Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT), in its eighth year, is a CSR event organised by the students of EMDI Institute of Media and Communication. It is a student-oriented initiative working to educate, people to fight against the tobacco. This year, there were several events organised to attract a huge crowd and spread awareness about the cause.
The SWAT event kickstarted with the sports meet on February 3, organised to promote the core idea – encouraging and sensitising the youth to the harmful after effects of tobacco. The respective teams slugged it out on the field at the games, including Rink Football and Box Cricket.
That evening, at 7.30 pm, the SWAT candle march was led from Otters Club to Café Coffee Day at Carter Road, Bandra, Mumbai. There was a huge turnout from all the branches of EMDI. Students carried various banners with messages against tobacco, reading for instance, ‘Say No to Smoking’; ‘No Smoking Day’ and ‘Speed Thrills, Love Feels and Smoke Kills’. Donation boxes from CPAA carried by students throughout the march received a large-hearted response. Actor Vivek Oberoi recorded a special SWAT AT EMDI INSTITUTE OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION message on Anti-Cancer (No Tobacco) Day which has been a part of the SWAT festival this year.
The morning of February 4 saw the start of ‘The Speed for SWAT’, a treasure hunt kind of race across the city, starting from Bandra Fort at 10.30 am and culminating at the same venue at 4.00 pm. Twelve teams consisting of three to four members each took part in this quest. Each team had to get to successive destinations depending on clues provided. They were not racing for nothing; they were racing for a free stay at Goa, which was given away to the first six winners! Next up was a free stay in Ooty, and for the third team, free stay at Big Red Tent, Khopoli.
The SWAT fest culminated with the most awaited rock concert that took place on February 4 at the Bandra Amphitheatre. The crowd went crazy with the music and several students of EMDI showed off their musical and vocal talents before the bands went on. The first band was ‘Life’, followed by ‘Rang’, ‘Aftertaste’ and ‘Color Compound’. The bands and the performers enthralled the audience with thumping music, which was a great mix of original compositions, rock songs and Bollywood numbers. The evening ended with the prize distribution ceremony.
Lala lajpatrai college Hosts memorial Lecture on law and Justice
Lala Lajpatrai College hosted a memorial lecture on February 1 to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lala Lajpatrai. The topic of the lecture was ‘Law and justice – The role of courts in modern India’. The event was inaugurated by Prof Kanan Bhatt, after which Prof Neelam Arora welcomed the staff members, students and guests. The guest of honour, Judge RB Malik, was introduced and was invited to share his valuable experiences. He praised Lala Lajpatrai, Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev who had gone through hardships and suffering as they toiled for the country. In the latter part of his presentation, he spoke about how law and justice are different, with law being existent for time immemorial and justice often denied due to technicality. A notable mention was made about women who fight for equality. Judge Malik also spoke of a book called ‘Law v/s Justice’ that was written by ex-judge VR Krishnaiyer. After the presentation, the audience left with a heightened and clear vision of law and justice.
Symphony 2012 – It’s all greek to me!
At the KJ Somaiya College of Engineering was another exciting festival packed with fun-filled activities. The festival was kick-started by the exciting a series of mechanical events called ‘Contraptions’ that were triggered by a particular action. It was followed by ‘Corporate Chanakya’, where writer Radhakrishnan Pillai gave an enlightening lecture on Chanakya’s leadership ideals for the Indian youth. Simultaneously, bands from all over the city battled it out and got the audience head-banging to the heavy distortion and thumping drumbeats. “KJ! KJ!” was the deafening slogan echoing across the athletics and football grounds as teams from different colleges contested for the coveted title in the internationally acclaimed track. Acclaimed dancer Marzi Pestonji and RJ Ruchi judged ‘Choros’ – the intercollegiate dance competition, where dancers put their best feet forward. A visually stunning ultraviolet dance competition was also held in the college auditorium, which played host to an excited and enthralled crowd.
Some other events of note at Symphony this year were the Model United Nations debate, an academic simulation of the UN’s General Assembly over a period of two days where participants deliberated and discussed world issues and ‘Motley – Q’, a general-knowledge quiz that drew participation from thinking minds across the city. Panache, the intercollegiate fashion competition played host to the prettiest, most confident and to those with the most spunk. Hindi rock band ‘Rang’ enthralled crowds with their renditions of hit numbers like ‘Ja Chudail’ and ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. Well done, students of KJ Somaiya College of Engineering, for pulling off a fantastic festival this year!
Volume 1 Issue 9
