At the poster-painting contest of Aalap 2005. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Aalap ? tides of eternity was a Bethunites? dream cutting across generations. Since 2003, when it was given form, the cultural extravaganza has touched a thousand young hearts across the country. This year was no exception.

And as in previous years, this time, too, we received a warm response from other city colleges like Presidency, St Xavier?s and Medical College.

The creative writing competition on November 18, presented by Anandabazar Patrika, was on the topic ?On a circle, the end point is the beginning point?. The write-ups by the contestants proved that the unusual theme had been quite a teaser. The top three spots in Pen the Power (Bengali creative writing) went to Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission, Presidency College and NRS Medical College. Techno India, Scottish Church College and Bethune College won the prizes in the English version.

While students spent the entire day enjoying eastern vocal recitals, debates and an antakshari, the most exciting event was the Band Meet. The event saw energetic performances by various college bands. The host college and St Paul?s made it to the top two spots.

Later in the day, a Bangla band kept the audience on its feet with a few tuneful tracks.

Day Two started with Paint the Lily, a poster-painting competition in which participants had to express their ?moral dilemma? through their paintings. The students from Presidency and Asutosh College won the top honours in the event.

Next up was a quiz conducted by quiz master Parnab Mukherjee. Eight colleges out of 15 entrants made it to the prelims. The two hours of brainstorming left the students exhausted, but they enjoyed it a lot. NUJS, NRS Medical College and Delhi University bagged the top three prizes.

Both the poster-painting contest and the quiz were organised by Anandabazar Patrika.

Programmes on eastern vocals, skit, choreography and a guest performance by Chandrabindoo brought the dream fest to an end.

Jayantika Dey & Swarnali Biswas,
Bethune College

happenings here ?n? there

Around Town

Participants at Quizzenius, hosted by Birla High School (girls’ section) in association with TTIS, enjoyed every bit of the brainstorming at Vidya Mandir on November 22. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Math masterminds

War of the Minds, a mental arithmetic quiz, was organised by Education Junction Abacus at the Science City auditorium on November 13. The four to 14-year-old participants from across the city were divided into seven groups, each comprising 10 two-member teams. They were given a series of numbers and were asked to do certain calculations within seconds. The main highlight of the event was Kaun Banega EJ?S Mastermind, a take on the famous television show hosted by the Big Bachchan. The prize distribution ceremony concluded the event.

Sagar Sanghvi & Rahul Goel,
Class XII, MC Kejriwal Vidyapeeth

 

Talking films

A workshop on ?Crossover: its Different!? was organised by the Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication (SIMC) at Rotary Sadan on November 12.

In his address, Shyamal Sengupta, ex-dean of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute was of the opinion that Bollywood movies underwent a change post-1993 primarily due to the influx of a technically proficient breed of film-makers and support staff. The crossover movies have made their presence felt since 1998 as a result of the increased sense of self-commitment mainly on the part of the youth. He marked out new stories, new values and low budget as the defining characteristics of crossover movies and hailed Kaizad Gustad?s Bombay Boys as a trend-setter in this genre.

Noted singer Anjan Dutt harped on the point that a movie has to be made in the English language for it to be called a crossover. He reserved his praises for the emerging genre of independent movie-makers who do not depend on producers or the government for funds.

Speaking against the motion, Subhojoy Roy of Asutosh College won the debate on ?Are Indian films ready to crossover??. Rohini Ghosh of Gokhale College and and Nivedita Bhattacharya of St Xavier?s College were adjudged the runners-up.

A hard-hitting documentary, Khilawdi, on the tribes of Madhya Pradesh made by SIMC students was screened.

Arjun Chaudhuri,
MA, journalism & mass comm, CU

A student performs at a function held recently at the opening of a new building at DPS Ruby Park. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Theatre hues

St Xavier?s Collegiate School on November 10 hosted Rangotsav 2005, an inter-school Hindi drama competition.

As Xavier?s had won the contest in the past two years, many were expecting a hat-trick. As the contestants were getting ready, emcee Rahul Dey entertained the audience.

The themes of the plays revolved around social issues, while some were comic in nature.

Loreto House was first to take the stage followed by Birla High School for Girls, whose play centred on female infanticide. Calcutta Girls? presented laugh riot Maidan-e-Cricket, with various characters testing their commentary skills. The play by Frank Anthony Public School focussed on the ill-effects of daily politics in India.

Lakshmipat Singhania?s Insaniyat Ki Bhik spoke of communal unrest in the society. Through Jadoo, MP Birla showed how sheer confidence and motivation can produce success. Majboor by St James? told the tale of a 16-year-old boy who had turned into a terrorist following communal riots.

The home team portrayed how the conflicting sides of a man wreak havoc on his life through Sikka. La Martiniere for Boys put up a satire with hit Bollywood numbers like Kajrare and Bunty aur Babli as background tracks.

At the end of the competition, Calcutta Girls? and Loreto House were declared joint winners of the Best Script award. Akhilesh Gupta from Xavier?s won the Best Director award, while teammate Anshuman Bagri bagged the prize for Best Actor. Overall, Calcutta Girls? stood third and Loreto House, second.

As anticipated, St Xavier?s won the top honours for the third successive year.

Joydeep Roy,
St Xavier?s Collegiate School

 

School proud

The Interactors of Chowringhee High School did their school proud by winning laurels at a worldwide meet of Interact clubs held in April in Argentina.

Organiser District Interact Council of Rotary International, Dist 4870, had previously asked the school to submit details about its projects. The results of the competition was declared last month.

The school?s Interact club bagged the first place in the categories of education for the underprivileged and health through medical camps. It came second in youth services.

The Interact Club of Chowringhee High School celebrated World Interact Week from October 31 to November 6 with a number of programmes.