Martial Masks!

On January 15th 2011, the Cultural Committee organized ‘Martial Masks’, which was a rendition of Chhou dance from Purulia, West Bengal.
The event was organized in collaboration with SPICMACAY, which is the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth. SPICMACAY is a voluntary, apolitical, participatory student movement which aims to enrich the education process by exposing students to the rich cultural traditions of India. In the thirty three years of its existence, SPIC MACAY has opened more than 300 chapters, both in India and abroad and it organises more than 2500 programmes every year in schools and colleges. Our alliance with SPICMACAY has indeed been a successful one, what with Pandit Chaurasia’s performance last year, and Martial Masks this year. And we are of the hope that it will continue to be so.


This year, due to highly unfortunate circumstances we could not host the Manganiars from Rajasthan. Instead, we were given the opportunity to have the Tarapada Chhou group, a team of 18 men from Purulia, who performed for us ‘Mahishasura Mardini’, the legendary tale of the slaying of Mahishasura by Goddess Durga. The rendition of the story, which most of us are familiar with, in a dance form which is an infusion of tribal, folk and classical dances and martial arts, was nothing short of interesting.
The audience, who mostly consisted of students and faculty from NUJS and certain representatives of SPICMACAY, were left spellbound and honoured the humble artists with a well deserved standing ovation.
The evening was brought to an end with an introduction of the Tarapada Chhou group, along with an address to the students by Mr. Kanak Sankar Mukherjee, one of the organisers from SPICMACAY, who brought our attention to the artists, their skills and the kind of humble lives they lead, imploring us to keep in mind the finesse we witnessed that evening and to respect and work for the survival of every such cultural form that makes our country the wonderful place it is.



The event was a success despite many hurdles, and it was possible only due to the untiring efforts of the members of the Cultural Committee, the organisers from SPICMACAY, the ever enthusiastic volunteers, and a wonderful audience.

[For more pics of the event, please visit Creative Genes, managed by Vivek Kumar, one of the most brilliant photographers you will come across.]

(as penned by Varsha Bhattcharya, our co-convenor who emceed the event)

Ayodhya, a train trip and lots of memories

When NALSAR invited us for Summons 2010, their cultural and literary fest, not many who could share their experience of Summons with the new contingent were around. It had been quite a few years since we had last been in Shameerpet for a cult fest.

The looming Ayodhya verdict at almost the same time added to the apprehension. I had to handle frantic calls from worried parents wherein I was told a number of times that I wasn't a parent yet and as such it wasn't easy for me to understand a parent's anxiety. Well, I almost felt like one that day notwithstanding that I am only in my third year of college. Wishing them all the luck and giving almost parent like advice, we bade the contingent farewell and what happened thereafter was a roller coaster of a ride on which Vineet Bhalla and Gagana NV take us:


In spite of the fact that most of our parents kept on rambling about how the looming Ayodhya verdict might lead to riots and bandhs and that it wasn't safe for us to travel all the way to Hyderabad just to take part in a college fest, we all went ahead for Summons anyways. Most of us were first-years going to their very first college fest, and nothing could dampen our sunny spirits, not even a potential battle between religious fundamentalists and the danger it posed to our lives!

Since we had an early train to catch, we had been instructed to be ready with our luggage outside by 6 a.m. sharp. True to NUJS spirit, the entire contingent was out only by 6:50, after urgent phone calls to the two main culprits who kept us all waiting for so long, Shruthee and Gagana. We bid our good-byes and boarded the fleet of taxis that had come to pick us up, kicking off the journey in right earnest.

Some of us were honored and some (unfortunately) scandalized to have the DC committee, i.e., 'Daru and Cigarette' committee accompanying our Summons contingent. Other than terrorising the NLU-Orrissa kids in the train, the DC club also effortlessly kept the eunuchs away. And all through the train journey, Chick-magnet a.k.a. Vaibhav was trying furiously not to blush in view of the fact that he was reunited with his dearest, ahem…’friend’ after a long time. Highlight of the train journey though was ShooMon Da’s spectacles flying away from his face and out of the bogey door (only his glasses could have pulled that off!!) as a result of which ShooMon Da became, er, visually challenged for a whole day-and-a-half. The eventful 26-hour long train journey ended once we reached Secunderabad, and a two-hour long bus journey later, we were left standing outside ‘Celebrity Resort’ in the middle of wilderness. Even though our 30-member contingent had to squeeze into the three-bed room (15 into one room, in case of the first year guys) villa, none of us complained much because, well, there was air-conditioning!!

