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A riot of colours at Delhi University’s 59th Annual Flower Show

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The 59th Annual Flower Show of University of Delhi took place on 23rd February 2017, with a plethora of activities, which saw the participation of horticulturists, photographers, students, teachers and flower enthusiasts from all over the Delhi-NCR region.

On 23rd February, the 59th Annual Flower Show of the University of Delhi took place in Mughal Garden, North Campus. Special Holiday was announced for the Delhi University colleges on account of this event. As a result, the premises were abuzz with students, teachers and flower enthusiasts appreciating the vibrant and varied blossoms.
The event was inaugurated by Vice Chancellor Mr. Yogesh Tyagi and the Chief Guest of the event was Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Science and Technology Minister.

Both, indigenous and exotic plants were displayed at the exhibition for the students and visitors. This year, the special attractions were cacti, orchids, succulents, and herbal plants. The show saw both competitive and non-competitive entries from colleges affiliated with the university, schools, and other educational institutes.
Nukkad Natak performances kept the audiences engaged. Students from Department of Botany performed a street play on the topic “Evolution of Natural Selection”, this was followed by another performance by Dhwani, the theater society of Acharya Narendra Dev College. Petals, the on-the-spot Photography competition, was organized at the event for the first time. The theme for the competition was ‘Flower and Emotions’ and with on-the-spot registration, the competition was open to all.

Talking to DU Beat, Shashi B Babbar, Chair of the flower show committee asserted that, “The main objective why we have been organizing this annual event since 1956 is to acknowledge the hard work of our horticulture staff. I believe that Students should raise some plants of their own; this habit can do wonders for our environment. It’s sad that when it comes to botany, India lags behind despite having immense potential since we have a wide and rich biodiversity in terms of flora. I hope that programs like this would infuse some interest in regarding gardening and botany among the general public, primarily the university students.”
The flower show started at 12 noon and remained open till 5 p.m.

Niharika Dabral
[email protected]

 

Imgae credits: Ened D’souza

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Arts & Culture

Jesus and Mary College organises 'Montage' 2017: Highlights

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Day 1 started with ‘Adaah’- an event organised by Nrityanjali, the Indian Dance Society of JMC, which included the Indian Classical Solo competition and the Group Folk Dance competition. The competition was judged by Radhika Kathal and Hemant Pandey. In the Group folk dance competition, the participants filled the auditorium which tunes and energetic beats from across India. The competition, in which a total of nine teams participated, the first prize was won by Nupur, the folk dance society of Kamala Nehru College. The second and third prizes were won by Nrityakriti of Maitreyi College and Nazaakat of Gargi College, while the singer of the SGTB Khalsa’s team won a special mention for his exceptional performance.
Echo, the western music society of JMC organised ‘Madrigal’ which included western group singing competition where students of the Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College bagged the first position followed by Sound Machine of St. Stephen’s College winning the second position and Aria of Hindu College securing the third position. In the event of ‘I like to duet x2’, Sparsh and Alankrita of LSR bagged the first position.
For the event ‘Tap That Treble’, which was the western solo singing competition, Sparsh from LSR won the first prize and the second prize was bagged by David from St. Stephen’s College while the third position was jointly won by Sumer from Venky and Zachariah from Ansal University. ‘Battle of Bands’ was judged by Siby Mathew and Roshan Roy, with a total of seven participating bands and Tantrik Steve of Hansraj College gave the award winning performance.
With the competitive events calling it up a day, the enthusiastic crowd gathered to enjoy the concert by Jasleen Royal. The singer enthralled the audience with popular tracks like Kabira and Iktara along with her popular tracks from the film ‘Dear Zindagi’. Day 2 at Montage at JMC started off slow but soon picked up with multiple events taking place simultaneously. The Nukkad Natak or street play competition and the western group dance and choreography events had the audience enthralled. The street play event saw the participation of ten teams from colleges across the University of Delhi. Anubhuti, the theatre society of Sri Venkateswara College bagged the first prize while Natuve, of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, came second. DramaNomics of the College of Vocational Studies was awarded a consolation prize.
Swaying to the rhythmic moves and portraying the brilliance of artistic bodies, Mudra organised the Choreography and Western Dance Competition. Terpsi Chorean from Hans Raj College bagged the first prize, with Sensation from Kirori Mal College receiving the second prize.
The event of choreography was followed by the Western Dance Competition, presenting a motley of performances received by an applauding audience. Zeal, Maitreyi College’s dance society, Misba of Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, and Enliven of Gargi College won the first, second, and third prized respectively. Infusing an element of earful endearance, Tarannum organised the Single and Group Classical Singing Competition. Gargi College’s Indian Music Society, Samranjini emerged as the winner, followed by Alahyaa of Daulat Ram College and Hindu College’s Alankar.
The fest closed with a power packed performance by DJ Kerano, one of the biggest DJ and music producers in the country, where the crowd grooved to the beats, mixing up some amazing tunes such as ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ and ‘Yellow’!
Anagha Rakta ([email protected]) Radhika Boruah ([email protected]) Baani Kasyap ([email protected]) Srivedant Kar ([email protected]) Vineeta Rana ([email protected]) Saumya Kalia ([email protected]) Nikhil Kumar ([email protected]) Priyal Mahtta ([email protected])]]>

