The 2019 department freshie evening was held on 20 September at Mahatma Hall, which had been transformed for the occasion with fairy lights and dimmed lighting. As the hall filled with people from different batches (the freshies had been inviting seniors to attend from the previous day itself), the lights were turned back on as the event formally began, ably anchored by Gowri and Devika. The welcome address was given by Sourav, former department secretary, who as the “representative fifth year” wished the freshies luck and expressed his appreciation for their enthusiasm. The cultural events started with a performance by Siddhu, who came on to violent applause. He delivered a passionate performance of a Carnatic piece and exited the stage amid shouts of “once more once more once more”.
Anoushka recited the poem “Teacher’s If” by R G Gale, an inspiring piece which gave the audience much food for thought. This performance was interrupted by wild cheers from the audience as Jabir Ali of the HS18 batch entered the room. Gowri commented, “Nice floral shirt, Jabir,” which drew even more cheers. Anoushka was followed by Aishwarya, whose skilful rendition of the Tamil song “Kannamma” from the movie Rekka drew gasps and sighs from the captivated audience.
The next program was a pun performance by Siddhu. The groans and facepalms as each bad pun hit the hapless onlookers, as well as a yelled “thank you, next!” from the back of the hall, only increased his enthu, as the presenters dubbed his performance – dare they say – “puntastic”. It was followed by a two-man play put up by Kishan and Aditya, which began in a relatively civilized manner and devolved rapidly into a near-fistfight, leaving the audience in spasms of laughter.
Among the main highlights of the evening were the musical performances. HS19 has more than its fair share of talented singers, and they took full use of this opportunity to showcase their talents. Having begun with Aishwarya’s performance earlier, they continued with a performance of “A Thousand Years” by Kishan, Sai, and Keziah that did more than justice to the song. This was followed by Aditya singing and accompanying himself on the guitar, with covers of “Yesterday” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. The program was interrupted again when Rahul Jose came in, with enthusiastic cries of “JOSE” from the HS16 boys sitting at the back of the hall.
The author would like to place on record that they think these freshies are pretty damn talented.
The final musical performance involved a large group of seven or eight freshies singing, and Aditya and Sai accompanying on guitar and keyboard respectively. They sang “Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin” from Agneepath, Photograph, Let Her Go, as well as very enthu renditions of Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You.
An interlude; Rohini and Aditya present a PowerPoint presentation (very professional) with memes which introduce the members of HS19 to the rest of the department (ingenious). These are followed by assorted memes about the department and insti in general, as well as about Logic class, Perspectives in Social Sciences, and unemployment (which hit too close to home).
This was followed by arguably the most awaited performance of the evening, a group dance that brought to the stage anywhere between 6 and 12 participants at various points. The energetic performance of the girls involved a mashup of songs as diverse as Cheap Thrills and the Mallu “Palkari penne paalonnu thaayo”, as well as several wardrobe changes that reflected the nature of each song. It was a memorable performance filled with energy, reminiscent of performances during Onam celebrations in schools and colleges in Kerala, and entertained the audience thoroughly.
The evening ended with a performance that brought the entire batch of HS19 onto the stage, a moving and heartfelt dance to Vennu Mallesh’s “It’s My Life”. Akshath presented the vote of thanks, and the crowd dispersed for dinner as the newest batch officially joined the ranks of the department.
Report by Abhirami G
Photographs by Sakshi Malpath
Article 19 