2 min readNew DelhiJun 4, 2010 11:37 PM IST
First published on: Jun 4, 2010 at 11:37 PM IST
College has never been only about academics,as any Delhi University student would tell you.
After admission,a college provides vast opportunities to allow students pursue their interests,hobbies and passions. Dance,music and theatre have the highest number of takers,with every college boasting of its popularity in at least one of these arenas. “On the first day of college,students admitted through the Extra-Curricular Activities quota are asked to showcase their talent to the rest of the college,” said Shankar Kumar,faculty adviser of placement cell at Hindu.
After that,the academic session is punctuated with numerous fests,workshops,seminars and events that allow for cultural education at the college as well as the university level. “Along with catering to interests,it is also an effort to revive certain almost-extinct traditions among the youth,such as qawwali and ghazals,”says Suchitra Gupta,Dean Cultural Council,DU.
The interests that the college societies cater to vary hugely,be it the dissection of abstract ideas at the Philosophical Society of St Stephen’s,or honing gardening skills at garden committee of Miranda.
Some such societies and clubs enjoy enormous popularity,and not just within DU. Ibdita,the dramatics society of Hindu and the brainchild of director Imtiaz Ali,an alumnus of the college,is one such example.
Being a part of these coveted tradition does not come easy either. Several societies and clubs require students to undergo auditions for selection. Many such societies pride over well-known alumni or personalities associated with them. Keval Arora,famous theatre personality,is the staff adviser of the Kirori Mal theatre group,The Players. The Quiz Club as well as the Woodhouse Society,a tribute to PG Woodhouse at St Stephen’s,have both been revived by college alumnus Shashi Tharoor.
Trying to mainstream physically challenged students through these cultural groups has also been a priority. “Some of our visually challenged students are active members of these groups,the music society in particular. The outlet of their talent is an integral part of their confidence-building process,” said Shweta Vyas,president of the students’ union of the Indraprastha College.
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