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Arts & Culture

Jesus and Mary College organises ‘Montage’ 2017: Highlights

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Montage 2017 – the annual cultural fest of Jesus and Mary College – begun with Sister Rosily T.L. r.j.m, the officiating Principal of the college declaring the fest open, saying, “We are proud to invite all the students to Montage this year.  We wish the students who have organised the fest all the very best”.

Day 1 started with ‘Adaah’- an event organised by Nrityanjali, the Indian Dance Society of JMC, which included the Indian Classical Solo competition and the Group Folk Dance competition. The competition was judged by Radhika Kathal and Hemant Pandey. In the Group folk dance competition, the participants filled the auditorium which tunes and energetic beats from across India. The competition, in which a total of nine teams participated, the first prize was won by Nupur, the folk dance society of Kamala Nehru College. The second and third prizes were won by Nrityakriti of Maitreyi College and Nazaakat of Gargi College, while the singer of the SGTB Khalsa’s team won a special mention for his exceptional performance.

Echo, the western music society of JMC organised ‘Madrigal’ which included western group singing competition where students of the Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College bagged the first position followed by Sound Machine of St. Stephen’s College winning the second position and Aria of Hindu College securing the third position. In the event of ‘I like to duet x2’, Sparsh and Alankrita of LSR bagged the first position.

For the event ‘Tap That Treble’, which was the western solo singing competition, Sparsh from LSR won the first prize and the second prize was bagged by David from St. Stephen’s College while the third position was jointly won by Sumer from Venky and Zachariah from Ansal University. ‘Battle of Bands’ was judged by Siby Mathew and Roshan Roy, with a total of seven participating bands and Tantrik Steve of Hansraj College gave the award winning performance.

With the competitive events calling it up a day, the enthusiastic crowd gathered to enjoy the concert by Jasleen Royal. The singer enthralled the audience with popular tracks like Kabira and Iktara along with her popular tracks from the film ‘Dear Zindagi’.

Day 2 at Montage at JMC started off slow but soon picked up with multiple events taking place simultaneously. The Nukkad Natak or street play competition and the western group dance and choreography events had the audience enthralled. The street play event saw the participation of ten teams from colleges across the University of Delhi. Anubhuti, the theatre society of Sri Venkateswara College bagged the first prize while Natuve, of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, came second. DramaNomics of the College of Vocational Studies was awarded a consolation prize.

Swaying to the rhythmic moves and portraying the brilliance of artistic bodies, Mudra organised the Choreography and Western Dance Competition. Terpsi Chorean from Hans Raj College bagged the first prize, with Sensation from Kirori Mal College receiving the second prize.

