Sanskriti - Day 1

 

Sanskriti - Day 1 13/9/22

-By Om Khandeparkar

Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MCOPS) inaugurated their prestigious cultural fest, Sanskriti, on the 13th of September, 2022. The much anticipated event for all pharmaceutical students of Manipal kicked off with a lamp lighting ceremony and a wonderfully sung invocation song in the P. Gundu Rao Hall in the MCOPS campus, signifying that an experience that cannot be missed would soon begin. After a short but scintillating speech from the principal of MCOPS, Dr. C. Mallikarjuna Rao (below left), the organizing committee beckoned the Chief Guest of the event, Mrs. Shobha U Kamath (below right), to say a few words. As Chairperson of the Cultural Coordination Committee, she would go on to speak about the importance of nurturing the culture of Indian classical dance and music, via the hosting of various events that propagate a heritage that should never be lost. 

After the Vote of Thanks was delivered by Ms. Bhavana V. Bhat, the events were officially declared to have begun. The assembled crowd quickly dispersed to find the best seats available in the four rooms where the games would be held. Tensions were high among the participants as they geared up to give it their all against their college mates turned competitors.

The participants of the ‘Classical Dance Solo’ event were anxiously pacing outside NLH9, waiting for their slot to be announced, practicing their moves in the meanwhile. One-by-one, the dancers would take the stage, the sound of their ghungroos echoing in the room as their feet collided with the floor. The vibrant outfits standing out against the white walls of the hall, the jasmine flowers weaved into their hair and their traditionally elaborate makeup made it seem like they emerged straight out of the Natya Shastra to give the audience at MCOPS a bedazzling show. Dancers performing various iterations of Bharatnatyam, Kathakali and Pushpanjali would have 5 minutes to showcase their talents to the judges. Madhuja Sen, who would go on to win second place, performed an Odissi dance called Dashavatara, an emotive display of the 10 avatars of the Hindu god, Vishnu. The grand prize would be won by Manasa from 1st Year M.Pharm.

On the same classical theme, Room 108 hosted the classical vocal solo event. With their melodious voices the participants serenaded the audience and the judges alike. Once again Manasa showed here supreme talent bagging first place.

Extempore, being held in Room 124, was an event in which participants were given a topic for which they had to make a compelling argument, orate their opinions and utilise a wide lexicon of words, all within a certain time limit. Using their words as weapons, contestants would pace the stage and deliver a speech to a panel of judges. Topics like online education, empathy and being human would be discussed with great fervour. Yashas, Samyukta and Aarthika would go on to win the podium prizes.

Diagonally opposite to the Extempore event were a room full of cartoonists and comic enthusiasts who would be waiting with their pens poised, hovering over their papers, waiting with baited breath for the judges of the Cartooning event to give them the topics. Soon enough, the panel would ask them to create a cartoon emphasising one of the following themes: Role of Pharmacists in Covid, Climate Change, Forced Labour. Diya Dinesh, Shantanu, and Nikita & Vishwaraj ended up being the contestants whose love for cartooning would result in them winning the event.

 

The Stand-Up Comedy contest was held in room 106. As soon as one approached within 10 metres of the room, the sounds of laughter emanating from the walls would be enough to draw you in out of sheer curiosity. An audience bursting at the seams from the jokes and anecdotes being told onstage, gleefully savoured the competition.

Nobody would be spared a laugh as Ishwari Mahalle, Shradhanjali Ghosh and Shruti & Anshuman; the winners of the event would pull out all the stops to make their spectators go home with tears in their eyes. After the event I had a word with Shradhanjali Ghosh, who relayed to me about their passion for making people laugh and about how excited the college was for Sanskriti.

Day 1 of the fest would culminate with the Western Vocal Solo event, where participants used their mellifluous voices to please the ears of the assembled student population. A beautiful, rhythmic symphony of voices would sing a large variety of songs like Dance Monkey and Castle on the Hill but the prizes would eventually be swept away by Aditi Dhawan, Daksha Shetty and Jenice.

As the throng of students left the gates of MCOPS behind on their way home, their exhaustion was superseded by the sheer excitement of participating in a cultural event like no other.

Picture Credits- Rithvik Vibav and Sumeda