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On a burger binge
THE BURGER eating competition at Shristi, the Ethiraj culturals,...err... threw up a lot of surprises. The girls chewed, chomped and swallowed ... um... manfully. Battling heavy competition, the winner managed to rise far above her frantically swallowing peers by gobbling three burgers in... hold your breath... just three minutes. "She looks so thin! How in the world did she do that," went around the surprised audience like an awed Chinese whisper. Apparently, what they say about not `judging a book by its cover' holds true for waist sizes too.
Onto the bigger Shristi events. The dance competitions had the crowd (made up of 10 women's colleges) yelling, screaming, hooting and probably giving the college's more-nervous neighbours the most frightening two days of their lives. The Women's Christian College, which performed a Michael Jackson number for the Western Dance Competition, moon walked away with the first prize thanks to their well, obviously well rehearsed dance routines. (The awed judge reportedly said "there were eight girls on stage, but they were so well synchronised I saw only one.") However, the real thriller for the evening was actor Bharat (of boys fame) who attended as a special guest and ended up clambering on stage and showing everyone how to dance like a pro.
The college also introduced a new competition this year - Fusion-Folk dance, a welcome break from the terribly passé western-Indian fusion category that's been done to death.
The MGR Janaki college girls wowed everyone with an incredibly professional performance, in this category by bringing together Poikkal Kudarai and Karagattam with Kerala's graceful martial art Kalari.
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THE MISRIMAL Navajee Munoth Jain Engineering College at Thorappakkam was abuzz with activity last week when it's fifth set of students graduated with an impressively inspiring ceremony. While the student's cultural show provided the colour for the evening, clearly, the chief guest Minister for Sericulture and Textiles Government of Karnataka H.M. Revanna's speech made the most impact.
Reminding the students that they have a debt to society, Revanna stressed on the need to "accomplish your responsibilities to yourselves and others in the community."
But what made him a chief guest with a difference was the fact that he chose to be brutally honest, instead of taking the `roses all the way' route: "And when you awaken to the clarion call, you are going to meet disappointment, injustice, betrayal and irreparable loss. You will find you're weak where you thought yourself strong. You'll work for possessions and find they possess you. But you need to come out of the shroud rationalising the culture of success and explore the light that is beyond darkness. The power lies in you..."
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THE ICFAI Business School organised a one-day seminar on `Contemporary Issues In Human Resource Management'' last week, bringing in professionals to give the students and insight into why there in a conflict of interest between a company and its personnel. The speakers, who used real life examples and case studies, discusses how people are a company's greatest asset - but can also become a company's biggest problem if mismanaged.
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THE CITY'S students seem to have spent most of last week listening to inspired speakers. At the Justice Basheer Ahmed Syed College (JBAS) for women, the girls attended a day-long seminar organised by JBAS, in association with the United States Public Affairs Department of the United States Consulate.
Dr. Manikumar of M.S. University in Tirunelveli discussed the role religion plays in the American way of life and traced the growth and spread of Islam, explaining how many Americans have switched religious demarcations at least twice in their lives.
Margot Badran, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Muslim-Christian understanding, Georgetown University, explained the concept of Islamic Feminism and how "the vibrant global discussion of the Islamic Feminist movement is giving rise to new understanding of Islam in terms of equality and justice in the U.S.
SHONALI MUTHALALY
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