Dance, dating and delight on Day 3 of Antaragni

KANPUR: With most events entering into their semi-finals or nearing end at IIT-Kanpur’s annual cultural festival ‘Antaragni,’ enthusiasm among students reached a crescendo on the third and penultimate day of the festival on Saturday.
The outreach auditorium of the IIT campus, hosting the solo dance competition, was packed to capacity as the students delivered one breathtaking performance after another.The event saw the participation of 52 contestants, the coordinator of the solo dance competition said. Meanwhile, the group dance competition held at the Student Activity Centre witnessed much cheer and ovation from the audience as the teams put their best foot forward on English numbers.
In an informal event held at the same venue in the evening, participants were asked to respond instantly to questions posed to them by the anchors of the show. The witty answers of the participants evoked much mirth among the student crowd present.
Earlier on Friday night, the fashion show ‘Ritambhhara’ witnessed the participation of teams from Lady Irwin, Ramjas, Daulat Ram, St Xaviers and SRCC College. The jury included designer Pallavi Murdia, photographer Hemant J Khendilwal, TV celebrity Rishita Monga, and budding fashion designer Mani Nigam. The teams presented their creations under various themes such as ‘I am woman’ and ‘We are the saviors.’ In the end, Sachin from Ramjas college and Tuhina from SRCC were declared Mister and Miss Ritambhara respectively as their attire and countenance impressed the judges the most. Daulat Ram college grabbed the Ritambhara trophy while students from St Xaviers Kolkata were declared the first runners up on the occasion.
‘Ritambhara Velvet lock,’ a beauty pageant for individual contestants sponsored by Gurgaon’s Abhilasha Group was also held late on Friday evening. The judges included Abraham Kumar, CEO of Abhilasha Group, renowned model and actress Rishita Monga, and Mani Nigam, a budding designer from NIFT Delhi. Twenty girls and boys took part in the competition held in three rounds- Ethnic and Indian wear, western dresses, and question-answer round. Six boys and girls finally managed to get to the question and answers session wherein the jury asked them questions pertaining to their career. The event also witnessed Rishita Monga’s performance on the song Mashallah from Ek The Tiger. Navjot Kaur and Ujjwal Sharma were declared Miss and Mister Ritambhara.
The western group dance and folk dance competitions also witnessed huge crowds.
In ‘Blind Date,’ 15 boys and girls were randomly paired and sent on a blind date after a preliminary round. Six couples were eventually selected for the final round. “Through this event, I found a good friend,” said Vimal who was ‘dating’ Prateeksha as per the rules of the game.
On the other hand, rock bands delivered electrifying performances in the finals of ‘Synchronocity’ conducted on a grand scale at the auditorium grounds of the campus.