Scaling heights

It's difficult to enjoy a classical dance performance with the person on your left talking endlessly on the phone and the person on the right trying to sing a Punjabi ‘truckan-wala geet’ to the classical tunes.

Youngsters shape the stage & clay with their talent at the 24th Inter-University North Zone Youth Festival

It’s difficult to enjoy a classical dance performance with the person on your left talking endlessly on the phone and the person on the right trying to sing a Punjabi ‘truckan-wala geet’ to the classical tunes. At the 24th Inter-University North Zone Youth Festival being held at PU, the mood of the auditorium halls is eclectic! With the crowd mostly hopping from one auditorium to another, the stage at the Law Auditorium was set for some classical beats, while occasionally a phone would ring to declare the latest hits.

Classical dances saw some of the best student dancers from Northern universities perform with a devotional zeal. Dressed in bright costumes in pink, yellow, blue, the girls invoked various gods and goddesses like Shiva, Vishnu, Kali et al. To thundering applause the ghungroo-tied feet went around the stage with movements matching the rhythm, the expression in the eyes matching the words. It just got better with each performance. The Western group singing had ‘pretty pretty’ girls and handsomely dressed boys crooning medleys. The English auditorium being too small for the crowd that came, the doors were always forcibly shut.

At the Fine Arts Museum students created colourful rangoli over their chalked frames. The theme was Deepawali and out came the creative ideas from the think tanks. Earlier in the day clay modelling was held that saw creative hands shaping life into clay. Their theme was an ironical coincidence to the times we live in — animals fighting. Amongst the best models were pairs of elephants and bulls fighting, the terror in their eyes, the tension of the muscles almost human!

GROUND PRACTISE
We also caught up with Yuvraj Hans, younger son of Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans. The last time we met him Yuvraj was planning a collaboration with his brother Navraj, “but we have dropped the idea. Currently I’m focussing only on my studies.” Yuvraj represented Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, in Indian group singing and Western group singing. “Unlike my father and brother I prefer Western music.”