Events that struck a balance

This year’s edition of Bangalore University’s ‘Yavajanotsav Youth Festival’ recently took place at the Central College campus.

The three-day-long inter-college cultural and literary fest saw the active participation of students from colleges pursuing full-time courses at the university or from colleges affiliated to it.

Students attended from various parts of the City — from Seshadripuram College, Kristu Jayanti College, Sri Aurobindo First Grade College for Women, SJR College for Women, Jain Evening College, HKES SVP Degree College, BTL First Grade College and many others.

Day one saw events like group song, folk dance, poetry recitation, elocution, rangoli-making, cartooning and spot-painting. Day two included theatrical events like mono-acting, mimicry and one-act play, along with debate, quiz, poster-making and spot photography.

Day three focussed on the classical arts, with events like classical dance, vocal solo and even instrumental solo seeing a large number of participants.
What was interesting was that most of the students who attended this year had already participated in the previous editions of the fest. Almost every event saw a minimum of 15 to 20 participants, with only a few exceptions to the rule.

“I’ve made a traditional Maharashtran rangoli using a funnel, which is not made in the usual Karnataka style. Unlike the last few times where there were at least 20 participants, there are only seven people in the event this year,” says Chytra, a student of KLE College, who participated in the rangoli-making competition, adding, “But what is good about this fest is that it helps maintain an interest in traditions among the youth. In other colleges, the focus is more on Western events, while a balance is struck here.”

Another popular event was the group song (Western). One group that stood out called themselves ‘Signature’, which was an acappella group comprising students of Kristu Jayanti College.

“It feels great and is always exciting to keep coming back every year. In our college’s event calendar, this fest is a very big event and we practise and prepare a lot for the performance,” shares Lydia Rachel, one of the singers. “We won the competition last year and represented Bangalore University at the national level. We hope to take home the prize this year too,” she smiles.

Even for students with an interest in literature, the youth festival created a great platform to gauge where they stand. “The fest gives good exposure and really tests your talent among your peers. While competitive, it’s always fun to participate and meet students from different colleges,” notes Meghana Belavadi, a student of Seshadripuram College, who participated in the poetry recitation event.