Vikalp at SMVDU, which is a students’ initiative, has always tried to balance teaching activities with extracurricular engagements. Keeping that in mind, Vikalp celebrated its first cultural fest, Karwaan, from 26-29 May 2022.The events accommodated over 200 children from nearby villages, all of whom were encouraged to participate in various events, thus allowing them to portray their talent. Some of the university faculty members associated with Vikalp graciously accepted the offer to judge the events.Karwaan commenced with the literary events on 26 May, in which children took part in poetry competitions, spelling bee, and debate competitions, which were judged by Dr. Anil Bhardwaj, Dr. Anil KumarTiwari and Dr. Madhu Mangal Chaturvedi.
The strong views and confidence of the students impressed everyone present, judges and audience alike. On the next day, fine arts events took place; with the rangoli floor decors made by the children, mehndi on their hands, and crafts in all the classrooms, the Vikalp rooms looked more colourful than ever. Dr. Rajiv Kumar and Mrs. Nidhi Vashishth were the judges for the events. On the next day, a quiz competition was organized to test the children’s general knowledge, and they performed wonderfully. A singing competition followed the quiz. The judge for the event, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, was impressed by the children’s melodious performances. On the final day of Karwaan, the children prepared a play to make us aware of the importance of taking care of our planet. Along with that, a group dance competition was held, which included folk dance forms from the various parts of the country.
Following that, the event’s judges, Dr Mir Irfan, a prominent contributor for Vikalp, Mr. Kaushal Kumar, a notable alumnus of Vikalp from batch 2015 and faculty coordinator, Mr. Sumanta Sarathi Sharma, awarded the winners of all the competitions with medals and trophies which brought Karwaan 2022 to an end.Vikalp is grateful for the support from the Vice-Chancellor, SMVDU Prof. (Dr.) Ravindra Kumar Sinha, and also thanked the Registrar, SMVDU Shri Nagendra Singh Jamwal for the administrative support.