While everyone else was unwinding and resting, the determined-to-see-the-sights-of-Hyderabad-while-they-could fivesome of Shoumendu, ShooMon Da, Bhagi, Bhalla and Yash sneaked off from the villa to Hyderabad. At that time trivial matters such as commuting back from Hyderabad to our resort-in-the-middle-of-nowhere at night didn’t strike their genius minds. As it turned out, they got stuck in Secunderabad for two harrowing hours while returning, running after buses and autos in the middle of a heavy downpour and begging and pleading them to drop them near our villa. After some 268 blunt refusals of this humble request, one noble autowallah finally helped them out of their ordeal. Back in the villa, the rest of the contingent members were busy threatening to sue the owners of a nearby restaurant for illegally charging extra tax on the dinner (We are budding lawyers, after all!).

The fest didn’t start on such a high note for us, what with Sidhaant, who was registered to take part in poster-making competition, disappearing minutes before the event was supposed to start and pissing everyone off by turning up late (Pulling off such shenanigans throughout the trip didn’t exactly get him brownie points from the rest of the contingent). Arnab turned up wearing a t-shirt that said ‘Hey Gunjan ! Where’s your roommate?’ to annoy a ‘special someone’ who happened to be a NALSAR-ite. The numerous food stalls that abounded sold some pretty ordinary food at inflated prices (the rolls there were half the size and double the price of what one gets in good ole’ Kolkata).

Coming to the competitions, the first of the four challenges for the Theatre team, the Movie Spoof, was scheduled early up on the first day. The plotline for this had been conceptualized during the train journey by Shashvat and Bhalla, and the former had written the entire script the previous night only. Still, the fact that we came first means that a) the judges must have really liked our heady concoction of Inception, Twilight, Kaminey, Ghajini, Dabangg and Taare Zameen Par, and b) our theatre team is pretty damn good.

No one in our contingent had planned to take part in Solo Dance, but Avichal bravely volunteered to participate in order to earn our contingent some participation points. We all felt bad for the chap, for he had not prepared anything, and would be dancing unrehearsed. But he stunned everyone with his mind-blowing, impromptu performance to 'Khai ke paan Banaras wala' and walked away with the second position. Surely the story of the fest, his victory provided us not only with merry cheer, but also a great moral boost. Avichals’s promise of a grand treat to us all remains unfulfilled, but that’s another story. A guy from NLU-O, who also had his birthday that day, came first. Due to this, most of our contingent got friendly with him, wishing and congratulating him in the hope of getting a birthday-first prize double treat. When that didn’t seem like materializing, we showed our true colors and gave him a small dose of the NUJS B’Day Celebration, Boys Hostel style!

Sreya and Sidhaant, apart from sharing a 'joking' relationship with each other, possess very, very creative hands. They teamed up and came first in all the fine-arts events except for cartooning. That's because the cartoon strip which they, along with Gagana, drew was a very upright and hilarious comparison of the curfew timings of NUJS and NALSAR (the curfew timing of NALSAR being 7pm!). Obviously it didn’t go down very well with the judges.

The Symbiosis contingent, our main competitor, was huge, with more than 50 wannabes. There was a lot of banter between us and them, most of it of the not-very-polite variety. This kicked off a series of highly entertaining and intense tussles between NUJS and Symbi and the competition turned fiercer and fiercer every minute, culminating in a bitter face-off on the final day between the two contingents that almost turned ugly.

Brassic bhai, our 'elusive' contingent leader ('elusive' because he used to go missing every time someone needed him) and ‘renowned’ rapper won the hearts of every NALSAR-ite with his remarkable performance (in which he spoke very highly of NALSAR) during the Western Solo competition. On the DJ night, we had to make do with a terrible excuse for a DJ who had no sense of music at all. He kept playing boring songs to which no one felt like dancing (I mean, who can dance to the Mario background theme??). But we danced and enjoyed anyways.

