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Pulse’19 Closes Amidst Allegations of Forgery in Results and Mismanagement

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Pulse, the annual Cultural fest of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) which closed on 22nd September, faced immense backlash for mismanagement, chaos, and alleged forgery of results in the fashion show event.

The 19th edition of Pulse, the annual Cultural fest of All India Institution of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), took place from 16th to 22nd  September. This coveted event soon turned into a chaos when many of their events were delayed by an hour or more. The management is also being accused of forgery in results of the fashion competition, Panache.

An anonymous source from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS), told DU Beat, “The entire event was chaotic. We had solo performances, after the event began they told us then that they don’t have instruments set up, which is necessary for performances. So many colleges like Jesus and Mary College and us, helped them set up. Also, the process of sorting of slots wasn’t done right. And the students there weren’t supportive of the participants.” He also said that after a delay of one hour, the first-year members of Dhwani, SSCBS’s Western Music Society, went up on the stage and people in the back were yelling and unnecessarily shouting which made the entire process for the first-years very traumatic. “We literally had to stop the performance to make them (the crowd) silent and then continue. We had to encourage them (our juniors) and tell them that crowd of other places is genuinely better,” He added.

Arjun Jaiswal, Member of Dhwani, said “Being on stage, there were many lights and hence we couldn’t identify who and from where the people were shouting. And the only action taken against them was there were told by the anchor to leave the auditorium or stay quiet.”

The mismanagement did not just restrict itself to the Western Music event, but to the Fashion event as well.  Since past three years, AIIMS has been accused of forging results and favour certain teams. This year the fashion societies of various colleges witnessed the same in Panache, the Fashion Show.

Anshika Jain, President of IVouge, the fashion society of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, said, “They promised us that results wouldn’t be forged like the previous years. They made us believe that it won’t happen. But we get to know that the results were rigged and the judges were switched last minute which was after 1 a.m. It was a waste of time and energy for all the teams who performed. We were given 3rd position, but they didn’t provide us with the mark sheet when asked. Later on when got the picture of mark sheet after arguing for about an hour the results were different from those announced. One of the judges, Ankit Gera agreed that the judgement was biased and that the teams faced injustice.”

She also added, “A few teams practiced on the main stage for 20-30 minutes whereas the other teams weren’t allowed to do the same.”  The fashion society event was delayed for four hours. Many societies, who were promised two rooms for themselves and heavy props, were given only one small room. Other than this, many teams were not even informed of their slot right until they came to the stage which gave them no time to prepare.

In protest of what happened, many fashion societies have come together and stand in solidarity against this. They might boycott AIIMS next year onwards. Many societies have resorted to Instagram to share their experience of this day with numerous posts to prevent anything like this in future.

 


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IVogue kickstarted its session 2019-2020 by securing 3rd position at Pulse – The Annual Fashion event at AIIMS @pulse.aiims, but just like the previous years, the sequence of events of mismanagement were no different. Not only the judging panel was changed at the very last moment, but the scorecards were also tampered with by the organizers of the event. In the era of nepotism, the scores of the favoured teams were spiked at the last moment. The scorecards evidently reflect the results that were intended to be declared by the judges. The scores were changed right before declaring the results and the judges candidly admitted the same. Also, the scorecards were not made transparent initially, being the participants. Every team puts in a hefty amount of hard work into these performances and deserve a fair judgement procedure. We stand united against the biasness and appeal every other team to do the same.

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@pulse.aiims has always been counted as one of the most awaited competitions of the season and seeing such mismanagement was highly disappointing. And we got to know that the result was rigged and the judging panel was switched at the last minute (and this is the 3rd time the same thing happened). After the results were told onstage, we went to the judges asking for feedback along with other college teams but instead of constructive criticism, the judging panel went berserk and shouted in a very unethical manner. Moreover, the event got delayed and all the teams were forced to wait for a long span of 4 hours. The result sheets were shown after an hour of arguing where in we had scored the highest in some sheets (being 7th slot, IHE) despite which not even the third position was given to us! This is the first time one of the judge among all of the judges agreed to the statement of the teams that it was biased ( And the judge was @ankitgera001 who agreed that it was biased). We need to put a stop to this and all the societies must raise their voices against this incident. @ivogue.sggscc @glitzfashionsociety @galorefashionsoc @bizarre_thefashionsociety @mlncbellissimo

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A fashion society member, on the condition of anonymity said, “Bringing our problems to the head coordinator, I also want quote the words of what they said in response- ‘yehi hoga, itna hai toh mat aana agli baar.’ (This will continue to happen, if you are so displeased then don’t come again.)”

 Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Chhavi Bahmba

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Fest Season

Highlights of Tempest 2019 organised by Miranda House

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The three-day fest of Miranda House, Tempest 2019 presented different events and an amazing line-up of the performance nights.

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 Duet Singing Competition organized by Geetanjali, the Indian Music Society of Miranda House saw various performances that had the audiences captivated. It concluded with Sukriti and Saksham from SGTB Khalsa College in second position, with the winner’s title being claimed by Pranava and Ram of Hansraj College.

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”.  

Day 2 of Tempest 2019, the annual cultural fest of Miranda House witnessed a refreshing hustle-bustle as the day started with a perfect weather, as opposed to the weather conditions prevailing the first day. The day witnessed different societies conducting their competitions.

Anukriti, the Hindi Dramatics Society of Miranda House organised ‘Izhaar’, a stage play event after four years. Amongst preliminary rounds between 27 competing team, 6 teams made it to the finals. The event kicked off with ‘Three Tall Women’ the annual production of The Ariels, the English Dramatics Society, followed by SRCC’s annual production ‘Anidra’ and Anubhuti, the Hindi Dramatics Society of Sri Venkateswara College’s annual production ‘Kolahal’. After the break, ‘Fourth Wall Productions’, the dramatics society of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies presented their annual production ‘Bhunde’. The event ended with Leher, the dramatics society of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce’s production ‘Mahua’ and Hansraj dramatics society’s play ‘Word of Mouth’.

The Day 2 of Tempest 2019 came to an end with an exhilarating performance by DJ Mojojojo. He performed some of his famous mixes like ‘Sapne’ and also played the famous track ‘Udd Gaye’ by Ritviz. The audience grooved to the tunes of his enthralling showcase. The crowd then peacefully dispersed.  

Day 3 witnessed four events taking place. Orpheus, the Western music society of Miranda House organized their annual event Euphony 2019. The event had two competitions: Accapella, the group singing competition and the solo singing competition.Echo the western music society of Jesus and Mary College won the first position in group singing.

Mridang, the Indian dance society of Miranda House presented their annual fest Tarangini’19. The solo classical event witnessed a number of participants portraying classical dance performances followed by a montage of peppy group performances by participants ranging from different colleges.

On the last day of Tempest 2019, renowned singer, Jubin Nautiyal, created an enchanting musical aura at Miranda House. He began the night by interacting with the audience, and telling the enthusiastic crowd that he had been excited to meet them and perform for them since the past few weeks. Soft romance was the vibe in the air as he sang popular numbers like Meherbaani, Kaabil, Gazab ka hai din, and Baawra Mann among many others. In a medley that had the audience captivated, Nautiyal sang covers of old favourites such as Gulaabi aankhein, Dheere dheere se, and Roop tera mastana. The singer then moved to songs like Aaj ki raat, Tamma tamma, Ilahi et al, as the audience grooved in delight. On the same climatic note, Nautiyal bid adieu to Miranda House with the joy and rhythm of The Humma Song.

Tempest 2019 was a success with an amazing line-up of performance nights and multiple events organised by the college societies.

 

Feature Image Credits: Saubhagya Saxena for DU Beat.

Sakshi Arora

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Shaurya Thapa

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Kartik Chauhan

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Akshada Shrotriya

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Shivani Dadhwal

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Anushree Joshi

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Jaishree Kumar
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Anoushka Sharma

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Jubin Nautiyal Closes Tempest 2019

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Day 3 of Tempest 2019 saw the hustle bustle of the fest along with a melodious end to the evening by Jubin Nautiyal.

 

Orpheus, the Western music society of Miranda House organized their annual event Euphony 2019. The event had two competitions: Accapella, the group singing competition and the solo singing competition.Echo the western music society of Jesus and Mary College won the first position in group singing.

