Musoc Archives - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

One of the many things that make the University of Delhi happening and enchanting is the performing arts societies and their marvelous annual productions. In the past few months, we saw cut-throat competition across several Delhi University colleges. The hours and hours of practice and hard work were put to test this fest season and from amongst the pool of massive talent, some groups emerged brighter than the others. We attempt to select the best society of the lot.

Methodology
The best college society in each category was selected by creating a tally of the top 3 positions that could be won at various events. The society that secured the 1st position was awarded 3 points, the society that secured the 2nd position was awarded 2 points, and finally, the society securing the 3rd position was awarded 1 point.
Eight college fests were referred to while evaluating the top societies tally this fest season. They were: Tarang, LSR; Ullas, KNC; Tempest, Miranda House; Montage, JMC; Mecca, Hindu College; Reverie, Gargi College; Confluence; Hansraj College, and Nexus, Sri Venkateswara College.

The Top Three

Backbeat of Ramjas College and 6 In The Evening of Hansraj College are at the top position. Second position is shared by Commonthread of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, Tapas of Motilal Nehru College, and Musoc of Kirori Mal College. Third position is secured by Conundrum Drive of PGDAV College.

Points Tally: Battle of Bands

The Winning Society at a glance

6 In The Evening, Hansraj College
This year they composed three original songs. A band member told us that all three songs varied in their style and approach owing to the diverse background of team members. The first song they wrote, ‘Afterlife’ was a result of the band’s first jam together. Afterlife revolved around Rohan’s infectious melodies on the sarod which sets in a mood of beauty and introspection. The second song ‘Home’, was more upbeat and groovy thanks to the skills of drummer Dimpal and Bassist Puru. The third song they wrote was named ‘Third eye’, which was high piched and aided by powerful drums and enticing Sarod.

President, Aditya Paul told DU Beat, “Since the starting of the session we just had one simple goal, which was to serve the song and let the music flow while allowing each band member to put forward his ideas. This approach definitely helped all of us to grow as musicians. I personally felt so proud of the Puru and Saksham who are in their first year, but adapted to the process so quickly and made this entire experience even better.

Performing members

Aditya Paul – Vocals and Guitar
Dimpal Kumar – Drums
Saksham Kumar – Keyboard
Puru Aggarwal – Bass Guitar
Rohan Prasanna – Sarod
Kartik Balan – Mridangam

Backbeat, Ramjas College

BackBeat, the music society of Ramjas College, had been inactive for a few years. However, this year they made an inspiring comeback.

The President of Backbeat told DU Beat, “We had to put extra efforts to establish a system again. This year’s band production was based out of individual thought procedures combined together. The primary state of mind while composing the songs was to deal with all complexities, rhythmic and harmonic in the songs tastefully. While the songs had parts inspired from Shakti, the band also made sure the songs sounded equally groovy and fun for everyone who is listening.”

Performing members
Shreshth Chawla, President (former – Drums
Akshay Bhatnagar, Parijat Kirti – Guitar
Devmitra Thakur – Percussions
Puru Agarwal- Bass
Sanchayan Joardar, Santur Kundu – Vocals

Winners Tally

Out of all colleges we considered, Backbeat won at:
1st: Mecca, Tempest

Out of all colleges we considered, 6 In The Evening won at:

1st: Nexus, Tarang

(Hover over the icons to know more about their victories)

Images Designed by Kartik Kakar for DU Beat ([email protected])

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak ([email protected])
Niharika Dabral ([email protected])

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The 25th edition of Surmanjari, the annual fest of Musoc, the Music Society of Kirori Mal College will be held on on 1-2 March. While the fest would see a spectrum of Western and Indian Music competitions being held, the highlight would be the Musoc Concert. ‘This That’, the new in-house band of the society will also gig in the concert.

The Musoc is among the most reputed college music societies in the country, having produced renowned singers like KK, Gaurav Bangia and Shamit Tyagi, Valentine Shipley and the band Parikrama. It’s an Indian cum Western music society where every member performs both the forms of music. Surmanjari is the oldest music fest in the University.

On the day 1 of the fest, the prelims for the Indian and the Western Choir will be held. This would be followed by the Musoc concert which is scheduled to start at 12 noon. The set-list for the Musoc concert this year includes songs by AR Rahman, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Coke Studio and Vishal-Shekhar. The concert would be a 3 hour affair. This year, the society’s new band ‘This That’ will put up its first public performance. Pranav Pahwa, a Jazz fusion guitar player and the ex president of the society would also play during the concert. “Fusion music with Carnatic vocals going into modern funk, or a set of vocalists that are trained in Indian Classical music and are equally good at singing western songs with complex harmonies, Musoc’s performance is a reflection of stellar instrumentation and outstanding vocals”, says Shruti Badri, the president of Musoc. A few pass-outs of the society will join the current members for the performance of an original composition by the choir.

A footfall of about 4000 students is expected during the fest, with majority of it for the Musoc concert. “Students from across the campus, even the South Campus come over to attend the concert. Last year’s concert was a big hit amongst the students and we are expecting an even better response this year”, says Parth Sharma, a second year Musoc member.

The day 2 of the fest would see a number of musical competitions being held. The finals for the Indian and the Western choir, the solo Indian Music competition, and the solo Western Music competition will be held. Unlike other solo Indian music events, in Surmanjari, participants are not allowed to sing to ghazals, folk or semi-classical music songs.

The entry for the concert is free for students.

Photo Credits: Shaleen Seth

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