Youth Festival

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University organised a youth festival for 3 days 3rd, 4th and 5th November. On 2nd November there was a Kala-Yatra. In Kala-Yatra students from different colleges who have participated in Youth Festival they joined Kala-Yatra with a theme of Woman Empowerment. In which our department works on how education plays a vital role in women's life, and how patriarchy is controlling women from chasing their dreams. Kala-Yatra started at Samaldas college and it ended at Sardarnagar circle Bhavnagar. University has organised cold drinks and dinner for the students who have participated in the Kalayatra. 

At Department of English 

At Samaldas - Kalayatra starting point

Themes:

Major theme in Youth festival 2023 was women empowerment. On the first day of Kala-Yatra the major theme was the same. In skit major themes were represented like Chandrayan, issues like unemployment, road construction, Manipur events, our education system and many more contemporary issues in India.

In sugam geet competition most of the songs were related to the theme of marriage, worshipping, philosophical and struggle of daily life. In poetry recitation the major themes were love, betrayal, philosophy, hope, life lessons etc. In poster making there were themes like importance of water, women empowerment and education. In cartooning three topics were given: election, high prices and Gandhiji and the people. In ekanki we find topics like Kashmir crisis, Indian myths related events, and contemporary events.

On 3rd November in the morning our duty as a volunteer was at the main stage where the opening ceremony was organised. We have helped in giving water bottles and bouquets to the guests. All the events were organised in a good way. Then many guests have delivered their speeches and motivated the participants. As a chief guest Jayveersinh, Bhartiben Shiyal, and Vaghani sir were present on the stage.

Behind the stage at Amphitheatre 

An inauguration at Amphitheatre 

There were other events in which I have participated as a volunteer. My duty was at the department of English. There were three events organised at the department of English. Quiz competition, self written poetry recitation and Essay competition, Vimal pandya sir was there to evaluate the competition. 

Quiz competition at Dep. of English 

Our duties were to do registration of the students and helping them to find the room where the event was organised, providing water facilities and giving things which are required. We also learnt how the quiz event is organised and how marks are given. In the first round there were 23 teams of participants in the quiz competition and among them only five teams were selected as finalists. Second round of quiz competition was the next day, where they were given three grades among five teams. This year the university has decided to give college code so the evaluation can be more neutral.

Volunteers 

On 3rd November at Amphitheatre two competitions are organised: Mimicry and folk dance. In mimicry participants have 5 minutes in which they have to present themselves. In mimicry you can imitate any actors or birds or animal sounds. Many participants have told stories in which they told a story by making different types of sounds of different people. Second event was folk dance, in which 23 colleges participated. They have presented Gujarati folk dance, they have also brought their singers and instruments as per rules. By seeing that I got goosebumps because they all have presented so well.

Mimicry 

At Atal auditorium that day Skit and drama solo performance were organised. In mono different types of characters were portrayed like Nathuram Godse, Draupadi, eunuke, rural wife, man complaining about the problem of street animals. They have performed very well. Their costumes are different, related to the dance and the audience also cheered them on. If we compare these drama performances with any literary theories of drama, it can be related with comedy of manners. We can find lite satire on political systems and contemporary events. Some of the performances targeted particular political parties directly, some of which were related to the ideology. We can also find glimpses of sentimental comedy as well in some of the performances especially in the solo performances.

Folk Dance 

On 4th November there are events like Western solo singing, group singing western and folk, Duha-Chhanda, traditional dance, elocution, on the spot photography, clay modelling, mehndi, cartooning, poster making, Rangoli, quiz and essay competition. In elocution competition the topic was given 'AI: curse or boon'. Many participants spoke very well. Their choice of words, body language, and hand gestures are really good. 

Installation 

On 5th November there were group songs(Indian), mime and installation competition were organised. In installation many models are made. It is a concept of making best out of waste so participants have to bring some waste material and make something good out of that. Mime and group songs also performed nicely. At the end there was an ending ceremony in which medals and certificates were given to the winners. On the last day we cheered for the winners. On 8th November university organised a thanksgiving feast for the volunteers and after that all the volunteers and organisers professors, staff mambers get together and discussed how the things were managed by volunteers and team leaders.

Thanksgiving ceremony 

Overall it was a great opportunity to observe and learn new things. Especially as a volunteer, I have learnt a lot many things. It was the first time that I was a part of such a big event. I have enjoyed it a lot.

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