Rapturous applause for rapper

The performance, which was the highlight of the fest, had a certain underground, warehouse feel to it. Baba swaggered on to the stage, part nostalgic, part excited and announced, “I miss my college very much, I miss my university. I want to be in college. That’s why every time I perform on campus, I become a kid myself.”
He performed crowd favourites like Maria Maria, K.R.A.Z.Z.Y and Ek galassi do galassi. The excitement was palpable as the students milled around the stage.
The performance was briefly interrupted when a student co-ordinator walked on stage and demanded that the gathering be seated.
“If you guys don’t go back and take your seats Baba  won’t perform,’’ she threatened. Much to her chagrin, the artist in question refused to humour her and took the students’ side, stating that while he had immense respect for the establishment, he thought the students should be allowed to have fun.
This endorsement by Baba was received with much enthusiasm by the students. The performance continued for a while but the college principal came on the stage requesting segregation of students. The girls were asked to congregate on the right and the boys to the left of the stage. Asked why, a group of girls said this was to prevent the boys from misbehaving.
The girls said that some of the boys were intoxicated and were being unruly. They were of the opinion that dividing the student on gender lines was a good thing because they would feel more comfortable surrounded by women.
Over all, the students didn’t seem very bothered by such interruptions or bad acoustics. They danced their way into the evening. “Baba represents, us people — the youth. He’s one of the best rappers in the country. The students are enjoying themselves very much and dancing like crazy,” said Chetan Noginahal, one of the student co-ordinators.