Ambrosia 2022, the literary festival of Hindu College, took the students through the lanes of literature, cinema and more. Kick-starting it with the most anticipated session, it turned out to be a great success. Read to find out more.
On April 11 and April 13, 2022, Hindu College, University of Delhi hosted Ambrosia 2022, their literary festival. It was organised jointly by the Department of English and their literary society, Scribe. With an endless list of events and competitions, the festival turned out to be quite happening. Amidst the thrill of the fest, the first day was graced by Imtiaz Ali, a film director, producer, actor, and writer. The registered students got an opportunity to become a part of the interactive session.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcIPHtmhruV/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
In conversation with Nikita Kochhar, the president of Scribe and Abhigya Bharthwal, general secretary of Scribe. told DU Beat about the overwhelming response they received. According to them, the hall was completely booked within one hour of releasing the form. On the main day, the hall was packed up with students and many students had to stand on the sidelines of the hall. The organisers were quite content to see the enthusiasm and response they received but then there was a slight issue of mismanagement and overcrowding. However, it was handled quite well and no such unanticipated incident took place. They had 2-3 verification check points to allow only the registered students into the session.
This session with Imtiaz Ali, which was hosted by Vineet Singh, president of the English Department and Nikita Kochhar, the president of Scribe, was followed by numerous other events and competitions including the literature quiz and paper presentation. This series of events was continued with a short band performance by ‘Aria’, the western music society of Hindu College. Then, a bake and food sale took place which was again followed by a speaker session by Shivani Sibal, the author of the book ‘Equations’.
Nikita further explained how the transition from online to offline fest was difficult. According to her, this was because the third year students were first years back then and to bring out the sponsorship and audience was a strenuous challenge. However, it was quite a fruitful experience.
The primary issue that we faced was that the students who registered did not show up. Moreover, to bring the sponsorships was a tedious job since, during the pandemic, none of the places around the college, who generally sponsor, did such a thing.
-Nikita Kochhar, President of Scribe
Besides this, there were a number of competitions in which students across various colleges participated zealously. On April 13, 2022, a Slam Poetry event, ‘Jashn-e-Ibaarat’ took place. The theme for the event was “Delhi Through Your Eyes”. Students participated in quite a number which made it the star of the day.
In conversation with the participants present at the event, told DU Beat about their experience. Unanimously, the students were excited and looking forward to this event in particular. The reason they cited was the common love for poetry that they all share and in today’s time it is quite difficult to find people who are down for poetry.
“It is thrilling to see the number of students participating in an event like slam poetry. Often, poetry gets sidelined but the essence it hides beneath the meaning is utterly beautiful. I am all geared up to perform and can’t wait to hear their poems.”
-A participant of Slam Poetry
Anchal Soni, first year student from Gargi College and Molina Singh, second year student from Gargi College tied up for the place of winners. Agrima Dwivedi, second year student from Indraprastha College for Women bagged the place of first runner-up and Anwesh Banerjee, a second year student of Ramjas College, was declared as the second runner-up for slam poetry.
This was followed by a karaoke event which captured the audience’s mind with its melody and rhythm. This competition required the budding singers to sing their choice of song with the help of lyrics that were displayed on the screen. There was no instrumental or music support provided to them. Atharv, student of Hindu College, was declared the most melodious of all, the winner of the event and Divyanshu, another student of Hindu College, was declared as the first runner-up.
The fest faced a few hiccups on its way but it was a success at the end of the day.
Read Also: Are You Up for Fest And the Mismanagement?
Featured Image Credits: Ankita Baidya for DU Beat
Ankita Baidya