Over the years varsity students have come together to celebrate free writing on the internet for the space it offers. Living the tradition, many platforms have sprung up in various colleges in the recent past. These platforms are essentially transforming the way in which writing as an art form operates. Here are some of the creative writing platforms that started at Delhi University and are now running successfully at a national level:
1.) An Inception
An Inception
This platform is a brainchild of a bunch of students from Motilal Nehru College and aims at covering all the creative writing forms at one platform. It has sections on health, poetry, short stories, campus news and lifestyle with the poetry and short stories sections being the most consistent ones. The facebook page of the website has regular updates and anecdotes too.
2.) Thinkopolitan
This platform was started together by some students of Hindu College and IP University. It celebrates free writing and responsible expression. Major sections on the website include literature, poetry, short stories, politics, photography and cartoons. The website is also associated with Youth ki Awaaz, a major online platform in the country. What’s distinctive about this platform is its ability to include photography among other creative fields. The authors at this platform hail from across the country.
3.) Born of a Million thoughts
Born of a Million Thoughts
Started by a student of Lady Shri Ram College for Women, BOMT is the newest of all the platforms at the varsity but is growing at a fast pace. This platform is fairly diverse and has content ranging from interviews of eminent personalities to personal accounts of students. It also has sections on poetry, fashion, entertainment and food. Moreover, you are most likely to find a BOMT correspondent at every major festival in the city.
With musical spirit on a high, Day 2 of Nexus’16 flagged off with music in the air with the Indian vocals group competition – Alaap on 4th March 2016. The competition saw participation from 13 teams belonging to various DU colleges among which Geetanjali, Indian music society of Miranda House out shined others by bagging the 1st position followed by Daulat Ram College bagging the 2nd position.
Follwed by the Indian Vocals was the Street Dance competition, held in the Audi Lobby, which saw many power packed performances. The crowd went wild with applause as the performers pulled seemingly impossible flips and stunts. The judge Mr. Arjun, from PSD – a street dance project, finally declared Zest from Dayal Singh College as the winners followed by CVS streets team in the 2nd position.
However, the range of events lined up at Day 2 didn’t end with this. Day 2 was full of myriad solo events which also included Western Dance (Solo) Competition. More than 25 participants registered who had about five minutes to present their performances. The event was judged by Mr. Shivank Chauhan and Mr. Sanjay Batra, both professors at the college. Manpreet of School of Open Learning as declared the winner while Sanjeevani of Zakir Husain College and Surbhi of Deshbandhu College were declared as the Runner’s Up.
Following the Western Dance (Solo) event was the Western Music (Choir) Competition which saw nine teams participating from all over Delhi University. The event was judged by Mr. Aftab Bose, a graduate from Swarna Bhoomi School of Music. The event was in the Acappella format where teams were given a maximum of 12 minutes to bring forward their presentations. Zephyr, the Western Music Society of Kamala Nehru College bagged the first position followed by the Western Music Society of Lady Shri Ram College for Women at the second position.
Zephyr-The Western Music Society of KNC emerged as the winners of the Western vocals group competition at Nexus’16.
Rejoicing their win, Raya Dhar, Piya Podder and Kriti Mamgain of Zephyr said, “We were treated as underdogs for quite some time. But we kept working hard and it has finally paid off. The underdogs are now getting recognised!”
On the solo event front, Indian Vocal Solo competition, organised by Alaap, witnessed performances by 8 participants, each accompanied by an instrumentalist. The first position, being a tie was won by Bineet Singh (GTBIT) and Saptak Chatterjee(Hansraj College). Likewise, the second position was shared by Swaradhana (DRC) and Saayon (DTU). Among the variety of events, the film making event saw Alex Arthur from SRM University bag the first position while Effulgence from Venky grabbed the second spot. You can catch up the winning entry here.
A ‘Duo dance based on theme’ event was held with a total of 7 teams participating from various colleges of Delhi University. Aishwarya and Raghav of Sri Venkateswara college bagged the first position followed by Umesh and Ankita of Satyawati college with the second position. The winning team performed a fusion between Kathak and Bharatnatyam and the event was judged by Mrs. Kodhai Nayarayan, a Bharatnatyam exponent.
