserving the memories for your future, adult self will be worth it. You can buy small trinkets from the various stalls as souvenirs, save the passes and keep it between heavy books or find a photo booth and get a group picture printed of the gang.
Day 3 of Moksha kicked off with Dhwani, the umbrella of music-based events, which was judged by Mohit Dobhal, a Hindustani vocalist, and Ms. Roli, a proficient classical singer.
In Tarang, the Indian classical group competition, the first position was shared by Dhwani, the music society of Lady Shri Ram College For Women and Tarkaas, the music society of Institute of Home Economics. The second position was also a tie, between Gargi College’s music society Samranjini and Miranda House’s, Geentanjali. This was followed by the instrumental duo event, Symphony. Nalin Vinayak and Aditya who played a romanticizing combination of guitar and keyboards were awarded the first position and the second place was shared by the teams of Rishi and Saurabh, and of Anirudh and Mitesh.
Street Dance was another exciting event that took place on Day 3. It was judged by Digant Kar, a dancer and choreographer, along with Benjamin Jacob, a Senior Member at the Academy of Danceworx, Delhi. The team from Trinity Institute of Professional Studies was declared the winner.
Oorja, the western dance competition, was another highlight of Day 3, and saw Misba, the western dance society of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, winning the first position. Afroza, Indraprastha College for Women, and V-Defyn from IIT Delhi ranked second and third respectively.
Abish Mathew’s performance as a part of the Humour Fest drew crowds as he made the appreciative audience crack up with references to engineering in his jokes amongst other things.
Moksha ended on a high with Shaan’s performance as he crooned his biggest hits and crowd-pleasers like ‘Chaar Kadam’, ‘Bhool Jaa’ and ‘Partner’.
The Commerce Association of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College concluded its annual departmental festival Uddayam on 24th February 2016. The two day fest was attended by more than 1200 students from colleges all across Delhi University and from other universities in NCR as well. The term ‘Uddayam’ literally means entrepreneurship and all events hosted were completely synchronised with this theme. Pizza Hut was the food partner of the event.
The event started with the inauguration ceremony. The esteemed chief guest for the function was Mr. Amit Bahl, Partner at Price Waterhouse Coopers. The other senior faculty members included the Principal of the college, Dr. P.K. Khurana, teacher-in-charge of the Commerce Department, Dr. R.C. Jain and Convenor of the Commerce Association, Ms. Ruchi Gupta. The ceremony started with the lighting of the lamp for the auspicious beginning of the festival. This was followed by a sumptuous music performance by Piyush, a third year student at the college. The college’s Principal, Dr. P.K. Khurana warmly welcomed the chief guest with a bouquet of flowers. The Principal then gave the welcome address and enlightened everyone with his words of wisdom. This was followed by a short speech by Dr. R.C. Jain.
The chief guest then shared a wonderful experience from his childhood and the days of his higher studies with the gathering. He gave an important teaching to all the students never to give up their goal in life slip as many times as they may. The President of the Commerce Association of the College, Himani Mishra also apprised the audience about the Association, the events it has conducted in the past and also about Uddayam. The ceremony concluded with Ms. Ruchi Gupta, Convenor of the Commerce Association giving a vote of thanks and presenting mementos to the Chief Guest, Principal and the teacher in charge.
Following the inaugural ceremony, the much awaited competitions started. An array of events was hosted this year which included some fun events to keep the atmosphere jovial and festive. Adwitiya: Hunar aur Jazbe ka sangam was the star event at this edition of Uddayam. This event had been specially designed for the physically challenged students. The event received a highly positive response from everyone present. This event gave the students a platform to showcase their talents and all the participants enthusiastically gave commendable performances. Colossal Clash: The Best Manager Competition was one of the longest and toughest events this year. Only selected participants who had cleared the online preliminary round were selected for the main event.
The participants were made to go through group discussions and personal interview rounds on the first day. After elimination only 6 candidates were called the next day. They were made to pitch their Business Plans. Finally two winners were declared after the rigorous grilling. Other events on Day 1 included the much awaited Stockastic: The Mock Stock Competition. Here it is the fight of the Bulls and Bears and a test of who the real Warren Buffet is. Torrent and Trials was the T.V. show quiz where the participants were judged on the basis of their knowledge of shows like Game of Thrones, Friends and the interesting Harry Potter series.
The major fun event and one of the most successful events of Uddayam was the Bollywood Tambola. This was the traditional tambola being played in Bollywood style. Pirates Ahoy was the treasure hunt game where participants were given coded messages, riddles and other encrypted data which they had to decrypt to unveil the real treasure. The dart game was a major attraction for those who just wanted to enjoy the festivity.
Uddayam
The second day was as interesting as the first. Beginning with some musical performances, the day gradually gathered pace. Contrakeenos was the commerce quiz testing the participants’ knowledge of the world of business. Several rounds of intensive questions got the best of the participants. Turbulence: The Turncoat Debating Competition was also a huge success. The final round was a press conference simulation wherein participants were required to address situations and reply to interjections from other participants.
One of the major attractions of the day was WeakLinks Season 3 which was quizzing only but in an all new avatar. Two rounds of mind-boggling quiz on general awareness and logical reasoning ended on an exciting note with the winner being a finalist for the last two seasons. Exaggerato was the caricature competition where participants had to make drawings on given themes and characters to win. Counter Strike was the fun event where participants competed on the computers by playing the game ‘Counter Strike’. Marketing Superhero – The Ad Mad Competition was organized for the second time at Uddayam witnessing quality participation from all across Delhi University.
