College Capers: Psychedelic lights, music and masti were all part of the action at Careergraph Rhapsody 2004 at Calcutta Medical College last week. Students from the city and beyond let their hair down to enjoy the offerings at the 58th annual fest of the college. Guest performances by two bands on August 25 evening (above) set the stage for what was to follow. Picture by Pabitra Das

The critical case some of our future doctors had to deal with last week was Careergraph Rhapsody 2004. The patient was masti. The treatment was enjoyment. The medicines and other remedies were music, quiz, dance and more. The net result was a successful outburst of energy and enthusiasm.

The doctors-to-be had let their hair down on the Calcutta Medical College campus from August 25 to 28 for the annual fest. Organised by the students’ union, it proved medical students, too, can freak out and have plenty of fun. The 58th annual fest of the college was sponsored by The Telegraph, Inscol Academy, Cafe Coffee Day, Temptation, Priya, UTI Bank, Nestle, Toshiba, Food Station and 107.8 Power FM.

The celebrations saw a huge gathering of several educational institutions including IIIT, NUJS, IEM and Calcutta University, as well as St Xavier’s, Maulana Azad, Loreto, Lady Brabourne, Asutosh and Presidency colleges. A few had even crossed borders to make their way to the event. To promote a spirit of mutual harmony, students from different colleges could team up with each other to compete in the contests. This was a unique concept for a college fest.

The inauguration on August 25 was followed by an odyssey dance and flute recital. After that was Hindi antakshari, in which 36 teams participated. The next event, scientific paper presentation, raised the IQ quotient. A panel discussion on painless labour followed, along with a medical quiz. Ending the evening on a musical note, there were guest performances by bands Byakoron and Insomnia.

A general quiz featuring 56 teams opened the next day’s programme. Next on the schedule was an English debate on “Power lies in the ability to harm and not in the ability to help”. Following this was the Hutch one-act play where six teams participated. The medley was next, comprising dumb charade, Vatiz and chaos quiz, with 31 teams up against each other. Fossils, guest band for the night, rocked the 1,200-odd audience.

August 27 started with a pre-clinical quiz, followed by Battle of the Bands and Made for Each Other. Couples expressed their love for one another, enacted several scenarios, drank from one bottle, played football and more. Krosswindz ended the day with a mix of Baul and rock music.

The last day of the celebrations opened its innings with the eastern solo competition, followed by choreography, western solo and prize distribution. Then was the Nestle DJ Night, giving Tantra and Incognito a run for their money. The social dinner party ended the event.

Asif Salam,
2nd year, Asutosh College

 

Culture and creativity

Beaming smiles, youthful vigour, music and dancing — all this and more was part of Sanskriti 2004, the annual fest of Hartley High School, held on August 18. The reading of the school report and the felicitation of the Madhyamik students and the two ESPN quiz winners Arya Datta and Sarbajit Mitra was followed by the main function, attended by Urmimala Basu and G. Arathoon.

The magic of Alibaba’s tale and the appeal of Red Riding Hood were relived. A rain dance based on nursery rhymes and another featuring the song Mera Rang De Basanti Chola were performed. A small skit on the sacrifice of Panna, the faithful nurse of Prince Uday Singh, also featured.

The senior section had organised a performance by the school band. Tagore’s dance drama Kalmrigaya, two creative dances in western and eastern styles, the Greek tale Pandora’s Box and a satirical Hindi play, Kalyug Ki Maya, where gods fear coming to earth especially during the Pujas as mortals might ask for bonus’ and holidays from them, were part of the programme.

Both guests spoke about the importance of co-curricular activities and taking education beyond the classroom. Urmimala Basu spoke of the ancient traditions of our education system, which rest on respect, service and tolerance.

Supratim Bhattacharya,
Hartley School

 

Digital original

Animated sets, photographic flashback, original storyline, script and music. A few firsts for a bunch of students. The play is about five friends who parted ways after graduating in 1994, pursuing their dreams and losing touch with each other. Ten years later, they meet up again. The why, what, when, where and how is the plot of Andrews ’94, which you can catch on September 10, at Gyan Manch.