The solo singing competition was won by Jessjit Singh from Delhi Technological University and Riya Khattar from Kamala Nehru College. The second position was also a tie between Shruti Parasarthy and Janice Joe from Jesus and Mary College.The Western Music Singing competition brought in an awesome load of societies who competed to take home the glory of victory. The group as well as the solo competition filled the atmosphere with melodious voices singing the tunes of some of the best classical songs.

The group competition witnessed 10 societies performing in the final round. The participants seemed enthusiastic as they were seen cheering not only their own team members but members from other societies as well.

The solo competition had 9 performers in the final round. The participants had brought an accompanist for a musical instrument. Though there was a little in the technical aspect, the singers handled it very well. The judge, while announcing the result acknowledged it and appreciated the performances by also giving useful advise.

Mridang, the Indian dance society of Miranda House is presenting their annual fest Tarangini’19. The solo classical event witnessed a number of participants portraying classical dance performances followed by a montage of peppy group performances by participants ranging from different colleges.

On the last day of Tempest 2019, renowned singer, Jubin Nautiyal, created an enchanting musical aura at Miranda House. He began the night by interacting with the audience, and telling the enthusiastic crowd that he had been excited to meet them and perform for them since the past few weeks. Soft romance was the vibe in the air as he sang popular numbers like Meherbaani, Kaabil, Gazab ka hai din, and Baawra Mann among many others. In a medley that had the audience captivated, Nautiyal sang covers of old favourites such as Gulaabi aankhein, Dheere dheere se, and Roop tera mastana. The singer then moved to songs like Aaj ki raat, Tamma tamma, Ilahi et al, as the audience grooved in delight. On the same climatic note, Nautiyal bid adieu to Miranda House with the joy and rhythm of The Humma Song.

 

Feature Image credits: Saubhagya Saxena for DU Beat.

Akshada Shrotriya

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Shivani Dadhwal

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Anushree Joshi

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Arts & Culture

Security Arrangements at DU fests: the Staff’s Perspective

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The college fests bring with them large and often overly enthusiastic crowds, necessitating tight security measures. DU Beat looks at what the security staff themselves have to say about this.

“Fest ke samay zyada satark rehna padta hai” (we need to be more alert during fests), tells us a security guard at Hindu College, requesting anonymity. Naturally, a larger crowd makes checking more difficult. The gentleman tells us that while they recognise 90% of the regular college students, strict ID checks are the first step before allowing entry to anyone – outsiders or not. The same sentiments are reiterated by a female security guard at Hansraj College, also wishing to remain anonymous.

Mr Damodar Singh, a security guard at Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) tells us that since it is easier for troublemakers to enter colleges during the fests, the security has to exercise extra caution – switching their phones off is the first thing guards do. Talking unnecessarily to anyone has to be avoided, lest some slip in checking may happen.

Colleges make extra arrangements during fests, especially for maintaining order inside the premises. Bouncers are often present around the campuses to control any chaos. Yet, perhaps their effectiveness is up for question.

Mr Singh tells us that bouncers have an important role to play if chaos erupts; security guards can’t get aggressive in controlling the situation as they have to encounter the students regularly. “Hum bas pyaar se samjha sakte hain” (we can only deal with students softly), he remarks. The lady at Hansraj also tells us how guards sit at the gates while bouncers handle the situation inside.

On the other hand, the gentleman at Hindu, says, with a chuckle, “Hungama hota hai to bouncers bhaag lete hain” (the bouncers run away if chaos takes place) – stating that in such cases, the guards themselves need to control the situation.

While the guards admit that some students get rowdy and try jumping on stages during music performances, they don’t really agree to alleged cases of misbehaviour or lapse of security happening at the fests.

Some students allegedly managed to get alcohol and weed inside the barricades during Crossroads 2018. Mr Singh, however, maintains that beedi, cigarettes and alcohol are strictly banned.

As was reported by the Hindustan Times, the crowd stormed the barricades during singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh’s concert at Hansraj’s Confluence 2017. A stampede was caused following a gas leak, accompanied by the felling of a firework station that caused some electric shocks. The security guard at Hansraj, however, denied these claims.

