Keeping in mind this month’s theme, I will start by acknowledging that though there is a physical space crunch on campus, I take the liberty to not confine this coverage to a specified word limit.
Awadh Magadh 2023 has been a mix of some unexpected firsts and some expected commons. Focusing on the firsts first, this has been the first fest for the semester. First that first years have seen (and participated) and first, that the campus has participated(?) as well. Though AM was the first mover, an expected common came in its inability to move some people to participate in the main fest, as it has been the history with every other event on campus.
The first student-run DJ for this semester was marked during the last of the AM fest. Usually, Freshers’ markss this DJ, but never mind. Things haven’t been kind to the first years. Maybe to ‘play’ out in their favour is against the will of the Sstars. When needed the most, technology chose to defy to respect the Play enacted by the batch of 2028. I should mention that first years’ dance on the main fest was simply great, but personally (and I am fully biased) it did not match the hype of 2026. It’s fine; there are more fests.
The batch of 2026 apparently got the Aux and started the DJ on the main fest day. It was soon taken over by a G from the first year. I could not but draw a similarity to the G who graduated in 2023. After DJ Gulki, there might just be another G to take up DJ? I cannot comprehend how it is is it to be a fifth year, so many waves of emotions running with every passing moment. Especially their role in organizing fests;, fifth years are there from getting permission to serving everyone delicious food. The participation and organisation come with its expected tussle of “we need to decide ASAP” and “we should take all the views”. This tussle has managed to evade the problem-solving abilities of almost all lawyers on this campus. No doubt, it existed.
But while things play in their own sense of linearity, do you know what happened this time in the inter-batch dance? No? Weren’t you watching the dance? Oh, sure you were in the line for the food and missing the cultural showcase put forth by the Awadh Magadh family. Maybe the tussle between “we should watch their dance” and “phle khana kha lete” wasn’t too difficult of a choice on campus.
It is unfair to say that food was only cared for by everyone. People turned up for the performance and my heart felt happy watching all the performances. Investment of time is probably a big choice that you can make in an environment like college and, it is nice to see that some time was invested. The gathering was huge and grew monstrous as it started to collect near the mess.
The gathering was for food, yes. The gathering was for performance, yes. The gathering was there to bring life to the décor. Meticulously planned, I feel décor is always the most personal aspect of a fest. I was amazed the other day when people were running to arrange cardboard at Bhaskar Anna; confused me, but just chose to not pay attention. But the use they were put to, made me really go “damn guys, good work”.
Going with the theme, Mela, one could see great lighting outside the mess and the mess lawn. A kaleidoscope and purple punchy lighting were placed for your funky pictures. The tree at the edge of the mess lawn has now become ‘the’ spot for putting the purple lights in fest since my first year. I wonder what the tree thinks when every now and then we just place a bright purple light to its face and then smile with cameras clicking us all around us.
Before I move on to something else, aap sabko chaar line sunnana chaunga.
In reverse chronological order, I want to take you to pre-fest. On pre-fest, having shown 30 minutes late, I found myself in the expected position when snacks were over. I was served my first Litti Choka and chutney except for the fact that there was no Choka. People had gathered already for Shayari and AND Mehndi. “And” is of great significance here. It was not just Shayari that they wanted to listen. They wanted to speak their minds about the Mehndi that was being put on their hands. The moderator for the Shayari gathering would remind people every now, through 4 lines of a poem, that it is not a space where ideas are thrown from both hands but rather it was conceptualised as a unilateral flow of ideas .
– Lakshya Choudhary