Visages 2010 focus on ‘Indian cultures’

my report on visages (st joseph college's cultural fest) that never got published the way i wanted it to cause i suck :(

Assignment deadlines, internals and the various pressures of college life were the last things on the minds of the students attending visages, the two day college cultural festival held on February 13 and 14. Over thirty colleges participated, show casing their talents in the twenty three events that made up the mammoth festival.

Karnataka Sahitya Academy award winner and well-known literary critic, T.P Ashok inaugurated the event. He said, “Culture means different forms of life. It is a very large world and people have different ways of life, various food habits and culture. We can’t say certain cultures are superior or certain kinds of culture are inferior.”

“Today St Joseph’s College has given the youth an opportunity to represent the different cultures of India, making this ‘Visages’ a cultural festival with a difference,” explained Dr Farial Shaik, the cultural co-coordinator.

Twelve events and several ice breaker sessions kept the participants occupied on the first day. Advertising campaign, western acoustics and laugh out loud were the most popular events of the day.

Advertising campaign challenged the participants to inform the audience about an important social issue without making it overly serious and devoid of humour. Issues like trafficking of women, transgender rights, etc were some of the issues raised by the participants. The team from St Joseph’s College won with their portrayal of the ‘forceful trafficking of women’.

Western acoustic was the name of the event, but participants performed a cappella versions of the western songs they chose. “Good old acoustics is any day better than a cappella, but sadly all the participants sang a cappella,” said Dr Berin Lukas the judge of the event. The girls from Mount Carmel College (MCC) won the event performing popular western songs like Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Laugh out loud was both the last and most popular event of the day leaving the audience, ‘laughing out loud!’ The skit on ‘Pintu Mohan's life’, enacted by the team from St John’s medical college took home the first prize. Pintu Mohan is a fictional character created to parody people who are forced into studying medicine.

The last day of visages had eleven events and some more ice breaker sessions that made it just as interesting as day one. Western Solo, Songs of India, Personality and Dance of India were the events that received the maximum responses.

Western solo gave an opportunity to musically talented individuals to showcase their voice as well as their skill in an instrument of their choice. Steven Fernandes from St John’s Medical College won the event with his rendition of Bob Dylan’s famous number ‘blowing in the wind’. “I was actually supposed to sing a different song with my electric guitar but since it was not allowed I sang this song. I would like to thank the Josephites who ran around to find me an acoustic guitar.”

Songs of India called upon participants to perform regional songs which depicted the culture of India. Thatwa, a band from Christ University left the audience in awe with their harmonious blend of Indian classical vocals with western music. One performance was clearly not enough for the audience as they screamed, ‘once more!’ Manoj T P the vocalist of the band said, “We wanted to depict the culture of India in post modern times. Our Philosophy is to defeat negative western influences like capitalism using western ideas itself and that’s why we mixed Indian classical and rock music.”

However, it was the group from SJC that won first place with their rendition of a Manipuri song which also received much cheer.

The final Event of visages was dance of India, where the participating groups were required to depict Indian culture using the art of dance. Various regional dance forms like ‘tapang’ (street dance), Karnatic folk dances, etc, were performed by the participating colleges. St John’s College of nursing won the event, performing a Tamil Nadu folk dance.

“Visages was good as there were many new events which I never saw in other colleges. I also learn t new criteria of judging talent,” said Rosemary, a participant from St John’s College of Nursing.

Apart from the various regular events, ice breaker sessions like antakshari, Prof Xavier Prasad’s (department of social work) dance moves, etc added more life and enthusiasm to visages. Stalls offering food, mehindi, games, etc also catered to the needs of the participants. DJs Marshall and Vivian were at the heart of the festival’s success with their apt selection of music and clever one liners.

60% of my article was cut... life is sooooooo unfair.... but after reading i think u guys will agree with the editors decision :P


hope u guys are well... drink loads of water and sleep well :)