According to an article in the Times of India, similar incidents of crowd rampage and breaking of barricades took place during singer Parmish Verma’s performance at Maitreyi College’s annual fest last year, forcing the gig to be stopped midway.

Regardless of whether the accountability for these incidents is acknowledged, the probability for security lapses remains high. Of course, the management and organisers need to be held accountable. However, with enthusiasm and excitement running high among overwhelming crowds, the responsibility also lies on the students to exercise precaution and alertness and to maintain civility in order to ensure a safer environment.

 

Featured Image credits: The Times of India

Prateek Pankaj
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Campus Central

How to Cure Fest Hangover

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With almost all the major college fests in DU wrapping up, all of us are suffering from a fest hangover. With just one month left to cover up the attendance, emerging internals, and pending assignments, we are officially beleaguered with banality.

Yes, the University of Delhi again signed off with a splendid fest season. Yes, we all clicked lovely pictures and captured as many digital memories as possible. Yes, we all managed our calendars to tackle the friction between the fest bonanza and the internal season. Yes, roaming around the campus dressed in the most stylish attires, everyone managed to cross the threshold of almost all the colleges buzzing with excitement. And yes, the reality is seeping in and we now realise that we are trapped in the cycle of attendance and submissions. Plus, how can we forget the most wonderful semester exams which are creeping towards us with their ever fast and furious pace. We are still reminiscing the fest euphoria and we abhor the vacuum it has left. The big void asks us “What Next?” and we have no answer in return to tell our minds that the next fest is this weekend. Of course, few department fests await us but they are also on the verge of pack up.

The final year students still have few stimulating events left to enjoy, for example, farewell, graduation dinners, but to be frank, they are busy wiping their tears filled with nostalgia while getting their clearance dues filled. Besides, the entire stimulation of entrance tests and interviews is just too much to handle. So what should we all do to cure the fest hangover?

The answer is simple- Study. As ridiculous as it sounds, it is a very sound advice because let us face it, the strike has given us enough of free time and mass bunks wherein we have had two long weekends and our syllabus is now surmounted with some more syllabus to cover up. So please, get out of that ‘void’, otherwise, our marks will leave a big void in our mark sheets. Kindly study!
P.S. – Sorry for disappointing you, but what else were you expecting?

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Oorja Tapan
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DU Annual Fest Season

Highlights: Mecca 2018, the Annual Cultural Fest of Hindu College

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Mecca 2018, is one of the most anticipated annual cultural fests in the University of Delhi. The three-day fest that kicked off on the 14th of March, enthralled the fest going students in the University. With a line-up that included the indie band The Local Train, DJ Zaeden, and Bollywood sensation Amit Trivedi, Mecca 2018 was bigger and better than ever. The fest, which attracted a significant crowd during all the days, was a thrilling event including good music, food, and games.

The decorations of the fest were based on the theme “Around The World in 72 hours”. The college was decked in trinkets, maps, and more which divided the college on the basis of countries and cities. The theme could be seen on the graffitis that were made by students as well. Overall, the decor made the college infrastructure come alive, all the while providing fest going students aesthetic backgrounds to take photographs.

The Inauguration ceremony of Mecca 2018 took place in the auditorium of the college. Alankar, the Indian music society of Hindu College has opened the ceremony with a musical gala which was followed by various cultural performances including Kathak and classical music. The performances enthralled the audience and were a collective display of skills of some of the most talented students of Hindu College. Panache, the Fashion Society event subsequently followed the inauguration in the venue itself.

Various events ranging from Gully Cricket to Street Soccer, Fashion Competition to Musical and Dance Competitions. Slam poetry event, photography exhibition also took place. I Vogue, the fashion society of SGGSCC bagged the first position at the fashion competition. Alaap, the Indian music society won the first prize at Harmony, the Indian choir competition. The Western music society of DTU bagged the first prize at Arpeggio, the western choir competition. Ayaam of Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology came first in the street play competition. Verve of Sri Venkateswara College came first in the western dance competition, and Sparx of Gargi College came first in the choreography competition. SGTB Khalsa College and SGND Khalsa College jointly bagged the first prize at the folk dance competition. The Mecca Idol competition was held in the Hindu College auditorium and was one of the most anticipated events at Mecca 2018. A total of 108 people registered for the competition, out of which 30 were selected for the offline preliminary round which was held on day 1 of the fest. Sukriti Poddar of Gargi College won Mecca Idol 2018.