The event of choreography was followed by the Western Dance Competition, presenting a motley of performances received by an applauding audience. Zeal, Maitreyi College’s dance society, Misba of Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, and Enliven of Gargi College won the first, second, and third prized respectively. Infusing an element of earful endearance, Tarannum organised the Single and Group Classical Singing Competition. Gargi College’s Indian Music Society, Samranjini emerged as the winner, followed by Alahyaa of Daulat Ram College and Hindu College’s Alankar.

The fest closed with a power packed performance by DJ Kerano, one of the biggest DJ and music producers in the country, where the crowd grooved to the beats, mixing up some amazing tunes such as ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ and ‘Yellow’!

Anagha Rakta ([email protected])

Radhika Boruah ([email protected])

Baani Kasyap ([email protected])

Srivedant Kar ([email protected])

Vineeta Rana ([email protected])

Saumya Kalia ([email protected])

Nikhil Kumar ([email protected])

Priyal Mahtta ([email protected])

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Arts Faculty

Of Perusing Languages

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Of all the major areas of research, linguistics is one such department in the University of Delhi which has been carrying on interesting and detailed work on the endangered languages of the India.

The scientific study of language is known as linguistics. In linguistics, syntax is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences in a given language, specifically word order. The term syntax is also used to refer to the study of such principles and processes. Semantics is primarily the linguistic, and also philosophical, study of meaning—in language, programming languages, formal logic, and semiotics. It focuses on the relationship between signifiers-like words, phrases, signs and symbols—and what they stand for, their denotation. All the languages have different syntax, semantics and tones. It is indeed a field of study which brings up the significance of the languages spoken in even nook and corner of the world.

Now, we have numerous lists of endangered species of flora and fauna in the world. Similarly, the socio-cultural importance of the 6,500 spoken languages around the world cannot be disregarded. UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger categorises 2,473 languages into five levels of endangerment: vulnerable, definitely endangered, severely endangered, critically endangered and extinct. Languages that are at risk of falling out of use as its speakers die out or shift to speaking another language are known as endangered languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a “dead language”. If eventually no one speaks the language at all, it becomes an “extinct language”. Linguists, members of endangered language communities, governments, NGOs, and international organizations are actively working to save and stabilize endangered languages. Once a language is determined to be endangered, there are three steps that can be taken in order to stabilize or rescue the language. The first is language documentation, the second is language revitalization and the third is language maintenance. Language documentation is the documentation in writing and audio-visual recording of grammar, vocabulary, and oral traditions of endangered languages. Language revitalization is the process by which a language community through political, community, and educational means attempts to increase the number of active speakers of the endangered language. Language maintenance refers to the support given to languages that need for their survival to be protected from outsiders who can ultimately affect the number of speakers of a language. Almost all of the study of language endangerment has been with spoken languages. A UNESCO study of endangered languages does not mention sign languages. However, some sign languages are also endangered, such as Alipur Village Sign Language (AVSL) of India. Many sign languages are used by small communities; small changes in their environment can lead to the endangerment and loss of their traditional sign language. Understanding the structure of these endangered languages of the world will help the linguists at least preserve of what has remained of those languages. Different languages portray different visions of life and apparently they help to know the civilisations better, the ancient, and also the modern ones.

Saying Hello in different Languages
Saying Hello in different Languages

One primary reason of highlighting this department is because of its unfamiliar field of exploration. Some of the research works taken up by the Post Graduate students of DU include Documentation and description of endangered languages, Historical Linguistics, Phonology, Morphology, Language contact, Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics, Linguistic Stylistics, Applied Linguistics, Generative Phonology, Translation Studies, Sociolinguistics, Lexicography. Indo-Norwegian Cooperation programme is a new initiative aimed to foster cooperation in education between the two countries. In its meeting on Oct 1 2014 the SIU-UGC joint committee granted permission to 15 projects. One of these INCP supported project is- A Micro comparative Study of Doubling in Dialects of Meiteilon and Norwegian as a Case of Syntactic Variation. Since then several workshops were held both in DU and Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim and Norway. Although not very old, this department of DU has not failed to amuse the international platforms with the numerous projects on Linguistics.

