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When enthu cutlets sizzled
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The usual bunch of guys came to check out the gals. But it was colour, crowds and competitive spirit that marked Scintillations, the annual Jyoti Nivas College festival
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A style statement at Scintillations. -- Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
JYOTI NIVAS College's annual cultural extravaganza was marked by unlikely occurrences. While entering, a young foreigner thrusts a booklet proclaiming the greatness of Jesus into my hands. "Repeat after me," she whispers, "Jesus... ". The second word is lost in her quiet lisp. Jesus saves? Jesus heals? Jesus forgives?
On the way out, a fashionably rustic open-top pink car draws crowds around it. Two MCs — male and female — blare into loudspeakers the wonders of Levi's Slim Fit jeans. These jeans can make even plump girls look slim, we are told, as youngsters mill around the MCs trying out impromptu contests and spot quizzes.
Mega events
Lodged in between these two extreme events is Scintillations, JNC's annual three-day extravaganza. An assortment of stalls have sprung up near the entrance selling baubles and trinkets; both handmade and shop-imported. Long skirts, homemade chocolates, handmade bracelets and even a stall for braiding hair.
Although crowds were inevitably drawn to the big events in the shamiana-covered ground, the stalls managed pretty brisk business as well. At noon on day one of their stall Red Bus being set up, Wendy Kapadia says they sold about Rs. 500 worth of trinkets priced at about Rs. 25 each. "We made them ourselves," she said. "It took about one day to do."
The festival averaged about one big event a day with the Antakshari, fashion show and rock show (featuring local bands Yellow and Audiophile) acting as crowd pullers. In between was a litany of literary, dance, creative and personality-based events.
St. Joseph's College of Arts and Science won the overall degree trophy and St. Joseph's P.U. College won the P.U. trophy. "Jyoti Nivas was `non comp' (non competitive) as it always is," explains Christy Cherian, Student Body President. "It's not really a disadvantage, since we have enough to offer and play hosts, so we don't really lose out on anything." What was new this year was the theme — life under water, `Get Submerged'. It shows a marked deviation from the usually geographically oriented themes of previous years, such as "Go East" or "Mexicana". "We had lots of colour in the dιcor and toony characters setting the mood," explains Christy.
The festival drew some 15 participating colleges and roped in sponsors such as Globus and Amoeba, but unfortunately there was no main sponsor this year.
Scintillations comes on the eve of larger festivals such as IIM(B)'s Unmaad and Mount Carmel College's Cul-Ah, but Christy maintains this was not the main drawback to rake in the Rs. 2 lakh they had as budget. "The real disadvantage is that our fest is in December, by which time most sponsors have closed their budgets. Also a lot of them are more keen to sponsor in kind rather than cash," she says. "But we make up the margins through entry fees and so on to cover the difference. Thankfully, we have been fortunate and haven't faced a problem till now."
Festive spirit
"The greatest thing was that we actually managed to pull it off," says student-organiser Mary Madhuri Alexander. "We started off with a lot of ruckus and the usual technical mishaps; we were pulling our hair out from the follicles, but at the end it was really worth it. Everyone I was with thoroughly enjoyed the festival... the ambience was great, there was good music played throughout, constant shows and no weird things occurred (surely a worry for every girl's college fest!)."
Of course, there were "the usual bunch of guys who came to check out the chicks," says a student, "but the crowd was great, despite many engineering colleges keeping away because of exams. Everything went really well."
Student energy
Spontaneous students, ready to rush on stage during the Antakshari, chanting slogans during audio tests and springing out of their seats with options during the various rounds carried this energy with them through the festival; money might not have poured in but enthusiastic crowds certainly made up for it.
HEMANGINI GUPTA
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