JOIN USIn this age of college festivals riding high on big money, loud music and a sense of competition, here was a university fest which celebrated creativity and togetherness.
Located in a beautifully serene campus in Kashmere Gate, Dr BR Ambedkar University saw the second edition of its annual fest – Audacity, spelled as Aud@city 2012. While dance, music and art programmes were a part of it like any other college fest, the emphasis was on original thinking which the university claims to encourage. Also, the open and jovial relationship which the students and teachers share here, was a noticeable feature at the festival.
In contrast to other established varsities, Ambedkar University is only three years old. Enthusiastic students here tell us, “Last year, the first edition of the fest was done on a small scale. This time, we invited students of different varsities like Jamia, DU and IITD to make it much larger. The aim was to put AUD firmly on the map of varsities in Delhi, to spread the message that AUD has arrived.”
They continue, “Since this varsity has a lower cutoff, people think that we are all DU-rejects. The fact, however, is that AUD has its own identity. It has a four-year interdisciplinary graduation system, there is more emphasis on projects and field work, and the teachers are young and experimental encouraging us to think out-of-the-box. We have all made a conscious choice to be here.”
“To highlight the same, we named our fest ‘Audacity’ and have designed each event to be more creative, different inspite of being the same as in other fests.”
Indeed one could tell that a lot of thought and effort has gone into it. None of the programmes were held in auditoriums, but in open spaces – alleyways, under banyan trees etc. Chinese lanterns were hung from trees across the campus giving a nice festive look. Walls were painted with pictures like a girl student feeding a puppy – a common sight in colleges, big headphones blaring music, funky autorickshaws etc. providing a personal touch of the students to the fest.
There was the power-packed street-play competition ‘Hullabol,’ energetic dance contest ‘Mashup’ and music competition combining choirs and bands true to their tagline
‘Symphony and percussion.’
Film screenings and photo exhibits, which are the drabbest part of a college fest, were, surprisingly, the finest example of creativity here. The exhibition ‘Delhi Unplugged’ wasn’t held in a furnished gallery, but in an under-construction part of the campus. The pictures were held together by strings and clips against bare brick walls. The films were also screened on a white sheet in the same under-construction complex.
When everyone thought the fest is over, suddenly appeared a Flash Mob of students grooving to the beats of ‘I like to move it, move it;’ and then, to everyone’s surprise, the VC Prof Shyam B. Menon also joined in.
Kartikeya Jain, studying Sociology here, explained, “You see, we have no hierarchical system in AUD. Due to our interactive and interdisciplinary study system, there is no divide between departments or the graduation and Masters students. Even the teachers are very friendly. That is why we are different. That is why we are students of AUD and proud to be so.”