Indraprastha College for women, featured a colorful Rangoli Making competition on the 1st Day of its annual fest Shruti . Nine teams participated in the event from various colleges including Gargi, Maitreyi, Lady Irwin College and IP College among others.
The theme for the competition was “Colour of Life” . “The theme is very interesting & the competition is tough. Its colourful, creative yet classy” says Vandana, a participant from Gargi. The event was judged by Ms. Shagufta Sufee of the Political Science faculty and Ms Nikita from the Mathematics department of IP College.
Sushil & Shweta from Dyal Singh came first, while Shefalika and Ujala from IP college were the runners-up. Consolation prizes were awarded to Bhamini, Tanvi and Kalpana; participants from Lady Irwin College.
One of the main attractions of IP College’s annual fest Shruti 2014 was Philharmonia – the Western Music Competition. Ten colleges participated in the event including CBS, Jesus & Mary College, Ambedkar college, Jaypee University, Sri Venkateswara College among others.
Held in Activity Hub, the competition featured both solo participants and groups. LSR won the best group, while Sri Venkateswara College came close at 2nd.
In the solo category, Hanita from CBS came first, while Kamakshi from Lady Shri Ram college came second. The third prize was awarded to Shreya from Sri Venkateswara College.
Day two of Nexus 2014 began with the Indian Duet Music Competition named Malang. This year Malang received only 4 entries due to weather discrepencies. The participants were from Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, Sri Aurobindo College [Evening], an inter – college duo of DDUC – KIIT and from the host college Sri Venkateshwara College itself. The competition only allowed filmy/non classical/ semi classical music and strictly classical music would not be encouraged. Due to weather restrictions the competition which was scheduled to start at 9 in the morning was postponed to 11 30 in the afternoon. The judges were, Mr. Avinash Kumar who is currently pursuing a Phd. in Music from the University of Delhi. He started learning Hindustani Classical Music from Ustad Aftab Ahmed Khan and is undergoing training from Pandit Tushar Dutta. He has won various awards including Madhubhasin Memorial Prize in 2008 and Mutatkar Award in 2010. There were two in house judges as well.
The first performance was by Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences. This duo sang their self composed song which won the hearts of the audience. Ultimately, they turned out to be the winners. We had the opportunity to talk with the duo after the results were announced. They were pretty happy and said, ” The organising of the event was good, the weather issues could be excused. The room had good acoustics and the crowd helped us alot” . Next up were, Sri Aurobindo College who sang their version of Rahat fateh Ali Khan’s- Sanu Ik Pal Chain Na Avey. The third act was the inter college duo, who sang a song from Murder 2 but were disqualified , because their song exceeded the time limit. The last act was form Sri Venkateshwara College and they sang ” Hum to aise hai Bhaiya”.
Another unnoficial duo from the host college who sang “Madari” , the coke studio composition by Vishal Dadlani and Sonu Kakkar with precision. The event ended after this song and the results were declared. The first prize was Rs 2000 claimed by Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences.
The Western Vocals (Group) competition was held among much enthusiasm, with teams 9 teams participating. The competition was judged by Mrs. Nandita Naraina Swamy, Chemistry teacher at Sri Venkateswara College (trained in classical music) and Ritwik De, a musician.
The winners were:
Sri Venketeswara College’s Crescendo
Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Kirori Mal College’s Musoc
Other colleges that took part in the competition were Miranda House, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS), Gargi College, Jesus and Mary College.
The groups sang popular tracks such as Thriller by Michael Jackson, Somebody to Love by Queen, If You Wanna be My Lover by Spice Girl, and songs by Stevie Wonder.
Shruti- the annual festival of I.P. College started on 27th January with events like Fantasista (Street Football), Folk Dance and On-the-spot Photography. In the morning the crowd turn up was low, but as the ‘Punjabi Dhol’ started to play on stage, a decent crowd started to assemble in the Sports Complex.