Day 2 of Nexus drew to a close with a soulful Sufi rendition, with the much awaited performance by the Nizami Khusro Brothers, who energised the audience with popular renditions like Allah Hu, Kun Faya, Kajrare and many more. Sufi night was followed by Razzmataz, the Western dance event, which saw Miranda’s Tanz winning the first spot while Maitreyi’s Zeal was adjudged as the runner up team.
Action for Animal Welfare (AAW) is an apolitical, non-profit organization co-founded by Shreya Gandhi and Saachi Bhatia, students of Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University.
AAW was set up with the objective of generating awareness about the legal rights of abandoned as well as domesticated animals. It aids various animal welfare organisations and small shelter homes to raise funds and works as a space for young policy makers, environmentalists and enthusiastic animal lovers to share their views on animal protection and suggest fruitful policy changes.
Very recently the NGO organised a cultural event called ‘Potpourri’ at Bandstand, Hauz Khas, to raise funds for animal welfare organisation. It had multifarious activities like slam poetry, interaction with spirited novelists and music performances to keep the crowd engaged. It was their first large scale event which helped them raise approximately 20,000 for a good cause.
A performer at Action for Animal Welfare’s cultural event, Potpourri.
In the past they have conducted two collection drives – at Sri Venkateswara College and Lady Shri Ram College for Women to help stop the shut down of Friendicoes, a Delhi-based animal welfare NGO. A total of 120 articles in the form of blankets, old collars, rice, milk, biscuits, antiseptic liquids etc. were collected and successfully donated.
They had also conducted a protest march in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations (FIAPO) on International Justice Day to demand legal rights for animals and a street play was organised at Panchsheel Colony to spread awareness about the harmful effects of crackers on animals during Diwali.
They are working harder every day to help animals out of the sheer love they have for them.
“We had begun our initiative around March 2015, post our exams. We have seen our organisation grow from just the two of us to over ten volunteers that work with us today. Right now, we are focused on expanding our organisation by aiming to provide ground force to more NGOs. We also want to help the smaller shelter homes which may be run by individuals just out of pure compassion for animals by providing them with volunteers, financial aid or any sort of help they require” said the co0founders Saachi Bhatia and Shreya Gandhi.
The events included athletic events, chess, archery, shooting, lawn tennis, badminton, basketball, volleyball and table tennis, with participation from both men and women across ten sporting events. LSR, in fact, is a pioneer in this feat, by being the only women’s college which hosts a tournament catering to both men and women. From the very commencement of the tournament, adrenaline ran high, and the excitement was clear on the faces of both the participants and the volunteers. The tournament began with an opening address by the current NSO President and international swimmer, Vandita Dhariyal. Justice Gita Mittal, alumna and ex-NSO President gave the chief guest’s address. An interactive yoga display, a musical performance by the LSR Western Music Society and a dance performance by Eshna Kutty followed, pepping everyone up for the upcoming matches in the various events.
Men and women battled it out in their respective match-ups, which spanned across sports as well as the sexes- the table tennis match witnessed a mixed doubles match, embodying the spirit of egalitarianism. As formal matches spanned out, volunteers ran to make the tournament smooth sailing. As Ms. Meenakshi Pahuja, Assistant Professor,Physical Education, Lady Shri Ram College, noted, “In the entire college, the biggest engagement is that of the volunteers. Even students in the college with no sports background participate and help us.” The event had truly entered the arena of non-sportsmen also, as the Cricket match that was held for the non-teaching staff, and the Faculty games proved. At an informal level, a soccer tournament was also held. The winners for various events included Dayal Singh College (morning) for Shot Put for men, and Tanya Sharma from the host college for women. The first place for Singles Lawn Tennis was bagged by Rohan Punj and Bhavya Wadhawan, who are both from SRCC.
As the NSO President of Lady Shri Ram College, Vandita Dhariyal said, “Dr Bharat Ram Open Sports Meet is an event which captures the sporting spirit of young aspirants. We try to give a platform to everyone who comes and wants to display their skill. Our theme is to keep the sportsperson in you alive.”
Stuti Pachisia
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Lady Shri Ram College for Women hosted its Annual Cultural Fest, Tarang ‘16 from 5th to 7th February, 2016. Amidst a huge footfall on all three days, the star catches of the event were performances by East India Comedy; Jochen Miller, the first international performer in LSR’s history and the band Agnee for final showdown on day three.
