Cultural extravaganza, DU style

Delhi University’s first annual festival Antardhvani 2012 saw a host of competitive events on dance, music, photography, street plays, sketching, debates, creative writing, rangoli making, and movie making using cell phones during the four-day long event that began March 2.

Inaugurated by Chief Minster Sheila Dikshit, Antardhvani kicked off with a group musical event ‘Songs of India’ in which five colleges competed.

‘Moksha’ group from Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences created a fusion of various languages with their performance of the popular track Dhoom Pichak Dhum by Euphoria. Moksha received a huge round of applause for their efforts. Hindu College’s ‘Alankar’ performed a bandish called Chal kokila madhumaas aaya which spoke of the ongoing spring season. A Punjabi qawwali ‘Kaabewali Gali’ presented by ‘Sabtab’ of Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma (ARSD) College was given thunderous applause by the audience which related to its lyrics and rhythm.

The group, which included one girl who performed the qawwali, used traditional instruments like tabla and harmonium instead of the more popular synthesizer. They brought out the dilemma of a person who has to choose between his love and God. The creation was based on Raga Bairagi, also known as Raga Bairaga Bhairav which is based on the South Indian Raga Revati. A group member and II Year student Gauri Saraswat later mentioned that they decided to perform a qawwali instead of a classical track because the latter requires more time.

“If you want to perform a raga really well, it involves preparation over time. Preparing for a qawwali is slightly easier.” Other two groups ‘Rishabh’ and ‘Surveen’ from Dyal Singh College (evening) and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce respectively presented Ragas Gujari Todi and Miyan Malhar.

But there was more to Antardhvani than Songs of India. Concurrent events included street plays; Ad mad - an event involving impromptu creation of advertisements; painting, choreography and photography competitions. The preliminary rounds having been completed in February, the finals saw 900 participants from all over Delhi during a span of four days.

Another major attraction was the 54th flower show at Mughal Gardens (not to be mistaken with the Mughal Gardens in Rashtrapati Bhavan) at Sports Complex in North Campus. The annual flower show coincided with the first cultural festival of the Varsity and drew a sizeable audience.

For students, this festival means an additional break from studies and a chance to interact with various talented students of other colleges. “We spend about one month preparing for our college festivals. One more festival of all colleges under one roof means an extended break and some more days of fun,” said Akshay Kartik, a first year student of Kirori Mal College.