The things that we work hard for may not last a long time but it is the working which gives the longest satisfaction. Over two months of preparation served its purpose. The two days left us more prepared than ever to make our events better. Better than before.
The Commerce Association of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College congratulates the winning participants and all the attendees of Uddayam on their participation and wishes them the best for such more competitions and Uddayam’17.
Content provided by the Commerce Association of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College.
Image Credits: The Commerce Association of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College
Day 1 Gargi College’s Annual Cultural Festival, Reverie 2016 opened with a plethora of vibrant events like stage theatre, street theatre, western dance and battle of bands.
The entire campus was covered in myriad decorations which managed to catch the eye of each spectator. The footfall was considerably high since late morning hours. After a short inauguration ceremony, the day kick started with the spirit of drama taking over the campus.
The stage play event, Nivacanna was hosted by the stage play society, Upstage. Ramjas College’s ‘Deluxe Hair Cutting Saloon’ was declared as the winner at Nivacana. It was also declared as the Best Production. SRCC and Hans Raj College were declared as second and third top plays respectively.
Winning Play – Ramjas College
Reverie on Day 1 simultaneously also hosted Battle of Bands which was won by The Hans Raj Project from HRC and the second position was bagged by High Time from Kirori Mal College.
The street play event, Abhaas was organised by the street play society of the college, Kshitij and the venue Arts Quad constantly attracted a huge audience with the various street plays Abhaas had to offer. It was won by Hindu College’s Dramatics Society with SRCC coming in second place and Ramanujan College holding the third place. College of Vocational Studies was given the honour of ‘best music’.
The much awaited event, Zenith took place in the evening witnessing a jampacked auditorium. Judged by Sahil Aneja, founder of Brooklyn Dance Academy who said that the competition was too tied and hard to judge. Zeal, the dance society of Maitreyi College emerged as the winners with Tanz, Miranda House coming at second place and Verve, Sri Venkateshwara College occupying the third place.
Day 1 of Mecca’16, the Annual Cultural Fest of Hindu College started with the lamp lighting ceremony. The fest was inaugurated by Hindu College’s Principal Dr. Anju Srivastava and Parliament’s Prime Minister Ashish K Holaria. The inauguration ceremony was followed by a performance by Mizaaj, the band.
Aria, the Western Music Society of Hindu College conducted Battle of Bands and Instrumental Solo Competition. The Battle of Bands kicked off with a performance by Mufills, a collaboration of students from different colleges. The jury of both the competitions consisted of Ritesh Khokhar and Nishant Hagjer who announced Playtime from Hans Raj as the winners of Battle of Bands. The runner up were Mufills.
The Instrumental Solo competition started with KNC’s Anshuman Sharma’s performance. When Ritesh Khokhar was asked what he thought about the performances, he said, ‘It’s a lovely process. The music is absolutely beautiful.’
Playtime from Hans Raj won the Battle of Bands Competition at Mecca
The last major event to take place was Western Dance. The first performance of the event was by Aurobindo College. The judge of the event was Hemant Kumar. The winners of the competition were Misba Dance Grew from Guru Gobind Singh College. The second place was held by Verve, the Western Dance Society of Sri Venkateswara College, and the third place was held by IIT Delhi.
Other minor events that took place were Street Soccer, Times Vebate, and Playground Sports’ Quiz.
The audience then geared up for the closing act of the day which was a star night with The Raghu Dixit Project. The band sang its famous songs in Hindi, Kannada and Tamil. The crowd of about 5000 enjoyed to their numbers like Ambar, Masti Ki Basti and many more.
Sudisha Misra Abhinaya Hargovind Tarushi Varma Nidhi Panchal Srivedant Kar
Photographs by Tejaswa, Alex Arthur and Vegh Daswani.
Day 3 of LSR Tarang 2016 started off on 7th February with a non competitive event, Nukkad Natak. A total of 8 teams participated. The jury consisted of Pallav Kumar, Director of Manthan, and Sonalini Kumar, Professor of Political Science.
Pitch Please, the Acapella competition opened with Ashoka University’s performance. The judges included the members of ‘Nouveau’ – Sherry Matthews, Ritwik De, and Subatra Kamat, who work together in a music initiative called ‘Nouveau’. The last judge was Apoorva Gandhi. 15 teams participated in the competition, and it was hosted by the Western Music Society. The winners of the competition were Kirori Mal College with Sri Venkateswara College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies as runners up.
The judges said that every team had their unique style, and performed well. Special mention was given to teams from Amity University, DTU, and Delhi College of Arts and Commerce.
Along with Pitch Please, the fashion show competition Anarchia- Breaking Stereotypes took place. The competition witnessed a participation of 7 teams, with the winner being Hans Raj College. The judges of the competition were Kamla Bhasin, Vikramaditya, an LGTB rights activist and Ms. Ishita from the Department of Sociology, LSR.
Team from Sri Venkateswara College performs at Pitch Please
There were many other events like TV Show Quiz, Turncoat, and Elocution. The Indian Music Society also hosted a duel competition called Jugal Gaayan.
The college now gears up for the star night featuring the music band Agnee.
