For youth8217;s sake

8220;These days we seem to have deteriorated into mediocrity, with a flood of festivals dotting college campuses. So much so, that every festival has become quite like every other festival and there is very little to distinguish between the two. There was a pale shadow of Insynch at Fergusson recently, don8217;t even bother to ask me the name,8221; she cautions.

Ruchira Sankla, associated with the PUMBA festival, Gandhar, is more abrupt. 8220;College festivals are even more professionally arranged than they were some years ago. A lot of hard work is put in every festival. There can be no comparisons between Insynch and this festival, because the two are so different. More of these festivals are needed because students need to get hands-on experience of back stage. There are so many little little things that are likely to go wrong at the wrong time that it is only through practical exposure that one gets the ability to handle things correctly. I held the mike for the first time in my hands and I remember feeling cold all over. I almost forgot the announcement, but next time I am sure, I will not feel this way.8221;

Jyoti Mukherjee of Modern College could not care less. 8220;I go to a festival to freak out. I have attended four festivals so far. Our gang of seven, meet, freak, freak and just freak out. You know Modern College is thought of as the pure Sadashiv Pethi crowd, which does not have life beyond the lectures. We attend every single programme, in fact one of us once went to the classical section and sang the memorable thande thande pani se nahana chahiye, with emphasis on the gana aaye ya na aaye gaana chahiye. We got thrown out, but that was worth it.8221;

Dr Harish Chhablani, is one of those serious read-the-book-only type of characters. He feels youth festivals are a waste of time. There is no life beyond the book, feels this doctor who is studying to become a head and neck surgeon. His aim in life is to be the next best surgeon, and he feels most of youth ought to be at least a little career-minded and think of standing on their own feet.

His best pal, Vijay Parmeshwaran, had no opinions to offer. Life for him is short holiday on dry land, and most of it at sea. This sailor dreams of captaining his own chemicals ship one day and navigating out into the horizon. He opines, 8220;We barely get to see any life on sea. Of course we have a lot of parties, but they are the all-guys type. If I am in town and if there is a youth festival, you can bet I am in it solo, or taking my girl out into the late late hours of the night. We do have a lot of critical comments to offer and yes I am one of the caustic types, harassing the performers, but that is the soul of the festival.8221;

From the organisers viewpoint, Neelima of the well-publicised festival Verve organised by Express Youth Forum, pointed out that every festival has a purpose, and Verve wanted to give people a platform, a kind of stage for so many talented youth. Says she, 8220;Till date we did not have an intercollegiate festival on a large scale and so many students had no avenue to exhibit their gifts. We have had Verve for three years with a total of 114 colleges participation from all over. The feedback has been delightful and we are hoping for a better response next year. We may even go national.8221;

Says Milan Kemkar of Keshar publicity, 8220;Youth festivals are necessary. They are the pulse of the city 8211; throbbing, with life. They throw up the future of the cultural scene. I just freak out at festivals hob-nobbing with the youngsters and kind of just letting myself go. I did stay up late one night and watch the whole show right until it closed. It was quite an experience.8221;

Srinivas, a marketing executive, feels that youth festivals are a very good thing to happen to any youngster. 8220;They build an environment of positive and healthy competition. They enhance knowledge and skills in various fields. It is a great experience.8221; Adds Shilpa, a journalist, 8220;They are a good time to exhibit any extracurricular talent you have. A platform where you are taken notice of.8221;

Let debates roll over. The pros and cons range royale, whatever the future fate of youth festivals, the common aim today, seems to be to freak out.