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Fests seem to be a significant part of the whole college experience. And these fests are incomplete without a thrilling concert on stage. From sports fields to tour buses, several independent, signed, and Bollywood artists have toured the various colleges of India for their fests.

Here we count down five significant artists who are a popular sight at many a college concert. The following musicians and singers are featured in here in no particular order, just on the basis of genres and the space they have among the college-going youth. Many college fests take place over the course of two or three nights. The usual pattern is a rock band or a DJ making people jump for the early days, while playback singers from the film industry take over the final days.

  1. Electronic Dance Music (EDM)

Gurgaon-born DJ Zaeden is a popular pick of the new age electronic music producers. Zaeden has struck a chord with the youth, having performed at many colleges of University of Delhi (DU) and other technological institutes. Zaeden’s set usually features his originals like ‘Never Let You Go’, along with dance covers of Coldplay and Maroon 5 songs.

But if you want to hear remixes of mainstream film music, then DJ Chetas and NYK to a lesser extent could be your choice. Chetas’ rise is remarkable as his work might seem pretty mediocre in the face of new-age DJs like Ritviz and Mojo Jojo. Still, Chetas knows how to market himself. His career took off with making themed mashups of Bollywood songs that were featured on the 9X TV network; soon his mashups and remixes found their way in the fest circuit increasing his brand name.

Still, the most original music producer in this scene is Nucleya. With hardly any remixes, he cuts straight to the chase whipping out his classic trance tracks like ‘Bass Rani’ and ‘Laung Gavacha’. Sometimes, if colleges have enough funds, they can even call up foreign DJs to add to the star value. For instance, Quintino in his Indian tour leg even managed to perform his sets at IIT Kanpur and BITS Goa last year. In Delhi’s Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) it was rumoured that this year, the mask-wearing DJ Marshmello or Alan Walker (another DJ who likes covering his face) would headline their fest. But these were just rumours, as in the end, it was DJ Chetas who performed.

  1. Acoustic/ Rock

When it comes to light acoustic vibes, Prateek Kuhad is the top pick. Featuring a three-piece band, he smoothly sings and plays his guitar while the audiences just swoon. A critically acclaimed songwriter, his track list has both English and Hindi tunes, usually with slow instruments and themes of love and life. With most of his followers being millennials, it’s only apt for the ‘Cold Mess’ singer to be a sensation at college fests.

But when it comes to rock, there’s an even bigger force to be reckoned with—a band called The Local Train. The rock band is a recent phenomenon that started out with their first record ‘Aalas ka Ped’, an instant hit amongst a modest fanbase. Two albums old, they are touring all over the country performing in nearly every Hard Rock Café, and nearly every college fest. Churning out songs in a mix of Hindi and Urdu, their tracks like ‘Khudi’ and ‘Aaoge Tum Kabhi’ deal with various themes like following your dreams and waiting for a lover; stuff which appeals to the dreamy college kid. It’s safe to say that The Local Train is not so ‘local’ anymore!

  1. Film music

This is where the fest gets fully mainstream. Bollywood artists usually have many singles from film’s soundtracks, which make for popular music content for the fest audiences. Duos like Vishal-Shekhar and Saleem-Sulaiman are big hits in this regard.

Then there are popular Punjabi artists too in fest line-ups, like Diljit Dosanjh and Guru Randhawa. They sing originals as well as songs featured in films. While the background musicians manage the performance, and the singers’ bravado gets the crowds jumping, some do not consider them as true performers. A case in point is Diljit’s concert at Rendezvous (the annual fest of IIT Delhi), where many fans noted how the singer was lip-syncing for most of his songs.

Then there are a few other artists who manage to perform a varied set of both film and independent content. Farhan Akhtar assisted by his band Farhan Live! starts off his fest shows with songs from his popular films, Rock On and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara; adding in ballads from albums of his own. Assamese Bollywood singer Papon (who recently performed at Hindu College on top of a Red Bull tour bus) also manages to play a few non-film tunes. Amit Trivedi has also sung his MTV Coke Studio songs for many a college fest. On a side note, Amit Trivedi’s concerts are truly a team effort. He not only introduces all his background singers and musicians to the audience but sometimes gives them the stage to perform their exclusive pieces.

Featured Image Credits: Aakarsh Gupta for DU Beat

Shaurya Singh Thapa

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Here is a recap of Day 1 at Tempest 2019, the annual cultural festival of Miranda House.

Tempest 2019- the Annual Cultural Fest of Miranda House- University of Delhi kick-started on 14th February 2019. There were a plethora of events scheduled by the college but most of them got delayed due to unfavourable weather conditions. Nevertheless, the events ran smoothly and the first day of Tempest turned out to be a fulfilling and vibrant experience for the attendees.

The Annual Rachita Das Gupta Quiz was organized by the Quiz Society of Miranda House. They conducted three quizzes on Day 1. The Open General Quiz saw participation of 30 teams with 2 members in each team. Mukund and Dhruv bagged the first position, while Rorik and Rohan came second, and Basab and Amlan stood third. Eco Biz Filler witnessed Kirti and Pragati win the competition. In the Open India Quiz, Ashish and Abhishek Paliwal came first while the duos of Jayant and Amlan, and Ankur and Kartik Puri stood second and third, respectively.

Vaatavaran, the Eco Club of Miranda House organised Enviro Quiz, a short-film-based quiz. It saw participation from 20 teams from across different colleges. The first prize was awarded to Poornima and Yash, while Karishma and Garima, and Pragati and Niharika bagged the second and third prizes, respectively.

