Not Just Another Friday at IIT Bhubaneswar.

Inspite of our personal favourite debate on the irony behind Women Empowerment programmes (I’m pro, just in case you were wondering), the Workshop held this Friday on the topic felt as fresh and impactful as it could be. The speeches and the videos probably had the desired effect it could have asked for, but what stole the evening’s limelight was the cultural programme that followed it. From the Dance Society’s medley, to the Music society’s melody and the Dramatics Society’s portrayal of the malady, the evening turned out to be a HUGE success. I mean, literally, huge. The auditorium was filled with more than it could accommodate, for which we should maybe thank the High Tea arrangement. But even if it was the food that made the calling heard, the cultural societies must be grateful that they were watched. And appreciated, for that matter.

The evening’s first programme, the dance, was a pleasant variation from the usual matter (of girls’ dance that is) that we have been made used to in the last 2 years that I’ve been here. The choreography was beautiful, the song choices were good, and the boys paired with the girls couldn’t have been any more cuter. Just the one suggestion though, please have the costumes fit done before the show. None of the girls were looking comfortable in that horrendously tangerine thing. Thankfully, the overall performance more than made up for it. So, cheers for the feat.

Next, the music. It is funny how before every music production, the whole audience is filled with the only chatter, “This sound check is going to take forever.” Pleasantly, this time it didn’t. At least relatively. The songs that followed were nice to listen to, but the music society had definitely seen better performances than that. Remember the Independence Day performance? That was more like it. But, they delivered the message the evening had been set up for, with some lovely, lovely songs, and for that we are thankful.

The Stage Play, Humne Kuch Nai Dekha, basically stood out to be the star of the whole evening. The direction, the acting and the whole screenplay, deserved great applause. The use of the lightings on the harassment scenes, and the imagery of the female destroying the root cause of the violence that held the reins of the society, was beautifully executed, though a teeny-tiny bit amiss was the background score that should have supported the tandava dance. But that little mistake can be dusted off, thanks to the wonderful execution of the whole play. Kudos to the Dramatics Society on that.

The programme ended with the food of course, the call that was heard. I don’t know how it was, cause I didn’t wait in that ridiculously long queue that you met right out the door of the auditorium, but it did the wonder that none of the however well managed cultural society programmes could do. Filling the auditorium up. Have a good day.