The Street Football League consisted of 6 matches and mainly 4 teams. The first match was between IGI (Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences) and I.P. College (Team 1). It was draw. Once again there was a draw between I.P. College (Team 2) and I.P. University. In the third match, I.P. College (Team 1) won against I.P. University (2-0). In the next match, IGI drew with I.P. College (Team 2). IGI won against I.P. University (1-0). Finally, I.P College (Team 2) won this league. Smriti Kandari was the best player.
On-the-spot Photography received entries from 13 participants. The themes were Motion, Vintage and Texture. The participants were required to submit two pictures for any of the mentioned themes. They were given one and a half hour to submit their photographs. Dr. Nitoo Das and Mrs. Anita Cherian judged this event. The students of I.P. College won this contest. Shivangi Chaturwedi stood first, Sukriti Dubey stood second and Ankita Jaiswal came third. ‘Tropes’ was another event wherein prior to the fest the theme was out which was-“Androgyny and Danger”. Mr. Vinod Verma judged this event. Raunak Chopra from Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) bagged the first position, Prerna Dangi from St. Stephen’s stood second and Sahil Ali (JMI) got the third prize.
One of the most anticipated events for the day was the Folk Dance, wherein 7 teams took part. Undoubtedly, the ‘Dhol’ and the typical Punjabi songs spread their magic with SGTB Khalsa winning the first prize with Gargi being awarded second. Mr. M.C. Nair and Mrs. Nalini Deka judged this event.
Fine Arts Society of Sri Venkateswara College organized the Folk Dance Competition on the 27th february 2014 at the main stage.
Due to the clashing nature of events with I.P. College for Women’s Shruti, the total number of participating teams were limited to four. Judges for the event were Rahul Gangani, Aruna Rao and Dr. Sushi Gupt.
The first team to perform was Shri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce’s gidda, followed by the performance of Kamala Institute of Higher Education & Advanced Technology, which performed Chirmi- Rajasthani Folk Dance. Other performances included Sri Venkateswara College’s Laavni and SGTB Khalsa’s Bhangra.
Each team was given a time limit of 10 minutes to perform. The first position was bagged by Kamala Institute of of Higher Education & Advanced Technology and the second prize went to Sri Venkateswara College.
The group Indian Vocal competition, ‘Goonj’ was conducted by Sri Venkateswara College (SVC) as part of Nexus 2014. Eleven teams from various colleges like SRCC, Hindu and LSR participated with a maximum of 14 team members each. The teams were given a time limit of 10+ 2 minutes.
Sangeetika of Kamala Nehru College won the first prize. The team has obtained five wins in the current season already, with Nexus 2014 marking the sixth one, and were visibly ecstatic. They sang a fusion of Karnataka and Hindustani songs. They believe the key to their immense success this year is the fact that they practiced a lot and “We ensured we participated in every competition we could. We didn’t want to let even a single opportunity go by.”
Gargi’s vocal group ‘Samranjini’ and Daulat Ram College’s ‘Alhaya’ tied for the second position. The group from Sri Venkateswara college also performed as a non- competing team as a conclusion to the event.
The event was adjudged by Dr. Avinash Kumar who holds a Ph.D in Classical Music from the Faculty of Music. The internal judges for the event were Dr. Muralidharana Rao and Mr. KV Giri from the faculty at SVC.
A rock night with Papon and the East India Company, a night full of dance with DJ Nucleya of Sunburn fame and Mohit Chauhan’s voice to wrap-up the three day fest – major events at Mecca 2014 in one line.
Along side elaborate crowds in the evenings, the fest was also rife with food and several informal events.
The Annual festival of Hindu College, Mecca started on 20th February. Deputy Commissioner of Police, S.P.S Tyagi, was invited as this year’s chief guest for the opening ceremony. The topic for this year’s festival is “Brilliant Bharat”, celebrating the cultural diversity ever present in Hindu as well as an emphasis on uniting these feelings of brotherhood. Following this formal commencement of Mecca, the cultural show kick-started with a semi-classical dance performance by the Indian Dance Society, Adrita. This was followed by another enthralling performance, with Iskcon mustering heavy support as their Hare Krishna Mahamantra (Search for Happiness) were chanted and danced to by the engaged audiences.
