South Calcutta Law College hosts first offline fest Atharva 2022 post-pandemic

Football, debate, music and dance — Atharva 2022 at South Calcutta Law College had it all. Students from Asutosh College, Hazra Law College (Department of Law, Calcutta University) and Ballygunge Science College (Calcutta University) joined in the fun and competition.

The triannual event hosted by the students’ union of South Calcutta Law College was the first fest to be held offline since the campus reopened in January 2022.

The fest kicked off with a fiery football league, Soccer Mania. Ten teams from various colleges played knockout matches against one another. The top four teams — Hazra Law College, Ballygunge Science College, Gariahat Industrial Training Institute (Gariahat ITI) and Tollygunge Industrial Training Institute (Tollygunge ITI) — qualified for the semi-finals. The team from Ballygunge Science College was crowned the champion after a gruelling match against Gariahat ITI.

The second day saw students participating in Cross Examination, a debate competition; Banglish Medley, a solo singing competition; and Bring It On, a solo dance competition.

The motion of the debate — ‘Section 498 A of the Indian Penal Code is a Gender Bias Law’ — was thought-provoking and made students ponder over the different sections of the Constitution and the fundamental right to privacy. The team from South Calcutta Law College won the debate, with Hazra Law College in the runner-up position. Jishnu Datta, a second-year student of Hazra Law College, secured the first position in the Best Speaker category, while Wahiba Anwar, a third-year student of South Calcutta Law College, and Shreyan Sarkar, a third-year student of Surendranath Law College, stood second and third, respectively.

From Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kathak to contemporary, the Bring It On stage saw dances of all genres. Kohinoor Dutta from Asutosh College won the competition. Anju Dutta and Paramita Sarder, both second-year students of Gariahat ITI, bagged the second and the third positions.

Participants of Banglish Medley performed folk songs and semiclassical medleys that got the audience humming. Arpan Dutta, a second-year English student of Naba Ballygunge Mahavidyalaya, was the winner, followed by Rohit Malick, a third-year BA General student, in the second position. Chitrani Paul, a third-year English student at Asutosh College, finished third.

The fest drew to a close with a live concert by singer Silajit Majumder and his band.