Good response to the lit fest

Overcoming barriers

Sahithya Sindhu Vaibhava, the first literature fest of Sindhi College, was held with great enthusiasm and pomp on the campus recently.

Spanning Kannada, Hindi, English and Sanskrit, the day-long extravaganza saw City colleges like Kristu Jayanti, CMR Institutes, Bishop Cotton Women’s Christian College, HKBK Degree College, Christ University and SSMRV take part. Some of the popular events among the students included the scene enactment from Shakespeare, Sanskrit quiz, Kiru Nataka (Kannada play), Bhagavad Gita recital competition, group folk dance, humourous Hindi drama etc.

An art and culture exhibition was also held, where the literary and art works by students of different colleges were displayed for all to see. With the campus decorated with rangoli and straw huts at every entrance, the corridors of the college were transformed into a village scene, complete with folk dancers running around in their colourful costumes. “We performed a traditional folk dance with some modern elements added to it. It was a supportive and energetic crowd and we had fun representing our college,” said Geeta and Chandru, participants from SSR College.

Hajira, a student of St Anne’s First Grade College for Women, said, “I participated in the Shakespeare skit and performed a scene from ‘The Taming of the Shrew’. We only prepared for a week but I think we pulled it off because the crowd clapped for a long time after we were done. The audience was encouraging and the volunteers were really helpful. We’d love to come back next year too!”

Padmavathi, the English lecturer and fest coordinator, was surprised with the response. “The idea behind the fest was to bring out the significance of language and literature. Four language departments came together to make this possible and for the first edition, having 60 participating colleges was overwhelming! The costumes in the plays and number of students who participated in the Sanskrit quiz were amazing. Next year, we’ll spread out the fest over two days and include more events,” she said.