Angaraag Mahanta who is more famously known to us as Papon performed at Hindu’s Rock Night along with his band East India Company on the first day of Mecca 2014. A large crowd turned up cheering as Papon stepped on the stage and took a hold of his mike. He started the performance with songs like Khumaar (performed by Papon in Coke Studio) which talks about how a guy is passionately in love with a girl but has to spend a difficult day waiting for the night to come when he can see her.
He also sang many of his more famous songs including Dinae Dinae, Kaun mera from the movie Special 26, Kyon from Barfi! And Jiyein kyun from Dum Maaro Dum. However, what really got the crowd going were Papon’s little quirks and jokes as he explained the meaning behind his songs and how in life everything figures out in the end and you find what you are supposed to be, like he did despite being a college dropout.
The second day of Mecca 2014 saw Nucleya take over the stage in collaboration with MTV Indies. Performing for the first time in Delhi University, Nucleya kept the audience on their feet for almost an hour long set. A bass heavy electronic artist from New Delhi, he played all his major hits including StreetBoy, Akkad Bakkad, Bangla Bass and also a remix of Bollywood tracks like Dum Maaro Dum and the Sound Trippin produced Tung Tung, which the audience enjoyed immensely.
After the first day that featured Papon and the East India Company, the closing act of Hindu College’s Annual fest Mecca 2014, was all about Mohit Chauhan.
The popular singer of Silk Route fame, came on stage at quarter to six and the crowd went crazy. He started the concert with his Rockstar single, ’jo bhi main kehna chahoon’. Even in the first song, he made sure to interact with the audience making them go ‘ya ya ya’ in order to match the lyrics. Maintaining the romantic mood of the song, he went on to sing ‘Kuch khaas hai’ and then Yeh dooriyan followed by Tum se hi from Jab We Met.
Oodles of food
So many performances and so many activities do definitely leave our stomachs growling a bit. However, the numerous food and beverage stalls at Mecca indicate that the coordinators of the event had already foreseen such hunger. Making it an essential condition to avoid the embarrassment of Mecca 13’s lack of food joints, the Organising Committee seemed to really prep up the event this year around.
The cluster of food stalls in and around the Cricket Tree (C-Tree) had been converted into one of the major hangout spots of the festival. From the street favourites, Bhel-puri and chaat, to extensive preparations of Kathi Rolls and Shawarma’s, to elaborate wholesome lunch meals, the food stalls seemed to offer something for everyone. Yes, there was ice cream, a variety of popcorn and ‘Bangs‘ of flavour as well.
Informal Events
Apart from playing host to several major competitions, Mecca also included some informal events to engage the heavy traffic present at the college. These events, such as Face Painting, Paintball and Lazer Maze brought out a lighter side of the festivities.
Lazer Maze, a beat-the-clock gaming concept by the Start-up company Ent-Innova, involved an intricate heist mission, with its simple design creating quite a buzz around the college campus. The organisers were pleased with the response, considering their respective events were held at the same time as the major competitions. Paintball however, did not get the desired response as the Hindi lawns remained relatively deserted throughout the fest.
Gargi College’s Kshitij with their Annual Production Joota. Image Credit: Abhay Makhija for DU Beat
First Position: Gargi College for Joota Second Position: Hansraj College for ‘Rihaai’ and SGTB Khalsa for ‘We, the people’ Third Position: Lady Shri Ram College for Jaha neelam hai Insaniyat and College of Vocational Studies for Lajja
Presenting a relevant cause using music, the final day of Hindu College’s Mecca 2014 began with a concert against racism. It saw performances by three bands of north-east Indian students.
The songs being mostly in their native languages, aimed to present the array of wide culture north-east India possesses. In an attempt to sensitize the youth towards the ‘different’ Indians and to highlight the gravity of racism they faced, Sh. Pradyot, the King of Tripura delivered an awakening speech towards the end of concert.
“We are more informed about the happenings of the world, than we are about those eight states of India. Hindi is just one language spoken in India, not the only language. We all need to make an attempt to understand and warmly receive the students who leave their hometowns and culture behind for better opportunities, only then we shall be able to see the rich cultural heritage of north east India and its importance in Indian economy and socio political system.” the King remarked.
