New Town’s Amity University celebrated the fourth edition of Amiphoria, its inter-college fest, with over 150 colleges participating. Even a few IITs and NITs had sent students from different states.

The three-day event kicked off with a show on the regional and national festivals and it was then over to events like Rockmania, a rock band contest, Flight of Feet, a dance contest, film-making, mask-making etc. Cake Battle had students baking on the spot to the theme of “youth and campus” and in Innovathan, they presented new business ideas before a panel.

There were sports competitions like table tennis, cricket and football. One of the most popular events was Robo-war, where two robots battled it out to be the last one standing.

The fest would have been incomplete without Gliterazzi, the fashion show. The theme of the fashion show was fruity delight.

“The Amity family is growing. This year we celebrated with young minds from more than 150 colleges across India. It's been an honour for us,” said Ankita Chakraborty, pro-vice chancellor.

Singer Stebin Ben works the crowd A Telegraph picture

There was also a musical performance by singers Stebin Ben and Arjun Kanungo.

A highlight at the fest was the exhibition of what was described to be the world’s largest handwritten bilingual Shreemad Bhagavat Gita. Created by Odisha-based artiste Jayanta Bhushan Deva Raya, the pages of the book measured 41”x 62” and was made of mercerized cotton. The writings and paintings were in acrylic colour.

Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, the first Lokpal of India on campus A Telegraph picture

Lokpal visit

Shortly after the fest, the campus hosted a human rights session by the first Lokpal of India, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, who is a retired judge of the Supreme Court.

“A person is entitled to human rights from the time of his birth till his death and we, as a society, should try to be as humane as possible,” Ghose said. “Sitting in the court and looking into law is a practice but the decision comes from the heart while considering the law. In every discussion, courts should consider human rights and values.”

The seminar also featured some other leading lights of the legal profession.

All speakers addressed the importance of human rights, especially for women and children, and about how human rights and duties were interlinked. It was mentioned repeatedly that upholding human rights is not solely the responsibility of the state.