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Auburn Umbrella: The Ultimate Fest Season Look-Book

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This year’s fest season has started with a bang, and LSR’s Tarang, JMC’s Montage, and Miranda House’s Tempest have already raised the bar high for other fests to follow.

The coming fests are expected to be greater than ever, but can we say that about our fashion sense? If not, here’s a guide to help you bring the house down, wherever you go.

 

  1. Lush Life: This look is for the easy-going girls who are part-chic and part-hep. Pair black pants with a crossed blouse and block sandals and you’re ready to go. To add an extra flair of chic, wear pastel earrings, and a bold lip colour. If your outfit seems bland, by any chance, adding a pop of colour with a bag will surely be the icing on your cake. LushLife
  2. Back to Black: If this year’s Golden Globes taught us anything, it is that there’s nothing called too much black. If black is your aesthetic, consider this look tailor-made for you. In this look, we matched a Bardot top with ripped denim and ankle boots. Throw on an oblong scarf to take your look to the next level. Black is the new black, now and forever.Back to Black
  3. La Vie En Rose: This next outfit is a combination of numerous trends. Beginning with the trend of ‘slogan tees’, make a political statement at this year’s fest. Reclaim the chokers and pair them with white sneakers. It’s no denying that chokers and white sneakers were the biggest trends in 2017; almost every girl has them! An outfit like this is the perfect combination of sexy and comfort. LaVieEnRose
  4. Blue Jeans: The staple of any person’s wardrobe is blue jeans. Sometimes, it seems unbelievable how soviets spent their savings on getting a simple pair of denim jeans! Pairing your favourite denim with a crushed velvet top will make you look expensive. Don’t forget to accessorise with complementary coloured earrings.BlueJeans
  5. Mother Earth:  If you’re not a fan of bright colours, then earthy colours are your best bet. You can be in your comfort zone without stripping yourself of any colour. Overalls are a great option for fests. Pair them with your converse shoes, a maroon lip colour, your college bag and you are all set to go. Mother Earth

 

Pro-Tip: The key to dressing well for a fest is to take your everyday college look and to turn it around. Avoid wearing particularly uncomfortable pieces of clothing and just walk like you own the world!

 

Feature Image Credits: Tyler Joe

Raabiya Tuteja

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DUB Speak

Have DU college fests lost their essence because of star-nights?

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The fest season of Delhi University swings by every year like clockwork, starting in the end of January and lasting till early April. Colleges host several competitions, headed by their respective cultural societies. Another feature we’ve recently come to heavily associate with fests of DU colleges are star-nights and star-appearances. Colleges have increasingly been getting top actors, singers and DJs to perform at their college fests and have been rewarded with increased footfall and many hassles to go along with it.
It’s not hard to realise that cultural fests are lately being reduced to just the star/performer nights taking centre-stage. Where the focus should actually be on promoting cultural activities, the students are being sold the commoditisation of their fests in a glittery, star-studded package that they won’t hesitate in accepting. Since the entire fest revolves around the stars, schedules often go in for a toss and events are disrupted and delayed to accommodate celebrity visits, to the obvious chagrin of the participants. It’s getting increasingly common to find no events scheduled for the entire day save for a few informal events and a big star-night at the end of it. The security hassles that accompany inviting a big star are another inconvenience in themselves.
While it’s definitely worthwhile to consider that star-nights allow students to witness celebrities and performers they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise, it must also be recognised that the appearances are getting repetitive, with the Badlapur cast having visited numerous colleges in the span of two months during the last fest season and Mohit Chauhan, who performed in SRCC last month having performed in several colleges already. It’s an exercise of picking from the same overused pool of performers that is mostly static save for one or two new additions every year. It is also disturbing how colleges participate in the consumerist tactics used by celebrities who visit colleges solely to promote their films.
Performers’ nights in themselves aren’t a bad idea. We need to move on from them being a platform for already established performers who don’t need it in the first place. Performers’ nights can instead act as a stage for new and upcoming artists to perform, who will neither charge money enough to empty the union’s coffers nor have as many logistical nightmares associated with them. They will, infact, be more appreciative of the platform. The audience will also take back a broader knowledge of the indie-music scene and not just the din of the usual Bollywood tracks.
While definitely an unpopular opinion, it’s important to consider what we’re giving up when we reduce cultural fests to just status-symbol clashes over stars and not a place for culture and new talent to flourish.

