The day began in a Hindi-theme, from the wearing of traditional outfits to having the lunch and dinner menus written in Hindi: a strict Hindi code was followed.
The program began at 7pm in the evening with a warm welcome to the guests by The Registrar, Dr. Rajat Kathuria and it was followed by “Saraswati Vandana” by the students of IMI. Sri Suresh ‘Nirav’, who is currently the Senior Deputy Editor of “Kadambini” was coordinating the entire event.
The proceedings started with Sri Rajesh Raj taking the centre stage with some of his poems. He had earlier featured in “Wah Wah” with SAB TV and many more along similar lines with Doordarshan. His relationship with IMI is all the more special as his daughter is currently a student here. The current condition of Hindi was all the more evident in his lines …
“ Sach poocho toh yun lagti hain Hindi Hindusthan mein
Jo kaagaz ke phool saje hon sheeshe ki guldaan mein ”
He then also adorned Hindi by amazingly striking a contrast between technology and feelings
“waise to mobile yug hai
par tum mujhko pali likhna
mobile se namunkin hai
Ankhiyon nir behati likhna”
The next poet to enthrall the audience with his lines was Sri Arvind Pathik who belongs to the the genres of poets like “Ramprasad Bismil” He is proficient in “vir ras” as well as “Hasya” Before he had taken the centre stage no one could have second guessed the high level of adrenaline that would be generated by sheer being there. As he summed up in his own unique style …
“Sirf neta hi nahin, kuch aur bhi makkar hain
jo kalaam ko bechte hain, who bhi toh gaddar hain”
Up next was the turn of IMI’s very own Sri Arvind Chaturvedi. It came as a great surprise for most of the students to see their professor of Statistics to display such excellent oratory skills. In one of his poems his sarcasm was directed at the kind of Hindi that television channels are dishing out these days … one excerpt …
“ … fame mera national kar dijiye
Shahrukh khan, big B sabhise popular kar dijiye
dil to mera mor maange
par mein thoda sa hesitant hoon
main aapke servant ke servant ka servant hoon …”
The others to follow were Sri Ashok Sharma and Smt. Madhu Chaturvedi who kept the audience spellbound. As the event went deeper into the night the students came into their own and were very vocal in acknowledging their appreciation for the performers.
It was past 9.30pm when Sri Suresh ‘Nirav’ took the stage to wind up the program with some of his own creations, which were a realization of complexities of the dynamics of power, politics, people and culture. Some of the excerpts were
“Ek din hamare darwaze pe di kisine dastak
maine poocha – kaun?
Banda bola – chahiye 5 rupaiya chanda
Chaurahe pe netaji ki laash padi hain
Maine kaha – 5 ki jagah 15 lijiye
Magar ek ki jagah teen anteshti kijiye”
With this the events of the evening came to an end with a thanking speech from Dr. Rajat Kathuria. But the purpose of the programme “Anoobhuti” was achieved; “Dil ki baat, Dil ki Juhbani” and the effects were felt through the campus.