ANNUAL CULTURAL FEST - URJJA 2019

26th February 2019

Venue: Dinanath Mangeshkar Natyagriha, Vile Parle (East)

Time: 10 AM onwards

‘Make full use of the talents you possess, for the woods would be a silent place if no birds sang, except for the best!’

After the completion of 10 fruitful years, our team embarked on a journey this 11th year, broadcasting the theme titled ‘Isthmus-Urjja 2019–Versione II Carpe Noctum ad Infinitum, honoring the successive fests held all along, and aspiring to usher future rewarding events! This is a record of the flow of events during our Cultural Fest titled ‘Urjja 2019’.

Registrations this year began at 10:00 AM with merry students entering the auditorium filled with hope and excitement as preparations for the day were in full swing! Bright faces were visible everywhere and the hype didn’t die down till the end! The day commenced with the lighting of the lamp to evoke the blessings of the Lord, followed by the recitation of the Saraswati Vandana. The Anchors for the day caught everyone’s attention and kept the audience riled up throughout.

The first event to be held on-stage was the Band Performance wherein our musically-inclined youth mesmerized the audience with their melodious act. Students swayed to the rhythmic beats and sang along as the band kept them entertained with captivating songs! This act was received with a huge round of applause.

This was followed by the first official contest for the day, Encore – the singing competition, which included two categories – solo and group performances. The judge for the same was Mr. Ojas Bhatt – Deputy Director of SVKM’s performing arts’ dept., Founder of Offbeat Percussions and a trained professional of Tabla, Djembe and Theatre. Every single act brought fresh talent into the eyes of our spectators, capturing hearts with their soulful music. The hall echoed with symphony as our young singers owned the stage! The winning solo performer was Ms. Vasuda Venkitakrishnan (5th Year MBA) and the winning group was Ms. Vidhi Gandhi and Ms. Shruti Sampath (4th Year MBA)

The next awaited event for the day was Footloose – the dance contest, where acts were observed to fall within the following categories – solo, duet and group performances. The judge for this event was Ms. Rucha Ghamande, a senior student of Guru Prerana Deshpande, an instructor at Nrityadham School of Performing Arts, specializing in Kathak. The groups were given names of famous celebrities and challenged into performing dances depicting them! Our budding enthusiasts displayed their flair as they moved to the beats of the music, showcasing complex steps with such ease and finesse. Their graceful moves enraptured the crowd as loud cheering was heard throughout! The winning solo performer was Mr. Tanveer. The winning duet was performed by Ms. Simran Malhotra (3rd Year MBA) and Ms. Joyita Pandey (1st Year MBA). The 3rd Year MBA class won the Footloose Group event.

Our Anchors kept the audience enthralled as they prepared special comedic acts to get them bursting into laughter. Active participation was witnessed from all years, equally. It was then time to have a short lunch break to refresh our energetic audience members!

An electrifying performance was in-store for our freshened up spectators as we had, none other than Ms. Supriya Joshi, to perform a Stand-Up comedy act. She kept everyone at the edge of their seats as they awaited her witty comebacks and cleverly devised jokes!

To follow up, the next event titled Madmen – an extravagant acting event with a dash of humor and wit, began. This was a group-based event wherein the teams were provided with a movie and an object. The aim being incorporating the object into a humorous depiction of the movie! Our elated participants gave it their best as they tried to entertain the audience with their marvelous acts! The judge for the same was Mr. Aahaan Desai, who’s had multiple roles in plays, has also directed a few plays and has procured the title of a Gold Medalist Mime artist! The 1st Year MBA class secured first place!

It was then time for the final event of the day to commence, Glitterati – the Fashion Show competition, which was once again, a group endeavor. The themes for the same were: Halloween, the Occult, 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and Gods and Demons. The costumes,

songs, stage-walks were delivered to perfection as the teams put in their undying efforts to make sure the crowd continued cheering for each of them! The judges for this event were: Ms. Shivani Shetty (Assistant Designer for popular celebrities, style artist and owner of the clothing brand – Croquis), Mr. Rohan Deepak Hingorani (One of the contestants in MTV Roadies Xtreme and MTV Splitsvilla season 11) and Ms. Shakshi Shetty ( Social Media influencer, YouTuber, Fashion and Makeup enthusiast). The competition was won by the students of the 2nd Year MBA and 3rd Year MBA classes!

The day came to a blissful end as the concluding Prize Distribution Ceremony was conducted to appreciate and reward the worthy efforts of every winning participant that day! Cheery smiles, excited chatter and satisfied grins were the highlight of the day. The 2nd Year MBA class bagged the Best Class Trophy by beating the rest of the years after securing maximum class points and emerged victorious in the race to the top!

Our General Secretaries for the year, Mr. Nisarg Dalal and Ms. Tanya Gupta gave a heartfelt Vote of Thanks as the audience cheered wholeheartedly for the entire committee. This wouldn’t have been possible without the help and support of our Dean, Dr. Bala Prabhakar, our Extra-Curricular Committee Heads, Dr. Clara Fernandes, Dr. Divya Suares and Dr. Vivek Nalawade.