Image Credits: Chirag Sharma for DU Beat

Akshara Srivastava
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Shubham Kaushik
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Top Picks

Four Festivals To Attend This Winter

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The Festival or “Fest” culture is an integral part of college life and something no one should miss out on. Other than the DU fests we all know and love here is a list of five festivals that we think everyone should try and attend this winter or at least once during the course of their college lives:

 

  • Jaipur Literature Festival

    The Jaipur Literature Festival is one of the largest literary festivals in the world and not to mention one of the most exciting and intellectually stimulating. The 5-day extravaganza includes talks on numerous topics by world-renowned authors and speakers, book signings, concerts etc. Some of the speakers who have already confirmed their presence such as Barkha Dutt, Shobhaa De, Stephen Fry, Rohit Gandhi are sure to make this year’s JLF as exhilarating and enthralling as it always is.

    Image Credits: Creative Jobs
    Image Credits: Creative Jobs

  • Sunburn Festival

    Entering its 9th year the Sunburn Festival held in the last week of December is one of the most awaited events of the calendar for a majority of music fans. With over a 120 artists and 5 different stages this year’s festival is sure to be their best festival yet with international sensations such as Martin Garrix and David Guetta gracing the occasion. With over 3 lakh attendees last year, the organizers have made arrangements to ensure that this year’s festival is bigger, better and an experience like no other.

  • Mood Indigo

    Regarded as one of the finest college events in the country, IIT Bombay’s annual festival Mood Indigo attracts students from across the country every year. With a footfall of over 1 lakh every year, nearly 200 events and participation by over 1500 colleges, Mood Indigo is known for its elating atmosphere having hosted renowned artists such as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal-Shekhar, RD Burman and many more over the years. Here’s a round up of the events last year and here’s a list of the star guests and pro nights.

  • Unmaad

    In a city known for its music and culture organizing a college fest that does justice to the same is no easy task. Yet IIM Bangalore tries and makes its annual fest Unmaad bigger and better each year making it one of the biggest B-School Fests in India today. Scheduled to be held in the last week of January it is the perfect getaway from the harsh Delhi winter and platform for musicians, actors, debaters and fashion enthusiasts to showcase their talents.

With numerous other collegiate and non-collegiate festivals due to be held in the months to come, all of us can surely expect a fun filled winter!

Featured Image Credits: Sunburn

Shraman Ghosh
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Campus Central

Finamics 2015 organized by Finance and Investment Cell Ramjas College

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‘Start up monopoly’, a finance case study competition ‘Estudio de Caso’ and a ‘Mock Stock Competition’ organized by the Bombay Stock Exchange. Day 1 (29th October) – Start up monopoly and Estudio De Caso With around 500 registrations online, Monopoly was easily the star attraction of the day with a 600 sq. feet life size monopoly board catching everyone’s attention. The traditional layout of the board was modified and included interesting possible ventures like the Sutta Lane and Sudama’s tea stall. An exemplary event, Estudio De Caso presented contestants with real life financial riddles for them to solve. The final contestations were divided into 6 teams of 2 each and were given a financial case study where they had to design a portfolio according to the requirements of the given ‘Case Study’. The final portfolios were handed over to Dr. ND Vohra, Dr. Sachi Yadav and Ms. Anshika Agarwal who were the judges. The winners of Estudio De Caso were Neha from NSIT and Archit Kshitiz from Christ University. Day 2 (30th October) – Mock Stock competition The Mock Stock too attracted major participation from across the city with around 500 registrations online and 240 of those selected for the online prelims. A final list of 36 teams were present on the final day of the competition. Teams had to buy and sell stock from the 10 different virtual companies ( Dr. Reddys, SBI, HDFC Bank and ITC among others) which were present and had to create a virtual market system totally governed by the demand and supply of the market thus created. Teams were given real time updates on fluctuating shares displayed on a projector screen. The team which gathered the highest profit won. A representative from the Bombay Stock Institute Limited gave an orientation to all the volunteers and participants. The winners for the Mock Stock were Chirag Jegyasa from Hansraj, Paridhi Mukund from CBS and Aditya Bhumika from KNC.   Arindam Goswami [email protected]]]>

