It was a gust of rhythm and a flow of melody at Goonj '22, the first offline cultural extravaganza after the pandemic years, organized by the Xaverian Academy of Dance and Music (XADAM), the performing arts wing of St. Xavier’s College(Autonomous), Kolkata.
Students of the college, in this daylong conglomeration of music and dance competitions, got the chance after two long years of pandemic confinement to finally showcase their artistic charisma on a live platform. Hence the theme this year was 'A New Dawn', as the young talents finally came out of the confines of the four walls of a room after the strife against the pandemic to replenish and enrich their artistic caliber.
The dance production opened the event with its panoramic illustration of life amidst and in strife with the social, economic, and emotional blows struck by the pandemic on humanity. How, accepting the inevitability of death and destruction, surviving all the hardships of life, and finding digital alternatives to physical interactions of society ( online marriages, online celebration of childbirth, online religious rituals), humanity continued to thrive in full bloom and finally emerged at the other end of the tunnel of darkness to light. Man became more responsible, persevering, and in greater unity with the greater good. The new dawn of maturity hence broke at the end of the night of uncertainty.
In a more metaphorical and allegorical presentation, the choir team portrayed the rebirth of 'Shakti', the strength or moral force inside the soul of man, as he rises like a phoenix, anew from the ashes of loneliness, heartbreak, grief, and hopelessness, to a dimension of self-worth, courage, moral strength and emotional flexibility. Using a plethora of musical genres ranging from folk, western, Bollywood, and eastern classical, the choir put up an enriching and attractive musical presentation.
Events like Dwita(duet performance competition), Nishad(band competition), and Dansation(group Dance Competition) saw students across departments competing against each other with their own artistic capacities, making the audience witness some enthralling, entertaining performances.
Music was in the air at St. Xavier's College(Autonomous), Kolkata in this daylong extravaganza that closed with the felicitation of winners and the committee of students behind the scenes of Goonj '22. The first prize for 'Nishad', the band competition was bagged by the band '80 proof, while band 'Roopak' secured the second position. The champion of 'J.A.M', the solo competition was Raina Talukder while Abraham Finny was the runner-up.
The duet competition, 'Dwita' saw the duo of Ananya Jaison and Naveena Pius securing the first position while Songbortika Ghosh and Aishi Saha together secured the second.
Nava Basant was the winner of the event 'Tarana', while Uraan was the runner-up, and finally, the groups, 'A Team Varsity' and 'Beatroupe' bagged the first and second prizes respectively, in 'Dansation', the group dance competition.