Our street play, with a Naxalism-based theme, was a huge success and very well-received by the audience. Every single member gave a power packed performance. Swaroop, who played a mentally and physically handicapped villager, actually moved some of the audiences to tears! (Nah, just kidding! But he was pretty much awesome). The Stage Theatre event provided us with two images that we will probably never forget: One, of Shashvat playing a gay Yamraj, Yammi, complete with Bhalla’s ridiculous yellow-and-red pajamas; and two, of Bhalla, who had already played a girl in the Mad Ad, taking it a step further and donning a proper sari for the role of Rakhi ‘Saawan’! Looking very lovely and feminine, he attracted many wide-eyed stares and even requests for his number from some NALSAR guys! (OK, I made up the last bit, but whatever, the guy wore a SARI, for God’s sake!!)

Other than that, Shruthee got lucky in Tambola and earned 400 bucks (we’re awaiting a treat from her too), although the Tambola game will be remembered more for Brassic Bhai’s impressive dive towards the caller with a full house claim that proved to be a bogey! Bhalla, on his third college fest within five weeks, won the creative writing contest, much to the delightful surprise of everyone, including himself. He claims to have written a ‘psychological thriller’ on one of the stipulated topics, ‘Man in the Towel’ (We don’t believe him either). D aka Divyanshu, Bhagi and Shashvat cleared the Dumb Charades prelims by guessing a book, a movie and a famous figure, all within 25 seconds. They ultimately came second in the finals.

Besides all these victories, there were some other fun moments too. Like the Group Dance Competition, during which the crowd oohed and aahed for Pranav, Krishanu and Antara who enthralled the audience with their impressive stunts and of course dance! Or the Paper Dance, in which Bhalla and Shruthee did admirably to reach the fifth round, wherein Bhalla could only stand with one foot on the paper with Shruthee perched on his shoulders. At this point Bhalla’s foot, like his mouth, proved to be too big for his own good. In 'Race Against Time', Shruthee, Gagana and Sidhaant ran around the campus like mad dogs searching for stupid clues. In the Parliamentary Debate, Khosla set it up quite nicely only for Gaind to mess it up (As it is, there’s no love lost between the two). And when no one wished to participate in the Hairstyling Competition, it was ShooMon Da who valiantly stood up, picking an unwilling Vaibhav ‘Chicky’ Verma as his muse. Suffice to say, the resulting hairdo was anything but pleasing to the eye.

The last day, though, belonged to Madhav ‘Slowhand’ Khosla, who was part of all three NUJS victories that day. First, he won Turncoat. Then, he virtually carried D and Bhalla along with him to the first place in the Entertainment Quiz. And in the evening, he came second in the Mastermind-style quiz. The fest finally concluded with a mesmerizing performance by Lucky Ali and his band, which had a very pretty 19-year old as its lead guitarist (with her and three wives, Lucky certainly deserves his name!) In the end, Symbi won the best contingent award, much to our dismay, and we came second best. Still, we did pretty well for ourselves, and could manage to feel proud about our exploits in NALSAR.

Looking back at Summons, we won’t only remember it for the seven first places or the five second places that our contingent got. We will also remember it for many other priceless moments, such as the idle frolic and the stupid games invented and played with friends during marathon train journeys; the group singing sessions during our bus trips, tirelessly orchestrated by the first-year CR, Akshay; cramming up 12-13 guys to sleep in a room with just two beds
; fighting for who gets to use each of the three bathrooms next while getting ready in the mornings; all the guys literally jumping like a pack of wolves on the food that Shruthee brought from her friend’s place; cheering and shouting and goading and applauding each other during the various competitions, and feeling so proud and happy for each other and for the fact that we’re Noojies. The euphoria of winning, the disappointment of losing, the gossiping, the laughing, the hard work put in those practice sessions and much more; these are the memories of what was, for many of us, our very first college fest that we will cherish. To sum it up then, there were some periods of lull, but on the whole, Summons was great fun.

