Invictus: Vibes Day One

Vibes 2017 kicked off to a great start on the 26th of April, 2017. After a gap of nearly two years, Vibes made a return in KMC portals as part of Invictus, being organized by the Fine Arts Committee. Unlike previous years, Vibes ’17 is an amalgamation of both literary and cultural events.

The first day was marked by fierce competition in each event. Though the turnout for individual events wasn’t as great as the organizers expected, it was still commendable in the manner in which the events panned out. The day started with the Debate Prelims and continued as:

DEBATE PRELIMS

As Elbert Hubbart once said,

“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”

However, the debaters present in Interact Hall G-B weren’t ones afraid to be critiqued. As debaters argued the motion “This house believes that criticism plays a major role in individuals, motivating them towards their goal,” the wheel of monotony was broken as seasoned debaters expounded their opinions. Each speaker presented their arguments in a span of three minutes. Once each team had argued contradictory sides of the motion, the adjudicators Dr Haniel D’Souza from the Forensics department and Sudhanshu, a Humanities professor at MIT, grilled the speakers with their own set of questions for them.

Great arguments from either side abounded. Side government stressed upon the need of criticism and its role in helping improve their present quality of work and personality. While some defended the broader stance, others paid more heed to constructive criticism and explained its role in development and motivation. The opposition offered the argument that criticism, by and large, is a negative analysis and as a result will always be bitter to the critiqued. The debate ended with 4 out of the 6 teams qualifying for the finals. As events transpired, due to the ill-health of one of the participants, the finals stand cancelled.

CARTOONING

“One of the key problems today is that politics is such a disgrace, good people don’t get into government.”

Ironically or rather unironically, the above words were said by the present US President, Donald Trump. There has been considerable media attention to the eccentricities of this Republican. Given, how this man has taken over the media in the last one year, the topic for cartooning was decided to be “Trump Administration.”

The Interact Lecture Hall was a melting pot of myriad ideas which flowed quite brilliantly onto the paper, once the participants started their sketch. There were portrayals of Trump fighting USA in an arcade fighter, K.O’ing the nation. Other illustrations included comparisons of Trump with a pumpkin and another which had Trump’s face morphed into the Statue of Liberty.

GAME QUIZ

Proudly presented by (in their own words) Sourabh the Incomprehensible, Armaan the Uncouth, and Bazaz the Obscene, the Game Quiz kicked off at 1:20pm on the first day of Vibes. Rarely in KMC’s quizzes is such importance given to ambience; participants entered to the tune of Dragon Quest and Mortal Kombat’s OSTs to find 1UP mushrooms marking starred questions, tongue in cheek references, and the use of the Final Fantasy font and Space Invaders aliens in the background. Easter eggs and hidden clues abounded in a quiz that both thrilled and frustrated the participants, as any good quiz ought to.

Five teams made it to the finals, whose convoluted, engaging questions were matched by the inventiveness of the quizzers. The most obscure questions surprisingly found answers, and yet all the teams missed a basic question about Snake, which invited a collective groan. In the end, the following teams took home prizes, albeit with very narrow margins:

1st: Darshan Temker, Aaditya Sreehari, Vivek Mahapatra, KMC Manipal

2nd: Ashish Rao M, Avinash G Rao, Hari Prasad Ganesan, KMC Manipal

3rd: Achintya Sharma, Ayush Malviya, MIT

MONOACT

The Monoact competition at Invictus 2017 came with a few surprises. The first being evidence of the extent of passion people possess for their art. The event had an entry limit of two participants per college but a particular student, driven by a strong faith in the message of his piece decided to perform it, despite being the third participant from his college and knowing that he wouldn’t be officially part of the competition. The second surprise came from the variety and immense social relevance of the topics ranging from non-culpable homicide to fat shaming. The responses these evoked from those performing were novel and refreshing. The third and rather bitter surprise was an example of society’s ignorance about members of the LGBTQ community. The rather ill-conceived depiction of what homophobia looks like can only be called, in the mildest of terms, a misrepresentation. But if the goal of the event was to spread awareness about the importance of and the need for social change, then one way or the other, it has been achieved.

CLASSICAL VOCAL SOLO

The afternoon air in TMA Pai Hall 2 was infused with pure, melodious classical music and a touch of the unconquerable spirit. Skilled singers, their renditions of classical music resonated through TMA Pai Hall enforcing calm and melody.

Both Hindustani and Carnatic compositions were sung with trained precision, made immensely beautiful by the devotion with which the singers sang.The audience slipped into a reverie, captured by the wistful melody of Raaga Bhairav, and the unassuming cheerfulness of Raaga Mohana. The fast-paced Mishra Taala, accompanied by tabla, and the simple yet striking Adi Taala had the judges tapping their fingers to the rhythm and nodding their heads in appreciation.

The judges of the event were Mrs. Saroja Acharya, Mrs. Shashikala and Mrs. Rekha Rao.

EASTERN VOCALS

With the sun dipping further down the sky, the evening events of the day kick started at KMC Greens with Eastern Vocals. Each participating college had a choice of performing in the categories of group vocals, duet singing, male and female solo vocals. While some colleges put their best foot forward and performed in the all the four, some chose to give a single power-packed performance in one category. The judges of the event were music enthusiasts – Dr. Ullas Kamath (Dean, MMMC), and Dr. Abhishek Rao (Dept. of Anaesthesiology, KMC Manipal). The participants took us on a nostalgic ride with their rendition of popular Indian songs through the ages. In total, it was a perfect treat for a music lover.

WESTERN DANCE SOLO

The second event of the evening saw participants from various colleges putting their best foot forward and displaying a myriad of impressing steps. The event was judged by Mr Elton Mascarenhas, Mr Jishnu S Menon, Miss Swapna and Mrs Mamta Sri, all eminent personalities in the field. The stage came alive as the participants showcased some sizzling moves and put up a visual treat for the audience. The judges had a hard time choosing the best as the dancers unleashed all their energy into their moves and put up marvellous performances, making the evening truly rapturous.

WESTERN GROUP DANCE

KMC Greens hummed with energy as the most awaited event of the day unfurled on the stage. The audience roared with cheers and applause as the participants danced in perfect synchrony to peppy western tracks ranging from ‘Love me like you do’ to ‘Apologize’. Decked in the brightest of costumes and reverberating with energy, the groups set the stage on fire and put up a close competition, making it a daunting task for the judges. The mind-boggling performances made many in the audience break into impromptu jigs, adding to the entertainment quotient for the evening.

The results for events, other than Game Quiz, weren’t announced on the 26th of April.

As the evening events came to a close, the audience enjoyed pizzas and shawarmas at the various stalls before heading back. The centerpiece, placed in Greens drew a huge crowd. Multitudes of photographs were centered around the adornment. After a long day, the second day of Vibes is awaited for even greater activity and dynamism.

Reported by,

Dharini Prasad, Niharika Dixith, Annapoorna Chakraborty, Supratim Banerjee, Sindhuri Sriraman and Reetobaan Datta.