E-Cell, Miranda House, organised three Inter-College events at Tempest 2019. Combination- an event related to geographical locations of companies, saw participation of 20 teams with two students in each team. Addictive- a marketing competition of pitching products in the style of Bollywood, was won by Ashok, while Pinku came second. Boss Hunt- a Treasure Hunt had 35 teams compete, where Aditya Sah came first, while Neeruganti Purnima came second.

11 Dance Societies from across different colleges, which qualified the online preliminaries, performed at Burlesque, the Western Dance Competition, organised by Tanz, the Western Dance Society of Miranda House. The event was judged by Mrs. Sameeksha and Mr. Nitin Theo Kerketta. Enliven (Western dance society of Gargi) won the competition, while Crunk (Western dance society of Sri Aurobindo) came second.

The next event was the Hindi Debating Competition where the students battled their wits on the topic- “Sadan ke math mein loktantra maatr ek saashan pranali nahi, jeevan mulyo ka srot hai (In the opinion of the House, democracy is not only a regime conduct, but it is the source of life values).” It was judged internally by teachers- Mrs. Kusuma Krishna Subha and Mrs. Meeta Kumari. Smriti from Lady Shri Ram College was awarded the title of Best Speaker in favour of the motion while Happy from Ramjas College was awarded as Best Speaker in opposition.

Amid the melody of raag Darbari and Yaman, Sangam- the Indian Classical Music Competition- organised by Geetanjali, the Indian Music Society of Miranda House saw various performances that had the audiences captivated. With 14 participants in the Duet Singing Competition and 13 teams representing their colleges in the Choir Singing Competition, the event was a huge success. The Duet Singing Competition concluded with SGTB Khalsa College’s Sukriti and Saksham bagging the second prize, with the winner’s title being claimed by Hansraj College’s Pranava and Ram.

Adwitiya, the Fine Arts’ Society, in a stunning display of powerful art, transformed SAC to an exquisite art gallery. From portraits to abstract brushstrokes, all the artwork presented had a story to tell. An art-piece labeled ‘Nirvana’ captured the modern world in a representative manner. A symbolic display promised and delivered aesthetic pleasure.

The day concluded with the performance by PARASHARA- a popular Delhi-based progressive band, with an idea conceived and brought to action in the mountains. The audiences swiveled to the beats as they played their melodies, revolving around the realities of life, with an interesting modern touch to it. This wraps up the Day 1 of the fest and all the festivities stuck true to the theme of the fest: “Future of Fun”.

Image credits: Mahi Panchal for DU Beat

 

Sakshi Arora

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Shaurya Thapa

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Kartik Chauhan

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Shivani Dadhwal

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A fresh new year and a fresh new bunch of fests to look forward to! We bring to you the ECA calendar of the year that was so that you can get an idea of all the fun that’s in store for you this session.

BITS Pilani

Oasis, the annual cultural festival of BITS, Pilani is an eagerly awaited event and sees a high level of participation among DU colleges. Known for its energy and rock nights, it is also one of the biggest competitions for most ECA societies, especially western dance and fashion.

Jaipur literary festival

The Jaipur literary fest is the biggest of its kind not only in India, but all of Asia. It is a celebration of national and international writers and encompasses a wide range of activities including film, music and theatre as well as readings, talks, literary lunches, debates, children’s workshops and so on. Last year it was attended by the likes of Aamir Khan, Anoushka Shankar, Moni Mohsin and Fatima Bhutto. This year, expected bigwigs include William Dalrymple, Amitabh Bachchan, Bashrat Peer and Advaita Kala among others.

IIT Delhi

IIT Delhi’s ‘Rendezvous’ is among the largest cultural college festivals in Northern India with participation from over 400 colleges and attendance from over 30,000 students. Though all its events are equally thrilling, their rock show ‘Blitzkrieg’ definitely takes the cake with its eclectic performances.

IIT Kanpur

Antaragini is IIT Kanpur’s much talked about annual cultural fiesta. Watch out for their drama and music events which are a big hit among DU colleges. Apart from them, the other events like the fashion show, panel discussions, essay writing competitions, workshops etc. are also not to be missed. Once again, IIT Kanpur also hosts a brilliant rock show.

Old World Theatre festival

Another highly anticipated event, the Old World Theatre festival showcases the best of drama from across Delhi University. Last year, many plays from various colleges made it including ‘MacWho’ from Venky, ‘Line mein lago’ from KMC and ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’ from LSR. This is a must watch for all theatre addicts!

Let’s not forget our own college fests in the flurry of out-station events, shall we? Now, onto some of the notable DU fests!

Tarang, the LSR festival is one of the most energetic carnivals in DU. Competition levels here are pretty high with all the top colleges in and around the University vying for the coveted awards. The same can be said for Nexus, Sri Venkateswara College’s annual fest which draws a huge crowd every year. Last year saw performances by Euphoria and their own hugely popular college band – Fire Exit. Their play, “MacWho” was also a big hit. Crossroads, SRCC’s fest had a wide range of events ranging from the usual dramatics, music, debate competitions and such but also including adventure sports like zorbing and rafting. Performances by Advaita and Kay Kay were major crowd pullers too.

With all the fests being such roaring successes last year, we wonder what they have planned this time around. Going by their track record though, we’re sure they’ll surpass their own standards and surprise us again. Here’s to another great, exciting, fun-filled DU year!