The English musical, written and directed by Nirmalya Majumder, features original music composed for the play, although pre-recorded, and it’s the fifth original one to be staged in the city.

The young cast and crew are testing the concept of animated sets, too. They are digitally created, some with moving images as well. To add to the filmi feel, pictures will be used to recreate the flashback sequences. A look and feel-good effect is what they’re gunning for.

 

Global gathering

Beckoning all school passouts and college-goers eagre to get a headstart in life, the AIESEC information seminar at Kala Mandir recently was a good forum for ambitious youngsters raring to go.

Started in 1948 as an initiative to groom future world leaders after the devastation of World War II, AIESEC, spanning 84 countries and 750 universities, with a member base of over 25,000 students, is now the world’s largest student-run organisation.

President of AIESEC, Calcutta Chapter, Varun Bimani, a third-year student of St Xavier’s College, led the proceedings, explaining how the organisation, with its program of cultural exchanges, internships, global corporate communications facilities, personality improvement, development of global perspective and market knowledge adds a definite edge.

The enthusiasm and charisma of AIESECers Vinay Jaju, a final-year St Xavier’s College student, and Yusuf Rangoonwala, and a short skit by the members reinforced the relevance of AIESEC.

Supported by corporate giants like Lufthansa, PricewaterhouseCoopers, IBM, Citibank, Coca Cola and many more, and endorsed by personalities like Nelson Mandela, George Bush, Ratan Tata, Adi Godrej and Harsh Neotia to name a few, AIESEC provides young minds a window to a world of global opportunities. Curious questions can be addressed to 9830027084.

Madhumita Das

 

Footloose

Rhythm Divine 2004 was truly a success. Organised every year by the event-management group EIFUS, the inter-college dance competition is one of its kind in Calcutta. Dance groups from city colleges compete for the crown of best choreography team. The event was staged at Vidya Mandir, with 10 teams sweating it out for the top spot.

The programme started in style as the professional dance troupe Broadway took the stage for a complimentary performance. They also put in sizzling appearances during breaks in the competition. The host for the event, Shakil Ansari, had the audience in fits of laughter with his jokes.

The competition was divided into two rounds and the final five were chosen. Most colleges put in fine performances. For those who made it, the tension re-surfaced after the initial euphoria. All the teams had the audience cheering at the show of talent.

The judges acceded that the contest was close and tough. The Presidency College dancers came in third, impressing one and all with their versatility to a Michael Jackson number and a Punjabi mix followed by an Arabian tune. The girls from Jalan College were second, who had marvelous coordination to some popular Bollywood tunes. St Xavier’s College was declared first amidst much applause. The all-girls team put up a scintillating show. The star of their performance was Kaustavi, a trained Odissi dancer who took everybody’s breath away as she performed on skates. The event was telecast on TV on August 28.

Sarit Ray,
2nd year English hons, Presidency College

 

project report

What happens to Harry?

Harry Potter’s creator, J.K. Rowling, teased young fans about what the future has in store for the young wizard during a reading at the Edinburgh book festival recently. The Guardian newspaper reported that the author offered only a tantalising taste of the answers to the riddles plaguing readers. She said there were two important questions she had not been asked about the series, which might help to unravel its mysteries. Rowling said fans should be asking “not ‘why did Harry live’ but ‘why didn’t Voldemort die?’.” The second cryptic question is: “Why didn’t Dumbledore kill, or try to kill, Voldemort?” At a public reading in Scotland after four years, the 39-year-old read from Order of the Phoenix. The first time in 1997, as Joanne Rowling, she had read to only 30 people. This time, she could have filled a football stadium. As to whether Harry will “grow up as a wizard”, she replied: “He will survive to book seven, mainly because I don’t want to be strangled by you lot, but I don’t want to say whether he grows any older than that.” However, she kept the title of her final book a secret.