 

Image credits: onehourtranslation.com

 

Radhika Boruah

[email protected]

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Cultural Festivals

Highlights from Lady Shri Ram College’s Tarang 2017

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Tarang 2017, the annual cultural fest of Lady Shri Ram College for Women, was the first in a list of University of Delhi fests this year. One of the biggest extravaganzas in DU, this year’s three-day fest took place over the weekend of 3rd to 5th February. The event saw an impressive celebrity lineup, as well as a number of society-specific competitions and programmes.

The college campus was fully decked with decorations from the fine arts society, Hive. With this year’s theme of ‘redefining rhapsody’, quirky art pieces such as treasure chests and innovative exhibitions of wheels and umbrellas were an eye-catching start to the fest. The vibrant atmosphere provided an unmistakeable aura of energy to the campus.

Some of the major events that drew huge crowds were organised by the music, dramatics, and dance societies. On Day 1, a non-competitive stage play event, Yavnika, allowed teams from five colleges around Delhi to showcase their annual productions, without any pressure of winning.

Izzaz,the choreography group dance competition led the audience enthralled by the skills of the dancers and the concepts behind the performances. The first prize went jointly to Gargi College and Hans Raj College, while Kirori Mal College bagged the second position

On Day 2, A Cappella – Pitch Please entertained the audience with contemporary arrangements of popular songs by Coldplay and Twenty One Pilots. Kamakshi Khanna, a renowned artist, was one of the judges for this event. The western music societies of Gargi College, Jesus and Mary College, and Hans Raj College came out on top.

On the final day of the fest, the ever-energetic nukkad natak or street plays were performed non-competitively, in the same spirit of the stage plays. Issues such as casteism and child abuse were brought into the open by the bold scripts and acting of the participants.

Perhaps the most awaited event, Baila, the western group dance, had the entire auditorium packed and buzzing with energy. Maitreyi College emerged victorious, while Jesus and Mary College and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce came second and third respectively.

Apart from these major events, there were also various side events that drew participation. These included musical interpretation painting, slam poetry recitation, parliamentary debate, quizzes, and mystery rooms, along with an Alice In Wonderland themed exhibition. There were also beatboxing and pottery workshops, as well as a number of exciting stalls for hair braiding and temporary tattoos. The variety of eatables available was truly a treat for all the foodies at the fest. There was never a moment to waste at LSR as a plethora of events going on simultaneously provided both excitement and entertainment.

The star nights on all three days were busy affairs. Prateek Kuhad brought the first night to an end with his soothing voice and acoustic compositions.

In contrast to this, the second day saw Anish Sood get the crowd jumping with an EDM show. On the final day of the fest, Kenny Sebastian had the audience in splits with his relatable jokes and casual manner.

He was followed by Lucky Ali, who concluded Tarang 2017 with an enthralling performance of some of his biggest hits.

All in all, Tarang was a magnificent start to DU’s fest season of 2017. Starry pro nights and dynamic events, coupled with the energy and vibrancy throughout the three days added up to an unforgettable fest.

 

Image Caption: Lucky Ali serenading the audience at Tarang 2017
Image Credits: Alex Arthur

 

Vineeta Rana

[email protected]

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Cultural Festivals

Durjoy Datta inaugurates Zion’17, Annual Marketing Convention organised by Mercatus, JMC

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Mercatus, Marketing Society, Jesus and Mary College organised their Annual Marketing Convention – Zion’17 on February 21st, 2017. The event was attended by over a thousand students from across the varsity.

The event kicked off with an inaugural ceremony with Mr. Rohit Raj (CEO, BOOST U) as the Chief Guest and Mr. Durjoy Datta (Novelist, Entrepreneur, Screenwriter) as the Guest Speaker. After the president of the society delivered a welcome note, Mr. Rohit spoke about his entrepreneurial journey. This was followed by a speech by Mr. Durjoy, who enthralled the audience by his sense of humor and success story. He talked about how he was able to come out of his work life to do something he is passionate about.