The winner of Mecca Idol. Image Credit: Abhay Makhija
The musical mood continued as the finals of the singing hunt ‘Mecca Idol’ were scheduled for the next slot. Post the prelims, nine participants from colleges like Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Kirori Mal, Maitreyi, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Miranda House and IIT Delhi performed in to a packed auditorium. The audience hummed along the Sufi tunes of songs like ‘nit khaer manga’, ‘lagan lagi tumse..’, ‘tere liye..hum hai jiye’ and ‘Roza’.
The first prize was won by Sarim Ali from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College whose song ‘Teri Deewani’ had taken the event to new heights. The competion ended with a musical performance by Aria & Alankar – the music societies of Hindu College.
Featured Image: Sh. Pradyot, the King of Tripura. Image Credit: Abhay Makhija for DU Beat
One of the lively most events of Hindu College’s ‘Mecca’ was the ‘Nukkad Natak’ – The street play competition held on the concluding day of the three day long fest. The event saw participation from 12 Delhi University colleges including Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Shaheed Bhagat Singh (morning and evening), SGTB Khalsa, P.G.D.A.V, Daulat Ram College and Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC).
The competition saw budding college actors exhibit confidently and openly their feelings on serious issues like prostitution, weak judiciary, poverty and corruption.
The four hour-long competition was judged by Sh. Vipul Pachori, an eminent theatre personality from the National School of Drama. Team Kshitij from Gargi college bagged the first position for their play ‘Joota’, followed by a tie at the second position between Hansraj College for ‘Rehaayi’ and SGTB Khalsa for their play ‘We, the people’. Meanwhile, the third position was credited to teams from Lady Shri Ram College for their play Jaha neelam hai Insaniyat and College of Vocational Studies for their production Lajja. Mr. Pachori provided valuable feedback to all the teams so as to improve their future performances.
“The performance at Hindu for us, was our third one of the day. The crowd was amazing, and results have only multiplied our happiness and boosted the morales” said Gurjot Sidhu, a participant from Hansraj College.
Jesus and Mary College held it’s annual fest, Montage, on the 20th and 21st of February. The tagline this year was ‘Bigger, Bolder, Better’, but many were left slightly disappointed as Montage didn’t rope in any big ticket celebrities this time.
Star Night with Nasha
The star attraction on day one was the concert with Akhil Sachdeva and his band, Nasha. The sufi rock band originating from Faridabad is popular among youth for their soulful tracks. Their performance slowly amassed a good number of people, with the crowds swaying to popular songs like ‘Main tenu samjhavaan ki’, songs from bollywood movies like ‘Aashiqui 2’ and ‘Ajab Prem ki Gajab Kahani’ and even their own compositions like ‘Nasha’ and ‘O Mahi Ve’.
Winners’ Tally
Hindi Dramatics ‘Awaz’
First Position: SGTB Khalsa College for We the people Second Position: Shivaji College for ‘Bas Samajhney Ki Baat Hai’ Third Position: Kirori Mal College for Company Raj
English Dramatics
First Position: Hansraj College for Holi Second Position: SGTB Khalsa College for Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay Best director: Ramjas College for Private Ear
Western Dance ‘Chimera’
First Position: ‘Zenith’ – Daulat Ram College Second Position: ‘Verve’ – Sri Venkateswara College
Battle of the Bands
Conundrum on stage. Image Credit: Abhay Makhija
First Position: Red Shorts Second Position: The Hansraj Project Third Position: Conundrum
Choreography
First Position: Hansraj College Second Position:Gargi College
Indian Music (Group)
First Position: Gargi College Second Position: Kamala Nehru College Third Position: Hindu
Western Music (Group)
First Position: Lady Shri Ram College for Women Second Position: Sri Venkateswara College Third Position: Gargi and Jesus and Mary College
Image Credit: Sonam Satija
Apart from these, individual competitions were also held. Other events included a colourful kite show and an exhibition by Snapshots, the photography society of the college.
