Maitreyi w-raps a fiesta: Band, dhol battle at Rhapsody ’23!

It was music galore at Maitreyi College’s annual cultural fest Rhapsody ‘23, as students across colleges and universities flocked to the stage to put their best beats forward! With a footfall of over 12,000 students on both days of the fest, the DU fever is back with performances, competitions, and plentiful opportunities of Instagram reels!

Students of Delhi University were in for a musical treat as bands, singers, rappers, and other performers across genres made their way to Maitreyi College’s annual cultural fest Rhapsody ’23. Even the air was lyrical as Bollywood songs played on loud over two days of the fest that concluded with singer Ankit Tiwari’s performance.

Students had to wait two hours to gain entry inside the college as the gates were closed due to an unanticipated huge turnout. (Photos: Dhruv Sehti/HT)

Rudra (left) and Kunal (right) were the beatboxing-rapping duo that enthralled the crowd on day 2 before Tiwari’s show.

Jamming, rapping all the way

Student participating in various competitions presented performances that were on par with professional acts. Bands played original songs, covers and made the crowd groove. Enjoying one such stage showcase was Swasti Srivastava, a final-year student of Economics (Hons) of Maitreyi College. She said, “The Battle of the Bands event felt like banks of the stature of Euphoria and Advaita were performing! No one witnessing them could have said that they were college students who chose both English and Hindi songs.” Chiming in, Anushka Badoni, a final-year student of BSc in Life Science, from the host college, called the performers “very cool”, stating that this event was no less than a star night for them. “We couldn’t stop asking for an encore,” added Badoni.

Mayank aka Kaafir (left) channelled his inner Gully Boy at the Rapzilla and Zakir Husain Delhi College’s band (left) won the competition with their concert-like performance.

Soon budding rappers took to the stage and added to the vibe of the fest. Mayank, a fourth-year engineering student from a Panipat-based college won the competition and audience’s hearts, too. “The rappers gave such phenomenal originals. Kaun bolega ye students hain,” exclaimed Mridul Khatri, a student of a Gurugram-based university. And Sivasankari J, a Political Science (Hons) student from Maitreyi, added, “It is such a male dominated field. I really wish more girls come up onstage and show their creativity. I wish more rap battles happen so that I can compete and show that women rappers have a strong voice, too.”

Ramjas College’s dram soc oozed swagger and clinched the first prize at the competition.

Foreign se aaye dost

Students from a few universities of New Zealand were part of the fest on day 1, and kick started the celebrations with a rocking Bollywood performance! Their performance on the SRK-Deepika Padukone song Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari made college principal Haritma Chopra say, “It makes me so happy that our youth has stuck to its culture, heritage, and wants to be rooted to its traditions.... Rhapsody '23 was not just (any event) for students, it was a jashn. So many students used their passes to bring their parents to the fest, which made it a fully family event for all of Maitreyi College. That’s what makes us call it the Maitreyi kutumb (family), not college.”

The folk dance soc of SGND Khalsa College killed it with their bhangra moves while dancing to the beats of live dhol.

Dance and drama deserved encore

The folk dance competition saw some electrifying acts such as the live dhol by Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College’s team, and western dance saw the audience singing and dancing like there was no tomorrow. Nutan, from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College’s dram soc, said, “Our stage play, an adaptation of Mindgame by Anthony Horowitz, is a psychological thriller and won the Best Production prize. But a lot of it has to do with the amazing audience that made performing here feel like an honour. Har jagah aisa crowd nahi hota,” he adds.

Tiwari loved the crowd and performed for an extra hour.

Ankti Tiwari sings for two-and-a-half hours!

“Sab bachhon ne itna decorum maintain kiya ki I performed for two and a half hours jabki mera set 90 minute ka tha,” said Ankit Tiwari, sharing his sentiment about the enthusiastic crowd. Tiwari also introduced his four-year-old daughter, Arya onstage, and while he crooned melodies, his daughter smiled and swayed among the audience. Manna Phanjoubam, a final-year History (Hons) student of Maitreyi, says, “I was part of the team of student photographers who were instructed to cover the event, and shares. But when Ankit Tiwari began his concert, I got so immersed in music that I felt compelled to put down my camera. His music was truly soulful!”

Maitreyi College students camped out hours in advance to catch Tiwari’s set.

Smooth entry, no fuss

This fest was recently in the limelight as a few students tried to sell their entry passes to outsiders, and were given strict warning by the college authorities. This helped avoid any chances of stampede or rowdiness as opposed to other college fests. “Tiwari came very late onstage, but itna toh hota hi hai. Koi pagalpan nahi tha yahan jabki Shivaji College mein toh stampede hi ho gaya tha. No blood is being shed here, which is great. Mujhe concert itna great nahi laga, to be honest,” said Aarashya Mishra, a final-year BCom (Hons) student of Ramanujan College. And his classmate Hardik Arora shares how he managed to entered the college grounds without any issues: “I just showed them my college ID card and got entry, it was pretty easy. Jin logon ne itne hazaaron kharch kiye to buy the passes basically unka paploo ban gaya (laughs). Don’t know why they even felt like they had to spend money to enter a DU college fest.”

Author tweets @KritiKambiri

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