No budget constraints for Delhi University annual fests

Updated on: Monday, February 06, 2012

Come February and it is festival time for Delhi University colleges, with each trying to outdo the other. However, this year, the annual fests have sky-high budgets unlike previous years. Vatsala Shrangi reports.

While the global economic slowdown seems to be a cause of concern for many, Delhi University colleges seem to be oblivious of it. It is that time of the year when they are all set to take the stage by storm, but this time at a 'cost.' Literally.

Compared to last year, 'Mecca,' the annual Hindu College fest (February 2-4 ), had a budget that was way above. Having got hold of more sponsors and bigger brands this year, the organisers had raised the budget up to more than Rs 30 lakh.

"We wanted the festival to be bigger this time. Also, we got a lot of support from our college and teachers. We managed to get hold of more sponsors and brands this year," says one of the organisers.

Manoj Chahal, president, Hindu College, says, "We have tried to draw artists who have a huge fan following. Among the major tie-ups , Javed Ali will perform in the fest, followed by RDB and the Iskcon rock band, based in Russia." The other events include war of bands, Ad mad, street play and DJ night.

However, the Ramjas College fest 'Mosaic Overloaded' will have a number of artists performing from February 8-10 . "The overall budget for the festival this year is about Rs 40 lakh," says Praveen K Singh, president, Ramjas College.

'Predicted Apocalypse in 2012' is the theme for Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC). The 37-year-old fest 'Crossroads' will be a three-day extravaganza from February 15-18 . The budget for the festival is estimated at about Rs 50-52 lakh. The festival will have a social dimension to it as well. A historical tour of Delhi for about 20 unprivileged children will flag off the event, followed by a puppet show.

'In spite of the fact that the markets are hit this year, the festival is going to be bigger. Though the sponsors were reluctant, we improved on our proposals and presentations to win them over," says, Gaurav Agarwal, president, SRCC.

However, some colleges like the LSR College are sticking to a modest budget. Says Kritika Dhawan, "We will have the Delhi-based band 'Them Clones' for the rock show. We don't have huge budgets for our festivals."

However, talking about the drifting from the actual idea of festivals as cultural milieu in the present scenario, prof Abha Dev Habib who teaches physics at Miranda House, says, "The present trend of huge budget-oriented fests is actually losing on the very idea of it. This can be termed as one of the effects of globalisation making everything money-oriented . Also, things like the trees and the sky do not interest students these days at all. You don't need huge budgets for happiness and getting together. They will lose out on individuality , because trends start dictating what you want, and therefore, they will not be able to think out of the box."

Pratiksha Rane, a student of Gargi College agrees to say, "I think the idea of annual festivals was to have a good time and be together. But, over the years, college fests have been commercialised. Today, it is more an issue of prestige, rather than value and enjoyment."

Times of India

No budget constraints for Delhi University annual fests

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