Day 2: Crowds swell as Malhar churns out vibrant street dances, music events

With serpentine queues that extended from the college gate till Azad Maidan, the annual festival of St. Xavier’s College, Malhar, was swelling with visitors on Sunday.

With serpentine queues that extended from the college gate till Azad Maidan, the annual festival of St. Xavier’s College, Malhar, was swelling with visitors on Sunday.

“There were thousands of people on campus. We had to evacuate some of them to let more people in. People have been arriving in hordes to watch the street dance event and enter the gaming rooms for laser tag,” said Ankiti Bose, chairperson, Malhar 2011.

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The massive crowd was not disappointed, as Street Dance, the main event of the day, lived up to its promise. “There is nothing like the spirit of this festival,” said actor Javed Jaffrey, who presided over the event as a judge. “I participated in a dance event in Malhar in 1982 and the energy on campus is still the same,” he added.

The second day of the three-day festival saw a series of popular events such as duet singing, Antakshari and Just-A-Minute.

In addition to these, the workshops department organised interesting sessions such as Licence to Bake, where students were taught how to make frosted cupcakes. “I am a big foodie, so this workshop was perfect for me. This is my first Malhar and I am having a lot of fun,” said Vizak Gagrat, 19, a student of Sophia Polytechnic.

The fest was also visited by a few underprivileged children from Teach for India, a non-governmental organisation, for whom attending Malhar was a special treat. “I brought them here for necessary exposure. I hope this will inspire them to study hard and go to college one day,” said their teacher Aadi Rungta.