The inaugural was followed by the commencement of the inter-college events namely Battle of the Bands, Roadies Run, Step Up Quiz, The Ad Mad Show and Marketing Magus. The events were completely marketing-centric and tested the creative, communications and

The Ad Mad Show, consisting of a unique ‘twister’ round where participants had to design a unique product combination, was won by Raju Kumar, Dhruv Kumar and Khushvinder (Faculty of Arts). Battle of Brands, an event based on marketing weirdest possible products to the real audience was won by Nidhi, Avi Aggarwal, Muskan Aillawadhi and Nidhi Gandotra (JMC). The first prize in Roadies Run, a marketing based treasure hunt was bagged by Snigdha Kapoor, Vrinda Mohan, Arushi Jain and Samridhi Gandharva (JMC). Step Up Quiz, a unique fun-based event was won by Sushant Sharma(DSE), Shubham Madaan(SBSC), Prabhu Tyagi(SBSC) and Chirag Sinha(CIC). The final round of the Marketing Plan Competition was won by Gaurav Goswami , Nalini Prasad and Sukriti Somvanshi(IIMC).

16903361_953677661433719_6474006210500012295_o
Students with the Guests of the event

When asked about the event, Diksha Sharma, A participant from Gargi College said, “The event concepts are really interesting. I came here specifically to listen to Durjoy’s speech and after hearing about the events, decided to stay back for more.”

The décor of the event revolved around various TV shows and their elements, with ornamental Polaroid and TV Frames grabbing the visitors’ eye. Except for the competitions, various good and food stalls gathered audience attention and kept them glued to the venue till the very end.

Talking about the event, the president of the society said, “I am really happy to see such significant footfall. We tried our best to make the event bigger and better by inculcating new elements, and I’m glad to see it work out.”

The society plans to conduct more such events in the upcoming term.

 

Image Credits: Mehak Dhawan from Jesus and Mary College

Lovleen Kaur

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St. Stephen's

Despite opposition, St. Stephen’s administration to go ahead with bid for autonomy

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At a hastily convened meeting of the Governing Body of St. Stephens College to discuss the issue of autonomous status for the college today, the decision to go ahead with the proposal was agreed to in principle, despite the opposition of four members of the Governing Body. This meeting of the GB was met with a huge silent protest from students, teachers, and the non-teaching staff of the college. Students who demanded that they, and the teachers, should be consulted by the authorities before they decide to go ahead with applying for autonomy, held placards and posters with slogans like ‘Discuss, not Decide,’ and ‘Come, Communicate, Convince’ written on it. This protest by the students was also supported by a protest outside the college gate by members of the Delhi University Teachers Association.

Placards with discuss not decide written on them
Placards with discuss not decide written on them

 

“More than 500 students of St. Stephen’s College gathered in the Senior Combination Room lawns to stand up for their rights, for the entire college community. The students and the faculty stood in protest as a consensus of all stakeholders is necessary before a Governing Body Meeting regarding application for granting of autonomous status to St. Stephen’s College is convened,” says a press release issued on behalf of the students of the college. The students also alleged that one of the GB members, who is a University representative, claimed that he came to know about the meeting from the newspapers and learned that his signature was forged on arriving at the venue. The students demanded that the process of achieving autonomous status be halted until a consensus is reached among all students, teachers and non-teaching staff.

Meanwhile, at the GB meeting, the teacher representatives, including DUTA President Nandita Narain, pointed out that even the UGC Guidelines stipulated prior consultation with students and teachers before applying for autonomy, after which the GB voted in majority to move ahead with autonomy in principle, but follow the procedure laid down for consultation before sending the application to the University. DUTA also staged a protest outside the college and said that this is a move by the government towards privatisation. “We want academic and governance autonomy for the University but not autonomy for the constituent colleges. We will not let anything happen without consensus and will oppose the move,” said AK Bhagi, an Executive Council member.