Sumit Anand, a stand-up comedian spirited the Mecca audience in a fit of laughter with his witty and relatable punchlines. With a happy-go-lucky attitude, his jokes were effortlessly funny, leading to momentous hooting from the audience.

The Local Train, a Hindi rock band was invited to close the first day at Mecca. Their set featured popular songs like Manzil, Aaftaab, Khudi, and Mere Yaar.

The closing act and the most anticipated performance, DJ Zaeden called curtains to Day 2 of Mecca. He entertained the crowd with Bollywood as well as western songs like Shape of You and Attention.

It was time for the much-awaited star night. Indeed, Mecca had saved the best for the last. Following a small delay, Amit Trivedi arrived on the stage with four additional singers. The concert kicked off with the song “Dilli”. The four other singers accompanying Amit Trivedi were Arun Kamath, Meghna Mishra, Divya Kumar and Rashita. Meghna Mishra was a 16-year old artist who had won awards for “Secret Superstar”. The team said that they divide their performance into two halves where the first half was for the ears while the other half was for the legs. The songs they performed included hits like “Maanjha”, “ Gulaabo”, “Shandaar” and “ Ud-daa Punjab”.

 

Feature Image Credits: Ayush Chauhan for DU Beat.

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Cultural Festivals

Zaeden Calls the Curtains for Day 2 of Mecca, Hindu College

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Mecca Day 2 began with the Street Play Competition that was organised by Ibtida, the Dramatics Society of Hindu College. The teams used puns and metaphors to talk about issues like politics, gender, and corruption in a hard hitting way. A total of 15 teams participated in the event out of which there emerged four winners. Natuve from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College and The Dramatics Society of Sri Ram College of Commerce tied at the third spot while Dramanomics from CVS secured the second prize. The first prize was secured by Aayaam from Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology. The competition was held at the Ibtida Lawns and generated immense attraction from the fest goers.

A host of other events were taking place simultaneously. Arpeggio, the A capella event organised by Aria, the Western Music Society of Hindu College saw soothing melodies at play. The event was adjudged by the esteemed judges Joshua Peters and Nisha. It concluded successfully with the winners being the Western Music society of DTU, Echo, the Western Music Society, and Western Music Society of LSR bagging the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions respectively.

Firestone, the western dance competition was organised at Mecca 2018 by Aramya, the western dance society of Hindu College. The auditorium was lit up with iridescent lights, colourful costumes, and up-beat songs like Swalla, Run The World (Girls), and O Oh Jaane Jaana. Every performance was ruthlessly energetic and made us move us move to the beats. Verve of Sri Venkateswara College was prized as the winners and Enliven of Gargi College was the runner-up.

Following this, Aramya, the Western Dance Society of Hindu College also organised the choreography competition. A host of engaging and mesmerizing performances with beautiful sequences were put up on display by the various societies. Each society put up a brilliant performance, making it extremely hard for the judges to select the top few. Sparx, the Choreography Society of Gargi College bagged the first spot whereas Terpsi Choreon from Hansraj College got the second position and Choreography Society, LSR bagged the third place.

You’ve Got Scale was the western Vocal Solo Event organised by Aria, the western Music Society of Hindu College. Christina A Dayal of Ramjas College bagged the top spot while Prabahan Shakya of Ramjas and Jannis Joe of JMC tied for the second position. The event was judged by Amartya Ghosh.

The Mecca Idol competition was held in the Hindu College auditorium and was one of the most anticipated events at Mecca 2018. A total of 108 people registered for the competition, out of which 30 were selected for the offline preliminary round which was held on day 1 of the fest. The finals were held on the second day of the fest, in which a total of 7 people participated. The third prize was secured by Sarat S Kumar while Shayan Chatterjee won the 2nd prize, both of whom sang Piya Tu Kahe Rootha Re from the movie Kahani. The first prize was secured by Sukriti Poddar who sang “Raina Beeti Jaye” from the movie Amar Prem.  The event was judged by Shubham Sarkar, an internationally acclaimed violinist and the youngest recognized Hindustani Classicalist. The winner of Mecca Idol, Sukriti Poddar would be opening the star night of Mecca 2018 on Day 3, right before Amit Trivedi’s performance.

