As the most-awaited event on Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) campus, 'Jashan', is round the corner, the participants from various departments of the varsity are working hard to make the occasion a success.
The four-day inter-departmental cultural event will start on February 27. Competitions in categories like bhangra, giddha, western dance, creative dance, skits, plays etc will be held.
Many former students are also associated with the event. Gurjap Singh Pawar, a GNDU alumnus and the coach of the bhangra team of food science & technology department, says,
"Jashan is more popular than the inter-college youth festival. There are many bhangra teams in the fray. About six-seven bhangra teams participate every year. Teams from Department of Commerce Business Management, Department of CSE are among the strongest." But there are some worries too.
"I am a pass out from the university. But my love for bhangra pulls me back. The responsibility for making the department win and to coach the freshers is huge. Funding is also a problem. Bhangra preparations require Rs 20,000, while we manage only Rs 8,000 from contribution and the rest of the amount comes from students' pocket."
Sumeet Singh, another alumnus who is into a government job, said, "The only worrying thing is that youngsters are not inclined towards folk dance forms nowadays. Traditional boliyan which used to be a part of the bhangra culture have also been sidelined. The other reason for Punjabi folk taking a backseat is multilingual variety of students in the university who do not know what bhangra is."
{{/usCountry}}Sumeet Singh, another alumnus who is into a government job, said, "The only worrying thing is that youngsters are not inclined towards folk dance forms nowadays. Traditional boliyan which used to be a part of the bhangra culture have also been sidelined. The other reason for Punjabi folk taking a backseat is multilingual variety of students in the university who do not know what bhangra is."
{{/usCountry}}"When we tell the freshers to join Jashan, they laugh and ask what we gained from working so hard," he said.
Jasjot Singh, a student of CSE department, says, "We are being taught by our seniors and coaches with decades of experience in bhangra. Seniors might be more talented than us but the newcomers also do well with regular participation."
While Arshdeep Kaur, a giddha team member from CSE department, says girl participants face problems during preparations. "While rehearsing for the event, we need to have flexible timings for hostel entry," she says.
"Jashan is more popular than the inter-college youth festival. There are many bhangra teams in the fray. About six-seven bhangra teams participate every year."
— Gurjap Singh Pawar, GNDU alumnus