Day One: Inauguration, Indian Music Competition and East India Comedy with The Local Train
Day 1 began with a series of events and competitions ranging from the quiz competition and photography exhibitions to informal events and tote bag painting sessions. Among the formal events were Women Development Cell’s, Lutalica, following the concept of soliloquies which was won by Neha Diwan and Simran of LSR.
The Indian Music Society hosted Malhaar, the classical solo competition and Sugam, the semi-classical/light solo competition. The first prize in the classical solo category was claimed by Alish Mohan of Hindu College. In the semi-classical category, Gurdit of GTBIT bagged the first position.
The other events spread across the campus were photography competitions: Emakimono, Projektions, Spot On and Kairos. Projektions was won by Alex Arthur of SRM and Ishaan Sengupta of Motilal Nehru College. With these, a parliamentary debate competition, Stage Play Competition and Hindi Poetry Competition was also hosted. Informal events like ‘Taste test’, ‘Beg borrow Snap’ and Art Exhibitions managed to gather a huge crowd.
The highlights of the day were performances by East India Comedy and the band, The Local Train. Sourabh Pant and Sahil Shah of the former led the crowd into an almost-hysterical fir with their witty remarks on names of DU Colleges and how the canteen in LSR needs to be called Cafeteria. The Local Train played the tunes of their compositions like ‘Aaoge tum kabhi’ and ‘Bande’, drawing the curtains for day one.
Day Two: Battle of Bands and Choreography Competition
The Indian Music Society kick-started day two with the Indian Music: Choir Competition. A total number of 23 teams participated out of which 11 were shortlisted for the final round. The first position in Indian Music (Group) category was bagged by Hindu College.
With this, Projekt, the photography society of LSR held the Silent Film Making Competition, Musidora. ‘Tangent’, of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College was declared the winner. The Quiz Society hosted The India Quiz where Apratim Chandra Singh (St. Stephen’s College), Jayant Verma (Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies), Bishal Kumar (Department of Buddhist Studies, Delhi University) won the event.
The Battle of Bands, on purely western format and ‘Amalgam’, Fusion Band Competition were a huge attraction. Amalgam was won by The Hans Raj Projekt of Hans Raj College, while Kirori Mal College’s High Time claimed the first position in the Battle of Bands.
#Live: High Time, KMC are the #winners of the Battle of the Bands event at LSR’s fest #Tarang!
Mudra, the Classical Dance (Solo) Competition was also held in the auditorium which saw a total number of 24 participants. Annanya of Daulat Ram College was declared the winner in this category.
As the Sun closed the horizon, one could observe long queues of spectators outside the auditorium, awaiting the Choreography Competition, Izraz. A total number of seven teams participated in the event which was eventually won by Srijya, the Choreography Society of Hindu College which rightly gathered the maximum praises from the jury and audience alike!
Srijya, The Choreography Society of Hindu College. demonstrated themes of vengeance through their performance at Izraz…
The most awaited event of Day 2, the EDM Night brought with itself a huge footfall where the ground was witnessed to by jam-packed with enthusiastic audience. DJ Sameer, Aerreo and Jochen Miller’s foot-grooving beats ensured each person in the audience was left enthralled and ecstatic.
Day Three: Fashion Show, Western Dance Competition and Star Night with Agnee
Day three at Tarang ’16 started with exhibition of drama skills at ‘Nukkad Natak’, the street play event. ‘Pitch Please’, the Western Music Competition on Acappella format saw 15 teams participating. The auditorium reverberated with beats and musical notes as the teams performed their pieces meticulously. Kirori Mal College was declared the winner of the event.
Along with Pitch Please, the fashion show competition Anarchia- Breaking Stereotypes took place. The competition witnessed a participation of 7 teams, with the winner being Hans Raj College. There were many other events like TV Show Quiz, Turncoat, and Elocution. The Indian Music Society also hosted a duel competition called Jugal Gaayan.
While most events culminated before dusk, the Western Dance Competition, Daila continued till early evening. This was one of the most awaited events of the entire fest, a fact which was evident by the long queues that waited for entrance into the auditorium. Misba, the Western Dance Society of Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce claimed the first position. Their performance was acclaimed both critically and by popular opinion.