SAMAGAM 2010- A Fun Filled Experience

Loreto College held its annual fest Samagam from 16th to 18th September 2010. The theme was Retro-Forever Young, and the college buzzed with life and excitement right from day one. The fest comprised a wide range of events from Elocution and Quizzes, to competitions like Shoe Designing and Documentary film-making. Other interesting events included Comic Strip Designing, Record Designing, Pac-Pac (Gaming), Basketball and Table Tennis.

Although NUJS participated in the Loreto fest for the first time, participation was extremely enthusiastic.Teams were sent for Sargam (Eastern Music), Code Breaker (Treasure Hunt) and the Amal Ghatak Quiz, among many others. NUJS won accolades for its participation in the events, and was placed among the top three in several competitions.

From yelling support for NUJS teams from the audience to repeatedly getting lost in the campus, all of it was surprisingly enjoyable. By the virtue of being an impromptu participant of Code Breaker, I ended up interacting with quite a lot of students from Loreto. They were extremely friendly and a lot of fun (contrary to popular belief!), and we would have definitely not managed to figure out Code Breaker without them.

Honestly, the fest was quite entertaining and provided a platform to NUJS students to show case their talents in various fields. As the fest came to close, it felt like a multitude of experiences had been compressed into a few days and I headed back to NUJS with memories of an amusing, fun-filled three days.


(By Antara S. Priya)

Grooving To The Beats

The Cultural Committee organized the audition for the NUJS dance team in the auditorium on the 17th of September, 2010. A total of 13 participants had the crowd grooving to contemporary, western and classical music. The event was compeered by Varsha Bhattacharya from the 3rd year.

The judges were Abhisaar Bairagi from the 5th year and Anurag Mehta from the troup Bone Poppers. They chose a total of 8 participant. Khushi was adjudged first followed by Sanya and Sreerupa.
The catch of the evening was however, Anurag’s dance which left the crowd cheering and asking for more.

As always the enthusiasm of the students who came to watch this event kept the spirit alive and made it a very colourful event. The audition was a fun event, a major break from the mundane NUJS routine.


(By Khushi Kejriwal)

High Drama!

Venue : NUJS Auditorium

Time : 4 pm

It was not an ordinary Wednesday evening. The queue in the mess for evening snacks was also not as long as it is on ordinary Wednesdays. After all, the whole college was gearing to witness one of the most awaited events of the year- the Theatre auditions. The auditorium was jam packed with enthusiastic spectators who knew very well that they are up for an extravaganza.

The curtains were raised. First came a pumped up group comprising of first years, who spoofed on various events and persons related to the college in the form of a news report. They did not spare anyone , right from Biju da to the faculty members. The audience did not take time to connect to the skit and were in splits. Then came another group of first years, who ended with a note that a pet cat can give rise to a bunch of problems. The play was appreciated by the audience. And third in the line was our own ‘Gabbar Singh’ of the movie Sholay, enacted by a talented Vaibhav Verma. His execution of evergreen dialogues like ‘kitne aadmi they’ left the audiences craving for more. The spectators were now treated by a skit performed by a group of first and third years. Pipo and his brigade spoofed on various Hollywood villains and even though they admitted that the script was prepared a day before the play, their performances denied this fact and they acted like pros. Next was a solo performance by the talented Vineet Bhalla, who played a janitor who is in for some fun. The theatre resonated with applauses when his act came to an end. However, the last performance by Madhulika Bose was the one that grabbed the attention of one and all. No one moved from his or her seat. Her enactment of a lawyer burdened with work and frustrated with life was brilliant and she got a standing ovation from the crowd.

After this performance, the curtains were pulled down and the judges critically appraised the performers and explained to them where and how they could have improved upon their act. The judges for the event were Amoolya Narayan from the 5th year and Deborshi Barat, an alumunus who is devoted to theatre. After that interactive discussion between the judges and the performers, it was time to call it a day. But all left with a resolute mind , that next time they will put in their 200% and come out with an even better performance.



As reported by Arjun 'keen eye for detail' Bhagi

Crooning Away to Glory!

The robust extra curricular environment in NUJS demands of various committees affiliated to Students' Juridical Association (SJA) the selection of University teams that represent the college in various competitions throughout the academic year. This ritual is to be completed within two months of the formation of the new committee. The youngest committee (what else can one call it with the average age of committee members being 19.25 years?!!) took the task seriously and finished the job (yes, i said JOB...we take it very seriously but then at the same time it is loads of fun. Don't trust me? Well, ask any of the people who have been there, done that) in 1 month & 5 days!!