On the evening of February 26, in another press release on the website of St. Stephen’s College, Prof. John Varghese, the principal of the college said, “Autonomy will deliver higher standards of excellence in academics through new courses that will enhance the employability of the students. It will help the college grow intellectually as well as increase the infrastructure that has seen minimal growth since the 1960s.” The press release confirmed that the GB voted in majority to pass a resolution which will authorise the principal of the college to make all arrangements for getting the college ‘autonomous status.’

Students and Faculty members during the protest
Students and Faculty members during the protest

Earlier this year, after UGC came out with new provisions for granting autonomous status to institutions, St. Stephens decided to apply for autonomy. Other colleges including Hindu, SRCC, Ramjas, Sri Venkateswara College and Hansraj have approached the University for granting them greater autonomy.

Although autonomy will allow colleges the freedom to decide their own syllabus, course and examination patterns, this will also make the college responsible for raising its own funds which may result in a sharp increase in the fees that students pay. This is a prime concern, since many students come from different backgrounds, and may not be able to afford the exorbitant fee hike if the college goes autonomous.

 

Image Credits: Students of St. Stephens College

 

Srivedant Kar

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Arts & Culture

The Rise And Rise Of Creative Writing Competitions

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February is ending and by now, you’ve probably acquired a taste for the fest season already, nevermind the fact whether you are or aren’t a part of any college society. The University of Delhi (DU) is known for its vibrant culture of college fests featuring multiple activities ans star nights, providing a platform to every student to showcase his or her talents. And if you aren’t a trained dancer, musician, or slam poet, fear not. Creative writing is here to the rescue.

Recently, as witnessed in annual fests right from Jesus and Mary College’s (JMC) Montage to Sri Venkateswara College’s (Venky) Nexus, creative writing competitions have gained momentum. They have become exceedingly popular, partly because of the attractive prizes (cash too, if you’re lucky) given as rewards to the winners. Some of these competitions may have a broader theme which one is required to stick to, while others are free flowing. Either way, it’s a challenging proposal — you’ve got to pen down your thoughts exactly within the set time limit.  

These events are a great way to bring back the might of the pen to the forefront, not to mention the fact that they help to boost up your organisational skills by twice the current level. Even if you don’t consider yourself to be a poet or a master storyteller, these competitions are worth taking a shot at. You don’t need to be an aspiring author. They’re equally helpful for students wishing to get over their fear of public scrutiny. Minus the fear of public speaking involved in recitation or slam events, and without the instant judgement that comes along with it, these pen and paper events can play a crucial role as stepping stones in boosting your overall confidence. Some of the winners from the recent fests even confess to not having had any intentions of winning, in the first place.

As far as trends go, the creative writing competition has caught on like wildfire. It is here to stay and with good reason. It gives each one of us a great outlet for creativity, for penning down thoughts which may otherwise go unwritten in the humdrum curriculum of work and assignments. Plus, it can always be a pleasant surprise to discover that latent ‘creative bone’ in your body. Who knows, you may win at the next event…

Image credits: www.udemy.com

Deepannita Misra

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Uncategorized

Smashing sexism one letter at a time

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The academic space of university is supposed to be conducive for personal growth and in which a young woman thrives into an independent and confident person, but thanks to the regressive hostel rules and constant moral policing of the authorities; it’s actually a space which reinforces and strengthens patriarchal norms that hinders growth of female students.

Chitra Dabral, Secretary of Phrophecy- fashion society of Lady Irwin College laments, “My society members, who live in hostels, never get to enjoy even a single the star night during the fest session because of the hostel timings. What’s worse is that we often have to cancel our participation, if competitions are scheduled later than 6pm.”

While male hostel residents enjoy late nights and have lax curfews rules (none, in many cases), girls are obliged to return within the walls by as early as 7pm. Such discriminatory regulations are very conveniently justified under the grab of women’s “safety”. What authorities fail to understand is, such rules put women at further risk as they are unable to return to the hostel at night and hence have to look for shelter elsewhere. Besides, if the authorities were so concerned about the “safety” issues then they would have shown the same enthusiasm they display while exercising control, in constituting Sexual Harassment Complaints Committee Cells as per the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India.

