“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
- Thornton Wilder If an actor is asked what drama, as an art means to him or her, the reply in most cases will be “Drama is my life”. And so it is true. Dramatics is a popular method of expression of thoughts, opinions and ideas, without any restrictions on the artiste. It is a platform where qualities like passion, dedication, team spirit and unity are cultivated, along with the acting skills.

The Dramatics events constitute an important part of Anugoonj every year. The events that fall under this category are the ‘Street Play’ competition, ‘Mono-Acting’ and the ‘One Act Play’ competition.

On the first day of Anugoonj, the beating of drums, the thumping of dholaks and cries of ‘Aao, aao, nukkad dekho’ reverberated in the central area in front of the library, as students from various colleges clad in a variety of coloured kurtas called on the masses to come and witness the street plays they had to present. Thirteen teams from the affiliated colleges of IP University portrayed a plethora of social issues through their ‘nukkad naataks’. The team from USS, our home team, raised their voices against racial and gender stereotyping in the country in their nukkad ‘Isse Kya Farak Padta Hai?’ while the teams from IVS and Army Institute of Management and Technology chose to tackle the issues of gender discrimination and women empowerment. Some teams such as Amity School of Engineering and Technology and HMR Institute of Technology adopted an umbrella theme, addressing numerous issues in a single nukkad. A distinguished panel consisting of Dr Rita Singh and Ms Komita Dhanda, who was from Delhi University, adjudged GTBIT’s play ‘Pyaare Lal Toy Shop’ which depicted the construction of political ignorance, to be the best and MAIT’s play ‘Hawww Ji’ on taboos in society as the runners up for the event.

The Mono-acting event was held on the second day of the fest, in the E-block auditorium. The wall behind the stage was adorned by the names of the Nine Rasas or emotions- Karuna (Compassion), Bhibasta (Disgust), Krodh (Fury), Shanta (Peace), Shringor (Love), Adbhuta (Wonder), Veera (Heroism), Hasya (Laughter) and Bhayanaka (Horror). Fifteen selected students, showing a tremendous amount of courage, showcased their solo performances on the stage, taking the audience along on a rollercoaster ride of raw and unadulterated human emotions. Mr Deep from the National School of Drama and Mr Rajeev Dwivedi from USHSS awarded Twinkle Khanna, from JIMS KJ, the first position and Rashmi Sharma, from Army Institute of Technology and Management, the second position.

The final event under the Dramatics category, the ‘One Act Play’ competition was conducted in the D-block auditorium on the last day of Anugoonj. There were twelve teams, selected from 6 zones. Many of the teams, such as HMR, DIAS and JIMS Kalkaji had stage plays with themes based on socially important issues like narrow-mindedness and the need for change in the way we think, women empowerment and child marriage. The group from USS depicted the effect that the Partition of India had on both sides of the border in a stirring act ’Kasak’, and FIMT showed the impact of terrorism on innocent souls. Mr Digambar Prasad, the assistant director at the National School of Drama, and Mr Anoop Trivedi, the theatre consultant at USHSS comprised an illustrious jury for the event. The laurels were taken home by GTBIT’s play ‘The Letter’ which was a poignant enactment of the relationship between a grandfather and his grandson. The second place was achieved by MAIMS’ play ‘Faisla’ on inter-religion marriage.

The convenor for dramatics, Ms Kulveen Trehan from USMC was also present for all three events, and felicitated the judges with a token of appreciation.