The closing act and the most anticipated performance, DJ Zaeden called curtains to Day 2 of Mecca. He entertained the crowd with Bollywood as well as western songs like Shape of You and Attention.

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Armaan Malik Draws the Curtains to Nexus 2018!

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The second day of Nexus, the annual fest of Sri Venkateswara College commenced on the morning of 9th March 2018, with several events around the campus. One of them was Goonj, the Indian classical group singing competition.  The seminar hall in which the event took place was given the necessary aura by being decorated with dim fairy lights. Eleven colleges enthusiastically participated in the event, including Kamla Nehru College, Hansraj College, Ramjas College, etc. Though the societies of each college filled the auditorium with great vigour with their voices, the highlight of the event was a special performance by the host team Alaap, the Indian music society of Sri Venkateswara College.

The competition was judged by Ujwal Nagar, an exceptionally talented musical artist from a famous collective called Advaita. Geetanjali, the Indian music society of Miranda House, bagged the first position and a cash prize of INR 8000 through their beautiful blend of Raga Puriya-Dhanashri and Raag Jog. The second position and a cash prize of INR 6000 were won by Alankaar, the Indian music society of Hindu College, which mesmerised the audience with their mixture of the three raags – Rageshree, Jogkauns, and Gambheera Nattai Talam. All societies were very supportive of each other and the event seemed like a celebration of music.

The MELA Quiz organised by Conquiztadors, the quiz society, and saw active participation. Gokul of Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College and Gourav Jena of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies bagged the first position as a team and won INR 2500 as the cash prize. The second position was bagged by Akash Verma of Delhi School of Economics and Rabin Jacob of Department of Anthropology, the University of Delhi (DU).

Anubhuti, the street play society Sri Venkateswara College, organised Madari, the street play competition. Natuve of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (Morning) bagged the first position. Their impactful performance was based on depression. DramaNomics of College of Vocational Studies won the first runner-up trophy, and the dramatics society of Lady Shri Ram College followed as the second runner-up. Kshitij of Gargi College received a special mention. Shilpa Marawaha of Sukhmanch Theatre was one of the judges. She said that all the plays were very contemporary and thought-provoking. Abhishek Kumar Singh of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies won the Best Actor award and Best Actress was given to Spraha of IP College for Women.

Leonci, the Fine Arts Society organised a Story Illustration Competition, out of six participants, Nibedita Roy of Shivaji College bagged the first prize and Shivangi Rao of Maitreyi College secured the second position.

Effulgence, the Film, and Photography Society organised a short film competition which was judged by Mr. Imran Raza, Director of IG Productions. The first position was bagged by Symbiosis College, Pune and second was won by St. Stephen’s College.

Alaap, Indian Music Society of Sri Venkateswar College, organised Gamak, a classical solo competition. Mr. Kshitij Mathur, an Indian Classical vocalist based out of Delhi judged the event. Vasundhara of IP College for Women won the first position while Shreerag of Kirori Mal College secured the runner-up trophy.

The action at the main stage began with the Battle of Bands. The various bands from across universities locked horns for the top spot. The competition was judged by Abhay Sharma and Varun Rajasekhar. At the end of the showdown which extended for more than two hours, Six in the Evening, the western music band of Hansraj College and Jokes Apart- Flip, the collaborative group of DU colleges shared the first prize. Common Thread, the western music band of Audiophile, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College was ranked second.

Unni Vishwanathan of Hansraj College was adjudged the winner of Mudra, the solo Indian classical dance competition. Nandita of Hansraj College was the runner-up. Judges Disha Rawat and Nisha Rani further appreciated the efforts of Sanskriti Sharma of Janki Devi Memorial College and Reetu Purna of Lady Shri Ram College.

The next event on the roll was Dyad, the western vocals (duet) competition. Ashisha John and Miriam Matthew of St. Stephen’s College were awarded the first position for their rendition of Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. Vinayak Arora and Shikhar Lakhumna of Delhi Technological University stood second for their cover of Beat It, another Michael Jackson song.