The Western Dance Society of SGGSCC, Misba
Following the western dance event was the Star Night where the band Agnee performed their popular songs like Aahatein and Yaariyan. A performance that was equally mesmerizing and enthralling, the three day extravaganza Tarang 2016 ended on a musical note and with zeal and happiness dripping from the faces of union members and faculty of the college.
The final day of Lady Shri Ram College for Women’s Tarang 2016 had multiple events lined up all day. While most events culminated before dusk, the Western Dance Competition, Baila continued till early evening. This was one of the most awaited events of the entire fest, a fact which was evident by the long queues that waited for entrance into the auditorium.
Daila was judged by Mr. Rohit Raj of the Brooklyn Academy and Ms. Blossom D’Souza who trained at Dance Works Performing Arts Academy. A total number of 9 teams participated. The audience was enthralled with the multiple energy-fused performances that took over the stage. Every performance enraptured the judges and spectators alike.
Harshita, of Misba, the Western Dance Society of Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce said, “Our practices were really hectic and we had a very long day today. Despite all odds, our performance went great. We love to perform in LSR and the energy of the audience inspires us to perform well.”
It was vivid that the judges agreed with them since Misba bagged the first position in the event followed by Sri Aurobindo College and Sri Venkateswara College in the second and third position.
Following the western dance event was the Star Night where the band Agnee performed. The popularity of Agnee and the exhilaration of their fans was evident from the fact that the audience for the Star Night was the highest of all three days. And the band did not disappoint their fans and sang all of their favourite numbers including Yaariyan, Aahatein and Saaware.
A performance that was equally mesmerizing and enthralling, the three day extravaganza Tarang 2016 ended on a musical note and with zeal and happiness dripping from the faces of union members and faculty of the college!
Day 3 of LSR Tarang 2016 started off on 7th February with a non competitive event, Nukkad Natak. A total of 8 teams participated. The jury consisted of Pallav Kumar, Director of Manthan, and Sonalini Kumar, Professor of Political Science.
Pitch Please, the Acapella competition opened with Ashoka University’s performance. The judges included the members of ‘Nouveau’ – Sherry Matthews, Ritwik De, and Subatra Kamat, who work together in a music initiative called ‘Nouveau’. The last judge was Apoorva Gandhi. 15 teams participated in the competition, and it was hosted by the Western Music Society. The winners of the competition were Kirori Mal College with Sri Venkateswara College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies as runners up.
The judges said that every team had their unique style, and performed well. Special mention was given to teams from Amity University, DTU, and Delhi College of Arts and Commerce.
Along with Pitch Please, the fashion show competition Anarchia- Breaking Stereotypes took place. The competition witnessed a participation of 7 teams, with the winner being Hans Raj College. The judges of the competition were Kamla Bhasin, Vikramaditya, an LGTB rights activist and Ms. Ishita from the Department of Sociology, LSR.
Team from Sri Venkateswara College performs at Pitch Please
There were many other events like TV Show Quiz, Turncoat, and Elocution. The Indian Music Society also hosted a duel competition called Jugal Gaayan.
The college now gears up for the star night featuring the music band Agnee.
Day 2 at LSR’s Tarang ’16 started off with the Indian Music (Group) competition, Sangam. A total number of 23 teams participated out of which 11 were shortlisted for the final round. The jury for the event comprised of Vivek Bhola, a Hindustani Music Vocalist and Maitreyee Mandal, Assistant Professor of English at LSR.
Debashree Basu of Kamala Nehru College said, “As soon as we got on the stage, we could feel the enthusiastic vibe and we knew the competition shall be tough. Every year, the colleges are setting a higher bar to compete with!”
The first position in Indian Music (Group) category was bagged by Hindu College. The second position was shared by Gargi College and Daulat Ram College. Sri Venkateswara College stood at the third position.
Hindu College Collective
With this, Projekt, the photography society of LSR held the Silent Film Making Competition, Musidora. ‘Tangent’, of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College was declared the winner, followed by ‘Ghosts in the Machine’ of St. Stephen’s College. The Quiz Society hosted The India Quiz where Apratim Chandra Singh (St.Stephen’s College), Jayant Verma(Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies), Bishal Kumar (Department of Buddhist Studies, Delhi University) won the event.