It all began with University Team Selections for Vocals (Eastern & Western). D. Divyanshu lays out the details:


With the guitars perfectly tuned and the voices modulated to the right pitch, one could easily sense the nervousness especially among the first years for their first ever vocal audition for the university vocals team. Obviously this was not just any audition; we had actually got amplifiers for it with the whole auditorium rigged. It was supposed to be a big thing, well at least that’s what we would like to contemplate. But contrary to my expectations the turn up was quite good. How could I have ignored the fact that music is so intrinsically instilled inside every noojie (I am still trying to get used to this word!) I was late for the audition. I was supposed to play the guitar for couple of my friends and to the utmost horror of the audience I did show up. As I entered into the auditorium, the amped up guitar resonating in the stairway, and the first singer Shomendu of second year singing ‘In Dino’ from the movie ‘Life in a Metro’ and with adequate use of my common sense I figured that the eastern rounds were on.

The second singer Siddarth Tiwary of second year sang a song which one would call the latest chart topper, a song from a movie which oozed with femininity, Aisha. Expectations played an important role in the audition with many experienced singers who had represented NUJS in numerous fests expected to sing well. Then came our turn, the so called fresh meat of the college. Numerous positive interaction sessions had established the fact that Amritesh was a fantastic singer and now was his turn to prove it. We stepped on to the stage, and in no attempt in being poetic I would like to state that the floodlights did blind me. I could see Amritesh was nervous. I was offered the jack which I readily declined knowing pretty well that connection my guitar wasn’t the smartest option. With the microphone at a safe distance from my guitar we started the song. Amritesh’s voice soon captivated the whole audience and we scraped a pretty decent performance. With the song done, us back in our seat, content that we did not make a fool of ourselves we were now ready to critically analyze everyone.

The next singer Vivek Kumar of third year encompassed the whole stage while singing obtaining full marks for stage presence. Then it was first year Abhilaksh Gaind’s turn with his rendition of ‘Aye Khuda’. Rajshree of fourth year sang classical, brilliantly. Arjun Bhagi’s (first year) loud and emphatic voice along with Yash on the guitar did justice to the song Bhula Do. When we thought that the eastern round was over, there was an enthusiastic and impromptu performance by Rishabh Mishra of second year. He performed Shankar Mahadevan’s Breathless (he sure was breathless after every two lines).

The judges for this round were Yathindra Dev and Nikhil Joseph, unarguably masters in their field.

The western round was judged by Amoolya Narayan and Vishnu Sriram, who require no introduction; Unlawful Assembly- the two words say it all. This round began with a bang with a patriotic rap by Ashwini a.k.a Brassic Bhai, and the rapper almost falling off the stage. The lyrical content was strong enough to set ablaze the whole auditorium with a sense of patriotism. The next singer, Neha Mathen of first year truly rocked the show. Her voice enthralled each and every one in the auditorium and people were awed by her. Nidhi Rao was a pleasant surprise. Amritesh Jha again bedazzled the audience with John Lennon’s Imagine. Suvesh and Joachim of first year was an incredible pair. Rajshree of fourth year gave a superb performance as she sang ‘My Immortal’. And finally Tanvi Verma of first year took to the stage to and gave a wonderful performance. The auditions were almost wrapped up when the audience began chanting a name which can be heard in almost every public function, the omnipresent Charu was requested (forced to the stage would be a better interpretation of the act) to sing Last Christmas, which she did sing, sportingly enough, for about 30 seconds. She was well within time limit. And with that ended the search for the greatest singing talent in NUJS who would rule the fest circuit with their remarkable voices, if not at least we got our vocals team for the year. On that note (musical or otherwise) I would end this entry.

Independence Day Celebrations

15th August, 2010: India became independent on this very day and as a consequence we had our task cut out. Since the country got independence, cult com had no option but to get their act together. Well, we were up to the task and we had no option, because we wanted to work and make the events lined up for the day a success. All members were enthusiastic and the first years were a little too excited as this was their first event ever in college as members of the committee (and even otherwise, for that matter).
The day began with flag hoisting and an inspiring speech by Professor Basheer. From the pillar of justice, we moved to the auditorium for the Inter Batch Singing Competition.

