In Retrospect – Kaleidoscope, 2017

By Komal Badve (Team Creative) 

Once upon a time, not too long ago, approximately 200 ladies sitting at the grand marble staircase in Sophia College belted out the slogan “Boom, Snap, Clap!” Some (including myself) feeling embarrassed on messing up the order of actions smiled, but continued shouting it anyway. This is exactly what comes to my mind when I think of Kaleidoscope, 2017.

With just one stroll around the campus, the intoxicating energy of the festival would get to anyone who entered the gates of Sophia College. Responsible for making the world a happier place were the stalls selling candy floss and of course, balloons. Seeing people walk around with these in their hands it was evident that they had successfully channelled their inner five year olds and weren’t afraid to show it.

And who could forget the Nykaa stall on campus? It was as if it was sent from the Gods above to reward us for all our hard work. (I’m sorry if the line was too dramatic for anyone reading this. I’m just sticking to the theme.) Moving on, there was obviously a variety of foods the stalls had to offer. From Fries, Pizzas, Shawarmas, Chaat and Chinese, to Ice-Cream and Coffee, the abundant range catered to the crowd’s massive appetite. The Man of the Match, though, was the gargantuan bookstall, selling everything from classics to comics. I felt a weird compulsion to buy all the make-up, books, and food I could, but my wallet felt otherwise.

Team Souvenirs was at the top of their game with the various mementoes they made. From handmade cat-ear hair bands to dream catcher earrings, maang-tikas, and badges everyone knew who to approach for the quirkiest gifts on campus! Adding to the grandeur of the college and the glamour of the theme was the breath-taking decor by Team Creative *sheds tears of joy*. The enormous poster hand-painted by the team members, to the striking chandelier, made from scratch were simply awe-inspiring. The Central Lawn as always looked like it came straight out of fairy tale, lit up with beautiful golden lights all over. 

One of the highlights of the festival was the water-balloon fight that took place on campus. (That’s right.) The final round of an event called “L.A.K- Kuintissential”; it was very amusing to see participants run around the college throwing water balloons at each other. The Bhabha and Multi Purpose Halls were venues for some of the most exciting events as well. From dance and music, to theatre and modelling, the contestants from the various participating colleges were no less than fire on the stage.

So it’s fair to think of Kaleidoscope, 2017 as nothing less than a roller coaster ride which I wouldn’t mind getting on one more time. Therefore, in conclusion all I’d like say is picture abhi baaki hai mere dost. (So until next time, hey, Ladies!) 

(KALEIDOS)COPING WITH THE EXCITEMENT: IT’S SHOWTIME!

By Mekhala Singhal (Team Creative)

As Kaleidoscope approaches (in a day!), we’re beginning to really feel the heat.  One day away, and oh, we are ready. Here are some reasons why Kaleidoscope is as important and as exciting as it has always been, and why, maybe, attending this year’s K'scope isn’t such a bad idea.

This year around, we’re bringing you the most delightful few days you may have ever experienced. The question is, are you ready for it?

We’ve put together the most amazing (literally) array of events for you, and only you- from JAM to Electrocuted to Project K to Let’s Talk Business, we have back to back events that will definitely take your breath away.

Apart from the events, everyone knows that the food stalls at Kscope are such that they make your mouth water constantly (and I mean, constantly). This year, we have some of the best food for you, so you not only get to attend the fest, but you also get to attend to the food at the fest! (If not for the food, you know you at least have to come to perform at the Karaoke Café, where you might just discover your own, hidden talent.)

Kaleidoscope is run entirely by a group of students (we say group, we mean hundreds of people), and this group is called the ‘workforce’. This means that hundreds of people come together and work throughout the year to make this fest happen.

Whether or not you are part of the workforce, there is always a sense of excitement looming over everyone the days before the fest. It builds and it grows, and every single person that has invested their time and their energy and their love into this fest starts to feel a strange fluttering of butterflies in their stomachs (and no, it’s not a sign of exhaustion).