The slam poetry competition was the venue of new-age poetry wherein the participants mesmerised the gathering with their poems, based on varied themes such as feminism and the melancholy of having a broken family. While Seep Garwhal from Sri Venkateswara College secured the first position, Prashant from Bhartiya Vidhya Bhawan bagged the second position by a close margin.

The Hindi debate competition was a battleground of raging thoughts as participants engaged in a verbal battle on the topic – This house believes that world peace is a myth. Harshit from Shivaji College outsmarted his competitors and bagged the first position while Shubhangi from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College won the second position.

The choreography competition which commenced at 3 p.m. was the highlight of the day with zealous teams competing neck-to-neck. The themes ranged from ‘spirits’ to the ‘foils of an arrogant king’. The judges were Arpita Kaul and Ragini Bhajanka, both of whom are seasoned performers. Sensation of Kirori Mal College won the first position and was followed by Sparx of Gargi College which emerged as the runners-up.

Musician Haider Saif closed off the eventful day two of Nexus with soulful songs.  

The third day saw the star night performance by Armaan Malik, which oversaw a huge audience in thousands to witness him singing. He sang famous hit sings like Gulabi Aankhein, Kar Gayi Chul, and Vajah Tum Ho, among a plethora of other songs to which the audience grooved heartily. His closing act concluded a yet another successful Nexus!

 

Feature Image Credits: Ayush Chauhan for DU Beat

Khyati Sanger
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Nikhil Kumar
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Prachi Mehra
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Vaibhavi Pathak Sharma
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Cultural Festivals

Tempest 2018 at Miranda House Concludes with a Pumped-Up Audience

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Tempest 2018 organised by Miranda House comes to an end, here are some highlights from the last day of the festival:

The third day of Tempest 2018 was full of excitement and enthusiasm around the campus since it was full of extremely entertaining events like panel discussions, the most anticipated western dance competition, and the much awaited star night, with the headlining act being Siddharth Mahadevan.

In the midst of the hustle bustle of events in the three-day Tempest, Miranda House Vatavaran, the Environment Society of Miranda House organised a unique but considerably salient event. It was a competition wherein participants had to depict environmentally-conscious ways of having fun. They were allowed to use music, choreography and enactment to put forth their renditions. The judges of the event were Dr. Amrita Tripathi Sheikh and Dr. Bani Roy, professors at Miranda House. A total of 10 teams participated, some of which presented self-composed poems on varied topics like eco-tourism and eco-friendly college fests.

The Entrepreneurship Cell of Miranda House invited three proficient panelists to share their experiences of living the “start-up life”. The panel included personalities like Tanya Kathpal, founder of ‘Eat My News’, who engaged the audience in a gripping discourse on how she began her start-up and the kind of obstacles she had to overcome in order to further the same. Among the panelists was Nikhil Chainani, founder and CEO of ‘Perspectico’, who talked about taking risks and dealing with rejection while being an entrepreneur. The third panelist was an alumni of the University of Delhi, Neha Gupta, who shared her experiences of working on projects from diverse fields and handling stress while starting off your own business.

The main highlight of day 3 at Tempest 2018 was the Western Group Dance Competition, Burlesque’18, organised by Tanz, the Western Dance Society of Miranda House. Judges Sarthak Chauhan and Tarun Sharma chose Crunk, the Western Dance Society of Sri Aurobindo College as the winner. Crunk performed on numbers like Buleya, Deapacito and Malhari. The second position was shared by Misbah of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce and Zeal of Maitreyi College. Misbah and Zeal thoroughly entertained the audience by dancing on peppy numbers like Ishq Di Gali Vich No Entry, Finesse, Tan Tana Tan Tan Tara and Tum Tum. The teams were given cash prizes and accolades. Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology’s western dance society, Funk in Action, was much appreciated by the judges for their enthusiasm and innovative use of musical instruments like Dhol. Following this, another round called ‘Bipolar Round’ was held with the participating societies performing on songs on the spot. Electra of Motilal Nehru College emerged as the clear winner who danced on famous songs like Shape of You, Lahore and Shaguna. The Bipolar Round was conducted to evaluate and judge the spontaneity of the participants.