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Campus Central

Star appearances at Delhi University Fests 2014: A DUB timeline

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“Cold winter evenings. Crimson – teal hued lights. Deafening beats. One man performing on stage, like a fireball. Innumerable enthusiastic spectators. Dancing to every line, singing along every stanza, cheering with praises, crying with joy, shouting in ecstasy and smiling with lips and with eyes. Flash of cameras to capture the moment and relish it for a little long, for in a few hours, it’ll all be gone.” What if not this, was the scene at the fun replete star nights that we attended and enjoyed? Delhi University college fests have always been like a carnival. The year 2014, was no less. Amidst the competitive air, star appearances added further to their charm and glamour quotient. Not only did Indian and international singers visit for star night performances, but leading Bollywood actors also have routed their movie promotions through platform of these fests. So before all of us get engrossed with semesters preparations, and some of us eventually walk away from being in the DU ambit, here is an endeavor to remind you of all the amazing fest star nights you’ve been to (or you missed) this year. So go through what we call, ‘the timeline of memories’ , catch hold of a thread and maneuver  to your moments. Happy flash-backing guys! Featured Image Credits: Kartik Lav for DU Beat.]]>

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DUB Speak

Trends and Lessons from the DU Fest Season

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Festival season at Delhi University has almost touched the finishing line. In hindsight, certain trends dominated the culture and the crowd over these few months. From main college fests to department fests, from star performances to sponsorships, from food stalls to fashion (and its disasters), the University witnessed the most vibrant period of the year.

This year, star performances, the greatest deal of the big college fests attracted huge crowds at most of the colleges. Unions with high budgets went to call performers like Arijit Singh, Mohit Chauhan, Shaan, Papon and Kailash Kher to name a few whereas many colleges saw Punjabi stars like Diljit Dosanjh, Bohemia, Indeep Bakshi among others. This new trend of hooking up Punjabi stars for the fests seems to be a fair deal, mainly because they aren’t buried under extensive Bollywood rage and it ends up being a less costly affair. Not only that, Punjabi performers create that insane mood among the spectators by singing party numbers.

With many star nights overlapping, DUites had started blabbering to themselves about where to go and where not to. Though looking at it from a broad perspective, artists performing this year were more appreciated and attracted large audiences compared to last year. The college fests that were tagged as “big” last year might have disappointed a few, while few others (probably the ones that are not usually listed in the top 5 college fests of Delhi University) attracted many young heads from all over the University. This also encouraged better participations in various main and filler events of the fests. In terms of creativity and organisation, most of the colleges did not fail to impress.

The individual department and society fests within the colleges were almost as big budget affairs as were college fests. Histrionica and Eclat, the Theatre fests of Shri Ram College of Commerce and Hansraj College respectively, Appulse – the Commerce fest of Kirori Mal College and Scoop – the Journalism fest of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce to name a few were bigger this year. The cash prizes and awards at all the fests around the University were inciting enough to grab the attention. Sponsorships remained an issue with most of the colleges as all the decisions were taken at the last moment but in the end big brands like Coca Cola, BBM, Radio Mirchi, BlackBerry etc. were seen as partners with the fests.

The food stalls at most of the fests, however, disappointed majority of students. While the usual chaat, bhelpuri, pasta were commonly found at colleges, at certain times, the college canteen was seen to be more occupied than the food stalls at the fest. Local new eating joints and restaurants in the University area were also catering to students occasionally.

