GNDU youth fest a low-key affair

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 20

The day two of the Zonal Youth festival at Guru Nanak Dev University saw the students participating in various competitions, including costume parade, mime, mimicry, skits, one-act play, song / ghazal, folk song, allocation, poetic symposium, debate, quiz (preliminary), rangoli and phulkari. Over 400 students from the constituent and associate colleges of GNDU from Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Taran Tarn, are participating in the youth festival.

The first half of the day saw live performances in general dance, giddha, western vocal solo and western group song competitions while the second half of the day saw students demonstrating their creative skills in rangoli, henna and wooden models.

These competitions are being organised simultaneously on four different stages, including Dasmesh Auditorium, Guru Nanak Bhawan and Sangat Hall, on the university campus.

Despite the offline buzz returning to campus due to the youth festival, the authorities are ensuring social distancing. Therefore, not many students are allowed to gather in auditoriums for the live performance competitions.

Reena Sethi, a student from GNDU, who joined her friends to watch giddha, said, “The auditoriums used to be packed beyond capacity during bhangra and gidda performances as students used to cheer for their respective teams. But we are missing the crowd though it’s a necessity under given circumstances.”

Similarly, the exhibition based creative and fine art competitions too are only witnessing low footfall due to safety guidelines.