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Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), has indefinitely deferred their annual cultural fest, Tarang, citing safety and security of the students as the main reason behind its cancellation.

On 5th February 2020, a statement released by the organisers of Tarang, states “keeping in mind the present environment and concerns regarding the safety and security of students. Tarang has been deferred until further notice. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

Dissenting Voices of LSR, a collective started by students within the college, released a statement which states, that “Tarang, which was supposed to take place after a poll by the students. The poll decided it would take place, and, was not cancelled by the students who spoke out against it”

They point out the ironic nature of how “a huge majority of students in a liberal arts college believe they can curtail an individual’s fundamental right to protest.” they also allege that the Student Union, which has initially brought up the idea of cancelling Tarang is deliberately shifting the “blame for the fest being cancelled by the repressive admin to the marginalised students.”

The cancellation of Tarang also affects the societies within LSR. As Disha Rawal, one of the coordinators for Projekt, LSR’s Film and Photography society said, “ I think as a society we really looked forward to Tarang, and we planned a lot for it. We had an exhibition, film events, and photography events. As a society, we really looked forward to Tarang as the one place where we will get to showcase your work and interact with the circuit, which is very important. The effects it has had along with morale going down is that to establish yourself in the circuit, you need to have events and Tarang was our main event now we will have to look for other things which will be smaller in scale and size, secondly, this will lead to a trust deficit with the sponsors. On the other hand, I do understand where the admin has come from, there is a security concern, so we are assured now that no threat will play out.”

DU Beat has reached out to the administration and members of the Students’ Union and received no comment as of yet. This report will be updated on receiving further information from them.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Prabhanu Kumar Das

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Keeping the recent atrocity in mind , the Dramatics Society of Lady Shri Ram College cancelled their theatre events Yavnika and Nukkad that are a part of the College’s Annual Cultural Fest, Tarang to extend solidarity to the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, Shaheen Bagh, Kashmir, Assam, and all those who choose to break the normalcy and raise their voices against this fascist regime.

With the issue of a Press Release, the Dramatics Society of Lady Shri Ram College cancelled their theatre events, Yavnika and Nukkad that are a part of the College’s Annual Cultural Fest, Tarang. This was a conscious choice made by the entire society, given the current state, the nation is in and the discomfort with putting up a celebration amidst all that is going around.

Further, it is an action taken to break the normalcy of the situation and create a fissure in the daily lives of everyone involved in this process.

The Press Release issued by the Dramatics Society stated, “We as citizens and more importantly as students in these times, cannot choose to ignore the socio-political situation of this country, and the very fact that the democracy we so proudly uphold is in danger.”

Many societies in the Delhi Collegiate Theatre Circuit (DCTC) have issued solidarity statements against the state-sponsored brutality against students and for the protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Tushar Bahirwani, a member of Rangayan, Dramatics Society of ARSD, said, “It should also be noted that more than ever, it truly matters what we choose as topics of our plays. Street Theatre is a form of protest, with intense research and interpretation, it can definitely cause a change among the circuit as well. I might not cancel my own theatre fest, but, I definitely believe the content and topic of play should be widely considered as a parameter for judgement.”

Following this, The Dramatics society has chosen this as their way of showcasing solidarity with Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Shaheen Bagh, Kashmir, Assam, and all those who choose to break this normalcy and raise their voices against this fascist regime.

In context of the theatre events, and what motivated them to take this step, Simran, Secretary, The Dramatics Society, said, “Motivation for this action would definitely be that, how uncomfortable we were with whatever was happening around us. Just at the time we were starting to prepare for our fest, and sponsorship and publication, that’s exactly when the JNU violence happened. And this cannot be the way we go forward a celebration, its not the times to celebrate. To all those students protesting and the ones sitting outside Jamia Millia Islamia, giving up on their education. It’s the least we can do to be part of this revolution.”

Saman Waheed, Subhead, FoodFest Team, Organising Committee, on the repercussions of their actions on the entire fest, said, “It affects the college in the sense that since this statement has reached mainstream media (a news piece was published in The Hindu, I don’t know about other papers), the sponsors and the vendors we have been in contact with would probably back out, because the footfall would decrease considerably in such a case. We only got to know their decision after their press release.”

With respect to this, a General Body Meeting (GBM) was conducted in the College premises to discuss this issue and it’s likely that the fest would be postponed.

Many also questioned the intent of the Dramatics Society to truly contribute to the protest, as they have cancelled their event, however, might compete in fests of other colleges.

In response to this, Simran, replied, “We have not decided our stance yet. We will let all know soon.”

A proper statement regarding the future of Tarang and the stance of the society is awaited.

The Press Release also stated, “This is also a call to the other teams and theatre societies across Delhi NCR to join in this attempt to echo the voices of this wide struggle.” 

The cancellation will also be followed by small events and actions that mark their dissent, which they urge all to join in.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat 

Chhavi Bahmba 

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The last day of the annual cultural fest of Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Tarang, created mass hysteria with the exciting events going on simultaneously in different parts of the college premises. ‘The Battle of Bands’ began with rock bands from different colleges where the Hindu College Collective from Hindu College, University of Delhi emerged as the winners. They were followed by the Asteroids and the Loose Puppets in second and third place respectively. In the event ‘Sangam’, the Indian choir competition, Swaranjali of Hans Raj College bagged the first position, followed by Alankar of Hindu College and Samranjini of Gargi College. The nukkadnatak or streetplay event was attended by the dramatics societies of various colleges from all over DU with fascinating scripts. Issues such as casteism and child abuse were discussed. It was a non-competitive event, but the amphitheatre remained crowded with the frenzied audience. Baila, the western dance competition mesmerised the crowd with amazing performance, such as those by Maitreyi College who were declared the winners. Participants of Jesus and Mary College and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce bagged the second and the third positions respectively. Saaz, the Indian duet competition entertained participants for where Daulat Ram College emerged victors, followed by Kirori Mal College and Hans Raj College.

In addition, there were other events such as ‘Story Telling Competition’ by Elocution, Still Life Painting, and ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’, of which the latter was inspired by the classic novel Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and was presented by Hive, the fine arts society of LSR. Workshops like those of beat-boxing and modern calligraphy, as well as mystery rooms were also conducted. Students of colleges from all over both DU and other universities participated in these events.

The scrumptious food stalls, footwear stalls, jewellery stalls, and candy stalls drew the crowd but the most attractive events of the last day were the performances of stand-up comedian Kenny Sebastian and indie-pop singer Lucky Ali. Kenny’s jokes hit the audience’s funny bones and the crowd exhorted throughout. Kenny took over the guitar, presenting his funny lyrics along with melodious tunes and tickled everyone till they let out boisterous laughs. Lucky Ali with his evergreen voice and his classic hits of the last two decades made sure that his fans were satisfied with his style of performance and the songs. He sprinkled the show with his major hits such as those from Kaho Na Pyaar Hai as well as some non-commercial indie songs.The festive merry feeling in Tarang 2017 throughout all three days was the best way to begin with the season of fests in DU with massive participation of students from colleges all over India.

 

Image Caption:Tarang 2017 comes to a close after three days of immense extravagance

Image Credits: VibhanaKanwar for DU Beat

 

Radhika Boruah

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