Inauguration Ceremony: Manipal College of Dental Sciences kicked off its college fest, HUES, with a beautiful and well planned inauguration ceremony that began as all auspicious occasions do: the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by the Dean Dr. Keerthilatha Pai, Associate Dean Dr. G Subraya Bhat, staff event coordinator Dr. Rashmi Nayak and cultural event coordinators Arunima Kapoor and Hrishikesh Mahapatra. The lighting of the ceremonial lamp was complete with the melodious voice of Lassya, a third-year student.
The Dean unveiled the official logo of HUES 12, the brainchild of Chhavi Singh, an intern at MCODS. Dr.Keerthilatha then showered tremendous praise for the efforts of the cultural co-ordinator Dr. Rashmi Nayak and the army of students who made the fest a success. Dr.Rashmi then took to the stage and then gave a startling speech that highlighted the difference between nationalism and patriotism. The one emotion that resonates among the 127 crore people of our great nation, it would be the love for our country. It is not an unknown fact that an Indian feel such love on 2 occasions: a cricket match and an attack on the army. She touched briefly on the topics of Pulwama attack and ended on a strong note of pure patriotism.
Next, the cultural secretaries and core-committee members were felicitated by none other than Dr. Keerthilatha while creative team members were felicitated by Dr. Rashmi Nayak. The event ended with a street play performed by the students of MCODS that touched on major social issues such as gender discrimination, cyberbullying, and depression. The Dean took to the stage at the end of the event not only to raise awareness but also to provide a listening ear to the people who are victims of such issues.
Staff event: The Inauguration was followed by the most awaited event of the day: staff events. Students were seen getting their phones ready to ‘snap’ their professors grooving to the latest tunes. The first performance was by the public health dentistry who chose to stand out by singing a medley of old Bollywood tunes that had everyone singing along. Next, the stunning dance performances by the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Oral Pathology and Dental Materials, Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics was met with cheers and thunderous applause of students. The non-teaching staff dance was one that would forever be embellished in our hearts and minds as they beautifully depicted patriotism throughout childhood till death. The Department of Prosthodontics especially had everyone clutching their sides with laughter as they performed a parody on practical exams. Department of Periodontology mesmerized everyone present with their graceful moves and poise. The skit put up by the department of Paedontology based on the pressure faced by students in choosing their career paths definitely struck a chord with the audience
Spot photography: Students gathered on the third floor of the Basic Science Building, ready with their cameras and lenses as the topic was assigned and rules were laid down. Each participant had a time slot of 3 hours in which they had to send a maximum of three pictures that best captured the topic: Doors and Windows. Students quickly got to work, some leaving the premises in search of that creative burst of genius while others roamed the campus snapping and clicking away at every angle. The event was judged by Dr. Mayur Davda.
Sonakshi, a third-year student with a passion for photography shared her experiences and perspective with MTTN. ‘’It was a very creative topic as architectural designs are very easy to capture. Anyone can click a photograph of still life but it is a skill to get a creative shot out of them. It definitely got us thinking as to how best to capture doors and windows around us. It is quite difficult to think on the spot. You have to think on your feet, move around Manipal in the heat to capture the perfect shot. As a photographer, it was quite challenging.” Creativity is, after all, something that one cannot summon at one’s will.
Gaming: The gaming event started with much excitement at 11 am, with students across all years gathered in lecture hall 2 to battle it out. They were to play FIFA, a favorite amongst gamers across the globe. The matches played were knockout in nature, students of different batches were pitted against each other with the winner of each match a step closer to being crowned the champion. The atmosphere in the room was tense yet it brimmed with excitement. Participants gave their best shot amidst roars of cheer and celebration any time a goal was scored. The participants battled it out intensely, with collective oohs and aahs bring muttered by the crowd. The event ended on a high, with the participants across all years forming great bonds and memories that they would cherish in the years to come. This fun and interactive event was moderated by Anirudh (intern) and Karan (intern), who were gracious hosts and helped to build an energetic atmosphere.
Cartooning: The scene inside LH 3 of the Basic Sciences building was a somber one much like the topic of the event, Surgical Strike. Participants from various years competed against each other, each trying their best to put their emotions to paper. The rules were simple: The cartoon must be made with a black pen and phones could be used for music only.
The hall was quiet except for the scratching of pen on paper as students listened to music eagerly waiting for a stroke of genius to hit them. Some stared blankly at their canvas whereas others immediately started etching their colourful thoughts and emotions in black and white. Bold strokes of black on white meandering on a white sheet creating a verbatim of raw thoughts and emotions on paper. Students sat with their backs hunched as they frantically added last minute touches to their cartoons before the bell rang. The event was judged by Dr. Santosh from Dept. of Periodontology and Mr. Srinath from Preventive Dentistry.
Adithi, a second-year student shared her thoughts with MTTN. “I drew inspiration from the movie ‘Uri’. That was the first thought I had about the topic. In my cartoon, I incorporated a scene from the movie along with patriotic slogans and Bollywood dialogues. I felt it best captured my sentiments on the topic.’’
Non-teaching staff event: The first day of the annual MCODS fest, Hues, ended on a merry note with their non-teaching staff event. The cultural coordination committee organized an amusing skit portraying the condition of the PGs a week before the exams, while the crowd of students from throughout the University swayed along to the relatable lyrics of ‘Give me Some Sunshine’ from 3 idiots.
Ending in an uproar of applause, the conclusion of the first day promised an exciting fest to come.
Written by- Andrea Xavier Gonsalves, Nitya Sai T, Vagisha Dahiya
Photographs by- Sonakshi, Faraah
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