Voices of resistance against unfair rules are cropping up across campuses. The latest case in example is the permission letter written by two students to the warden of Kaveri Hostel of Ambedkar University, Delhi.

unnamed-1
Letter written by two students to the warden of Kaveri Hostel of Ambedkar University, Delhi

Unlike their male counterparts, girls are asked to give explanations and seek permission to spend a few extra hours out of the hostel. In response to this “permission culture”, the girls wrote an honest letter resonating that they were “stressed and disappointed” with their academic life and hence needed a break. The picture of the letter was shared by Pinjra Tod on their Facebook Page .Talking to DUBeat, on condition of anonymity, one student of Ambedkar University confirmed that the duo was granted permission.

We don’t know if the letter was rebellion of a sort or just an honest request. Though by the looks of it, the latter seems to be the case. As they say, humor is the best way to expose the ridicule.

Feature Image Credits: The Quint

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]

 

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Arts & Culture

BAFTA 2017 Highlights: A night of endearing extravaganza

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Continuing the glory and glamorous spectacle of the award season, the British Academy Film Awards were held on February 12th 2017 to honour the brilliant pieces of work portrayed in the last year. With La La Land, Nocturnal Animals, Moonlight, and other movies bagging series of nominations and subsequent awards, the starry night witnessed wins, fun, frolic, and reverence to the brilliant performers. Here’s recounting the night gone by, and reliving the highlights!

 

Stephen Fry and the Trump gags

Twelve years ago, a golden-voiced actor hosted the British Academy Film Awards for the first time; a practice which would be repeated eleven more times in the succeeding years. Sometimes bordering on the verge of controversy and ruffling feathers here and there, it is difficult to fathom a BAFTA where Stephen Fry doesn’t manage to make headlines. Cut to 2017, when the world is still nursing its wounds from the US Presidential Elections, and the host indirectly mocked the orange elephant in the room, received by bouts of laughter. “Let’s find out who the Russians have decided has won,” yes, let’s do it!

Dev Patel won Best Supporting Actor for Lion and Viola Davis won Best Supporting Actress for Fences

Rising to fame through his spine-chilling performance in Slumdog Millionaire, Dev Patel was nominated for the prestigious award along with the likes of Hugh Grant for Florence Foster Jenkins and Mahershala Ali for Moonlight. On winning the award, Patel commented, “I would be lying if I say that awards are not amazing. Awards can really change someone’s career. You get recognition.” Zoomed into the limelight because of her performance in How to Get Away with Murder, Viola Davis shot to instant fame and emerged victorious in various award categories, a tradition kept alive in this year’s BAFTA too.

 

La La Land’s Stream of Success

?After bagging seven Golden Globe Awards, receiving eleven nominations for BAFTA, and maintaining a successful trajectory on the winning streak, La La Land managed to claim the Best Picture award once again in the BAFTAs amongst other honours. The musical which is being collectively appreciated by the world for its direction, screenplay, and acting, continues to sway people off their feet and is anticipated to be a major winner in this Academy Awards.

 

Tom Holland wins BAFTA Rising Star Award

All set to play the titular character in Spider-man’s reboot with Spider-man: Homecoming, Tom Holland’s notable debut in The Impossible invited praise and appreciation towards the newly inducted movie star. Nominated along with Laia Costa, Lucas Hedges, Ruth Negga, and Anya Taylor-Joy, the actor was also honoured for his work in James Gray’s The Lost City of Z.

Prince William facilitates Mel Brooks with a Fellowship Award

Celebrating his contribution to the world of cinema, Prince William honoured the legendary actor Mel brooks with the Fellowship Award during the BAFTAs. Playing a plethora of roles in the industry as an actor, comedian, composer, filmmaker, and song-writer, Mel Brook’s achievements in the films remain unparalleled. The actor commented, “I am not overwhelmed, but I am definitely whelmed by this singular honour.”

Feature Image Credits: BAFTA

Saumya Kalia

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