Here is an account of the fun filled details of the Competition by Pragya Gupta:

On the occasion of our 63rd Independence Day, the Cultural Committee organised an inter-batch group singing competition. Keeping in mind the spirit of the occasion, all the batches chose to sing some form of patriotic songs. The competition was scheduled to be held in the auditorium immediately after the flag hoisting ceremony. It was judged by Professor Shamnad Basheer.

The first years started off the event with a mellow ‘Bharat humko jaan se pyara hai’ and ended with an energetic and vibrant, ‘Kandho se milte hain kandhe’.... thus effectively setting the mood for the day. Their performance was followed by that of the second year batch who sang ‘haan yahi rasta hai tera’; from the movie lakshya; to the accompaniment of a guitar. The dulcet tones of their piece and the chords struck on the guitar were in sharp contrast with the vibrancy of the medley the first years had sung. Meanwhile the audience was having a great time cheering for their batch mates and providing them with a rhythm and encouragement by clapping along intermittingly.

The third years’ performance came next. Their performance was a metaphor for a united egalitarian society, the song being ‘yeh taara’ from the movie ‘Swades’. The performances were gradually getting more and more intense.... with the ambience affecting the participants. The next to come up on the stage were the fourth years. Their performance was a brilliant composition which flawlessly blended songs of different tenor and languages. They started with ‘Jaage hain ab saare’ and continued with the FIFA World Cup sensation ‘Give me freedom’. They also had flags waving onstage which made theirs an eye catching show.

The last performance for the morning was made by the outgoing batch, the fifth year students. They outdid all the other batches in enthusiasm, vigour and numbers too! It seemed as if half of them were onstage and still they coordinated very well. From vocalists to instrumentalists, all seemed to be having the time of their lives! They sang ‘Woh sikandar hi’ from the movie ‘Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar’. And they did emerge to be the ‘Sikandars’ of the college! They grabbed the first position, closely followed by the fourth year batch. Second years were awarded the third position. The last two positions went to the third year batch and the first year batch respectively.

That wasn’t the end of it though.... at the insistence of the students, Professor Shameek Sen sang ‘Chhodo kal kee baatein’ to a resounding round of applause! By the end of the very successful event, it seemed as if the students were high on the very patriotism in the air! Thus the day started on a very patriotic and lively note, which set the tone for the entire eventful day to come.

Hungry Noojies (no breakfast!) filled up the mess after the competition. Food was doled out and after the delicious brunch, an apparently satisfied junta left the mess. The spirit however was not missing, and a motley group of boys started singing patriotic songs from the fifth floor of the boys' hostel (or men's hall of residence as per the NUJS website)

Kite flying organised by LCAS took place next and then it was time for the hugely popular Tug of War. The following is Tanvi Verma's version of the event.

On the 63rd Independence Day, the Cultural Committee organised the much anticipated Inter-Batch “Tug of War” competition in association with the Mess Committee which started at 5 in the evening and went on till 8 at night. The event proved to be a huge success with almost every student pitching in to support their respective batches.

By draw of lots it was decided that the First years would play the Fourth years and the Second years would play the Third years in a Best of Three competition. Each team was supposed to have fifteen participants including a minimum of five girls. The first round (First years vs. Fourth years) was won by the first year students by 2-0. The second round (Second years vs. Third year), which was a closely fought competition, started off with the Third years drawing the first blood. However, the Second years came back strongly to win the next two matches thereby reserving a place for themselves in the finals. It ultimately came down to First years vs. Second years. The electric environment and the commitment shown by the participants, who were charged up and preparing for the kill, ensured that the spectators/supporters were guaranteed a fiercely competitive yet fun filled finale. Breaking from the tradition, the event was won convincingly by the First years by 2-0.

A friendly match played between the winners and the Fifth years, which was won by the Fifth years, marked the end of a very eventful and exciting day. All in all the inter-batch competition was fought in good spirit and at the end of it everyone enjoyed themselves.

A fitting salute to a great day! :)