Tempest 2018 was concluded by the enchanting performance of Siddharth Mahadevan, a playback singer known for singing Bollywood numbers such as “Sarfira” and “Nachde Ne Sare”. The curtains of Tempest 2018 closed in an exquisite manner with songs which varied from aesthetic ones like “Mere Rashde Qamar” to new-age chart toppers like “Tukur-Tukur”. His versatility was on complete display as he could switch languages seamlessly since he crooned to Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You”. As he moved from “Channa Mereya” onto more light-hearted numbers, “Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe” this performance was an instant hit with the young crowd, and the perfect way to conclude the three-day festival.

Feature Image Credits: Ayush Chauhan

Kinjal Pandey

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Prachi Mehra

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Vaibhavi Pathak

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Bhavya Banerjee

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Cultural Festivals

Montage 2018 at Jesus and Mary College: Highlights

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Montage 2018 was held at Jesus and Mary College on 16th-17th February 2018. Here are the highlights from the same:

Montage’18, the annual cultural fest of Jesus and Mary College (JMC) held on 16th and 17th February, was inaugurated by Sister Rosily, Principal and Sister Lawrence, Superior General of the college. The lighting of the lamp ceremony was initiated by the sisters and the teachers followed while Tarannum, the Indian Music Society of JMC, performed on the stage and then the fest declared open by the Student Union.

Ashwamedh, the theatre society of Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT) kick-started Stagecraft, the stage play competition, Ibtida of Hindu College won the prize and cash money of INR 10000. The best male actor award was given to Akshay Raheja of SSCBS and female actor went to Devanshi Khanna of Hindu College respectively.  

 

The most coveted, insightful, and fun-filled event of the day, Awaaz ’18 was hosted by Kahkasha, Hindi Dramatics Society of JMC. The first prize was bagged by DramaNomics, the Theatre Society of College of Vocational Studies, whose heart-wrenching performance on ‘rape’ shook the audience. Lady Shri Ram College for Women finished second performing on the crucial issue of ‘Body-Shaming’. Abhivyakti, the dramatics society of Indraprastha College for Women, was awarded consolation prize for their special performance on the theme of ‘Body-Shaming’.

 

  Engaging the audience in their aesthetic rendition of the Bihu dance, the team from Kamla Nehru College was the curtain-raiser for the group dance competition of Montage. Nrityangana of Sri Venkateswara College bagged the first place, while SGTB Khalsa College won the second position. Maitreyi College secured the third position.  

 

In the A capella competition Finding Do Re Mi, The Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College of Women was awarded the first position as they sang “Show me how you Burlesque” by Christina Aguilera. Dhwani of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies won the second position in the same event.

 

  The eventful and lively concluded on a musical note with DJ Zaeden’s groovy and upbeat tunes.  

 

The second day of Montage 2018 began on a musical note with Swaraangan, the Indian Musical Choir competition of Jesus and Mary College. Alaap of Sri Venkateswara College bagged the first position followed by Sangeetika of Kamala Nehru College and Swaranjali of Hansraj College were declared the first and the second runners-up respectively.

The highlight of the day was Chimera, the choreography competition hosted by Western Dance Society of JMC. Judges Benjamin Jacob and Himanshu Sharma announced Sparx of Gargi College as the winner. Terpsi Chorean of Hansraj College grabbed the second prize.

Playback singer and music composer Nakash Aziz of ‘Highway’ and ‘Rockstar’ fame ignited the stage with evergreen Bollywood hits such as ‘Humma’, ‘Badtameez Dil’, and R. D. Burman’s ‘Bachna Ae Hasino’. His versatility was on display as he effortlessly switched over to newer Bollywood hits such as ‘Pyaar ki Pungi’ and ‘Ilahi’. With this JMC’s Annual Cultural Fest Montage 2018 drew its curtains.

Feature Image Credits: Akarsh Mathur for DU Beat

Anagha Rakta ([email protected])

Prachi Mehra ([email protected])

Oorja Tapan ([email protected])

Radhika Boruah ([email protected])

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak ([email protected])

Anukriti Mishra ([email protected])

 

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