After attending classes late for the whole year, dressed up in night suits and pyjamas; the fest season practically changed the routine of all university students. Reaching 4 hours before the arrival of the star performer and dressing up to impress others were most the trends among the youngsters, especially girls. Fashion disasters weren’t missing nevertheless.

Largely, the colour and flavour of all these elements during this season will surely make up all for the messed up schedule during the other time of the year. Finally comes a time, when students stop thinking about the confusion going on and struggle to get to the classes on time. The time is here.

See you all next year at the fests!

Illustration credits: Mehr Gill for DU Beat

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Hans Raj College

LSR and IIT-D bag top places at Hans Raj’s Choreo and Dance events

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The third and concluding day of Confluence, the annual fest of Hans Raj College was lined up with events like Mock Stock, Street dance, Ad-Mad, Western Dance, Choreography and Battle of Bands While for some events like Western Dance, students thronged the venue, others witnessed comparatively less audience.

team kmc
Kirori Mal College’s Choreography Society

Western Dance and Choreography were the highlights of the day. Both the events saw some exceptional performances by students that were highly applauded by the spectators. Choreography started around 10:30 AM and went on for two hours. Around 10 colleges participated in this event. Lady Shri Ram College bagged the first prize and the second prize went to Kamala Nehru College’s Choreography Society – Adagio.

After Choreography, the Western Dance competition began at 1 PM with participation from around fifteen colleges. IIT Delhi boys, who gave a dynamic performance, took away the first prize in the event. The auditorium reverberated with cheers and claps while they danced. The second prize was shared by Guru Gobind Singh College and Sri Venkateswara College’s Verve whose dance performances was quite energetic as well. The third prize went to Jesus and Mary College’s Western Dance Society – Mudra.

Roquefort or Battle of Bands saw Conundrum, an alternative rock band from PGDAV, emerge as winners while the band – L For Vendetta – secured the second position. The Best Vocalist was Shiv Hastwala from Conundrum, the Best Bassist, Keyboarist and Drummer were all from L for Vendetta and the Best Guitarist was from the band Andolan.

Featured image: Hans Raj College’s Choreography Society

Image credit: Iresh Gupta for DU Beat

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Top Picks

Three quick tips to make the most of DU fest season

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So the much awaited season of college fests has finally come. Here’s a lowdown on how to be fully geared up for arguably the most active time of the year on campus:

1. Know the When’s and the Where’s

There are two ways to go about the fest season; either you chart out the exact fests you want to attend, or you go fest- hopping. Either way, being informed of the fest schedule will come in handy. Check out the calendar here.

Make sure you prioritize the must-attend fests like Crossroads [SRCC], Tempest [Miranda House], Mecca [Hindu College] and Nexus [Sri Venkateshwara College] and plan your expeditions accordingly, especially in the case of clashing dates. It is also that time of the year when you need to exploit all your contacts to the hilt to arrange for the passes.

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2. Dress Right

After an entire year of waking up late for classes and making do with the first t-shirt that falls out of your closet, it’s the time to really put some thought into what you’ll wear. Even if you aren’t the type to bother about fashion, how bad could it really be to catch a few eyes? But dress as you may, the most important point to be made here is, dress comfortably, and I cannot emphasize this enough. Nothing spoils moods faster than twisted ankles on high heels and sagging jeans that don’t let you dance.

3. Make it a Memorable Experience

Dressing up and reaching the venue is just one part of fest fun. Make this season more happening by participating in the various events that every fest offers. From dance, to theatre, to creative writing, take your pick! Or you could even play the under- appreciated but fundamentally important role of a supportive audience. Whatever you do, make sure you take in every bit of excitement that the fest season has to offer. Try different food, and maybe hold a gol- gappa competition of your own. Meet new people and many old friends, cheer for the star attraction till your throat is sore, and most importantly, remember to have fun!

Illustration Credits: Mehr Gill for DU Beat

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