With festivities on, there are many events happening all across campus. Battle of Bands managed the gather the maximum crowd. Events like Satyrday, Elocution and Cane Workshops were a huge attraction too.
LSR is gearing up for the EDM Night where DJ Sameer, Aerro and Jochen Miller are all set to perform. Stay tuned for live updates and glimpses of celebrations across campus.
Team Tarang for Day 2: Arushi Pathak Shagun Marwah Shaina Ahluwalia Tooba Towfiq Mridul Kumar Chirag Sharma Alex Arthur
Tarang 2016, the annual fest of Lady Shri Ram College for Women kicked off on Friday, 5th of February and will continue till the 7th. Day 1 began with a series of events and competitions ranging from the quiz competition and photography exhibitions to informal events and tote bag painting sessions. As the day progressed, more and more people started filling in to attend the various competitions, events and the ongoing food fest at Tarang.
Follow us on Snapchat for behind the scenes action and commentary (ID: dubeat)
There were many events for poetry, writing, photography and music lovers. Some fine examples of the same include ‘Lords of Words’ organised by Expressions, which saw around 30-35 participants and the results of which shall be announced on the last day of the fest. The creative writing society and ‘Slam poetry’, where Anagha Gopal from St.Stephen’s college won first position.
Women’s Development Cell of LSR organised Lutalica, an event revolving around the idea of soliloquy which saw 9 teams as participants. Neha Diwan and Simran came first, followed by Trisha amongst the winners of the event.
With this, Prakriti, the environment society of LSR hosted Block and Tackle. Among other events were Tote Bag Painting, In-house exhibition and participatory exhibition.
The Indian Music Society hosted Malhaar, the classical solo competition and Sugam, the semi-classical/light solo competition. The first prize in the classical solo category was claimed by Alish Mohan of Hindu College, followed by Binit Singh of GTBIT. The third position was bagged by Swaradhana of Daulat Ram College.
In the semi-classical category, Gurdit of GTBIT won the first prize, Sheetal of FoM was on the second position. The third prize was shared by Shreehari of MEIT and Harjot of SGTB Khalsa College.
The other events spread across the campus were photography competitions: Emakimono, Projektions, Spot On and Kairos. Projektions was won by Alex Arthur of SRM and Ishaan Sengupta of Motilal Nehru College. With these, a parliamentary debate competition and Hindi poetry competition was also hosted. Informal events like ‘Taste test’ and ‘Beg borrow Snap’ were also held.
Many events were still underway when the crowd started preparing and proceeding towards the main stage where East India Comedy and The Local Train are all set to perform.
One knows that the fest season is nearby if you clear either one or all from the following checklist – diving into your wardrobe to find out that perfect outfit for the day, making an array of phone calls, desperate for arranging that one pass for a hassle-free entry, and spending a sizeable amount of time strategising, “Of course, I will manage to find my way through the crowd and shake hands with the pro-night star. Right?”
The fest season has finally arrived and it’s time to equip ourselves because it promises to be greater and grander. In the season of firsts, Lady Shri Ram College for Women’s Tarang ’16 deserves special mention – for those who aren’t sure why, it was the first inter-college fest organised in the University of Delhi. Find some warmth this winter weekend as LSR brings to you a cultural extravaganza on the 5th, 6th and 7th of February.
With events ranging across dance, music, drama, photography, quiz, elocution, creative writing and debate amongst others, Tarang has received an enormous amount of registrations so far and they continue to pool in as we inch closer to the fest. All competitive events are a striking mix of conventional and unconventional, and the attempt is to cater to diverse interests. Tarang has an exuberant list of artists for its pro-nights of which DJ Sameer, Jochen Miller and Aerreo are set to perform on day 2, and Agnee for day 3. Informal events will also be held across all three days, through which one can not only enter the fest but also experience the good vibes.
With the pre-Tarang events and contests doing the rounds across social media, the excitement is surely kicking in. A series of crossword contests were recently held, the winners of which were given passes for all three days! The days to follow will bring with them more such opportunities. With over 150 colleges invited, this is the first year of Tarang going national.
