Umang, the annual three-day inter-college fest organised by Bhawanipur Education Society College, in association with t2, from December 19 to 21, saw students from 30 city colleges compete in a wide variety of events from the gritty street play to the glam fashion show.
This year’s theme was Angels vs Demons — The Spirit of The Youth. “The theme is of utmost importance for a college festival as it should be trending with the current scenario and students must be able to relate with it,” said Shreya Kapoor, head of operations, Umang 2014. One of the most awaited events of the fest was the Mr and Ms Umang contest, where the most talented and charming duo is selected as the winners by judges. Sharique Ali, a third-year accountancy and finance student of Bhawanipur College and Rhea Popat, a third-year fine arts student of Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri College were declared the winners.
Other competitions like War of the DJs and Stand-up Comedy attracted a big crowd.
“Preparations began a quarter of a year before. We carefully select students good at organising and co-ordinating to form the organising committee. Every year we aim to introduce new programmes at the college. We are starting a student exchange programme and the first will be with France. We are also introducing mountain trekking trips,” said Dilip Shah, dean of student affairs.
Sharique Ali of Bhawanipur College was the star of the fest. He walked the ramp, sang songs, acted in a street play and cracked people up with his stand-up comedy act. No wonder he bagged the Mr Umang title! “I do theatre where mimicry and singing are a part of my training. I have never learnt anything professionally. My ultimate aim is to take up acting, both in theatre and films,” said Sharique.
Rhea Popat of Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri College was judged Ms Umang 2014. She won the judges’ heart with her confidence. She also wowed them with her moves to Gulabi aankhen from Student of The Year. “I’m in complete shock because I wasn’t expecting this. It’s great to represent my college and win this title. I’m sure my college will be extremely proud,” said Rhea.
Sarica Israni, a third-year BCom student of Bhawanipur College, danced to Choli ke peeche kya hai and had everyone cheering for her. “Even though I didn’t win the title, I was close enough, which makes me happy,” said Sarica.
Kushal Mehra, a first-year BCom student of Bhawanipur College, had the girls screaming till they lost their voices, stunning even the judges. The Kunal Kapoor look-alike walked the ramp in style for the fashion show and melted hearts singing Gulabi aankhen.
The winning fashion show team from Bhawanipur College — (l-r) Tanveer Hassan, Sharmin Naseem, Karan Bedi, Divyanjana Ghosh, Md Salman, Imtiyaz Haque and Vikram Jeet Singh — was on cloud nine. Sharmin, a first-year BCom student, won the best model title. “I would love to get into modelling. I understand that the glamour world is extremely difficult and requires intense training and hard work. Once I achieve my academic goals, I will start working towards evolving as a model,” said Sharmin.
Lopamudra Mondol Saha (left) and Veenit Jain (right) — ex-students of the college and judges for Mr and Ms Umang — with Dilip Shah, dean of student affairs of the college. “We are looking for talent, and not good looks. Your face doesn’t determine how deserving you are. The only thing we took into account while making a decision is the participants’ talent,” said Veenit.
“I have been handling the functioning of certain events. I’m running around handling the judges, participants and technical people. It’s not easy but it’s worth all the effort. I never knew my batchmates were so talented. I’m getting more energy to work just looking at them,” said Manikant Sharma, a second-year BCom student of Bhawanipur College.
“I’m here only to support my friends. I know how hard everyone has worked to bring this together. I’m very happy with how the event has unfolded. I’m in a celebratory mood myself because of the atmosphere here,” said Aditi Saha, a first-year BCom student of Bhawanipur College.
Astha Modi
Pictures: Anindya Sankar Ray