Kscope brings with it a commitment, be it to the people one has to work with, or the job one has to complete, or to oneself, that people fulfil almost with what seems to be a sense of duty. To see people work with that kind of dedication not only inspires others around them to work, but also makes every single person who sticks to this commitment feel proud of the result, and humbled by the experience.

Emotional bits aside, there is so much to this fest that is there to be consumed and adored, and that is enough to make anyone brim over with joy and enthusiasm. We don’t exaggerate when we say that it is one of the best college festivals. Come and see for yourself? (The beautiful campus is calling to you, you know it.)

K'scope starts tomorrow. (How is it here already?!) That’s the 16^th and the 17^th of September, at Sophia College for Women. Bring your love, bring your energy, bring your excitement, and we’ll see you there.

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO AT KALEIDOSCOPE 2017!

By Amrita Menon (Team Creative)

There’s a host of new events and activities lined up for this year and what we’ve included here is just a sneak peak of what’s in store for you.

1) Everybody loves a good drama event, and Team Performing Arts has got a great new addition this year. Dramebaaz, the new ‘Hinglish’ comedy drama event lets you live out your fantasy of putting your own spin on any movie that you’ve ever watched. But, like any good drama, there’s a twist: you must include a 60 second monologue from a Shakespearean drama of your choice.

2) Our favourites, Team Fine Arts and Informals, have collaborated on an event this year, called Project K, that will have all you fashion enthusiasts excited like never before. This event, spread over two days, requires two designers to team up and sketch and create an amazing outfit that will then be showcased on a model who will have to strut their stuff on a runway built exclusively for K'scope. 

3) Team Literary Arts brings you another incredibly exciting event- Word Wars, a relay writing event meant to test all you literary geeks for your spontaneity and coordination. Members from each team must work with each other to collectively write a story while simultaneously completing a set of challenges meant to impede you from achieving your goal.

4)Not participating in an event this year? That’s alright because K'scope still has tonnes of stuff for you to experience! With the Fine Arts Exhibition this year, Team Fine Arts will be displaying all the finished products of every FA event this year. So go soak up all the artsy awesomeness and experience the wonder of all the amazing installations displayed just for you.

5) K'scope loves to karaoke, and this year we’ve left it up to our social partner, Tinder, to bring you the epic Karaoke Cafe once again. So if the general atmosphere of K'scope has you pumped and you need a place to release all that energy, head over to the Karaoke Cafe and sing your heart out. 

6) There’s never been a dearth of food here at Kscope, and 2017 promises to be even better. Along with the usual favourites like The J and Carters Express, we have several new additions this year. Bandra’s favourite Mini Pancakes brings you the best pancakes you’ll ever have. And obviously, no food party is complete without pizza and in addition to Dominoes this year; we’re bringing you Conical Twist (and their pizzas in a cone!) to spread the joy of cheesy goodness one cone at a time. 

We’ll be at Kaleidoscope this year, and hopefully, so will you! (The main days are 16^th and 17^th of September.)

KALEIDOSCOPE (EMERGENCY EDITION): ASK THE WORKFORCE

By Milana Prakash (Team Creative)

For a fest that is as massive as K'scope, there’s a lot that needs to work seamlessly. There are 21 teams, a plethora of sponsors, tons of contingents to tend to and succinctly speaking; it requires a lot of coordination and hard work. In this process of striving to juggle all these aspects, sometimes, things do not go as expected. Crisis hits and the workforce is left with no choice but to act smartly and act quickly. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and here are some interesting stories that our coordinators recall from their experiences.

“Use the best of whatever you have at your disposal!” says Simran Chettiar, a Coordinator for Team PR. “Last year for After 8, we didn’t have a keyboard stand and I was running all over the college trying to look for a solution. Finally, with the help of Team Technicals we placed speakers which weren’t in use, to ensconce the keyboard on top of it.”

“I gave my pillow for the drum” states Pearl Coutinho, a Coordinator for Team Technicals. “For Electrocuted [a band music event], the base of the drum that we had for the performances kept rebounding. It could survive 5 performances at the most. At one point, a drummer from a contingent insisted on getting a pillow to keep it steady. Caught in a state of fix, I went around the college looking for pillows, but all in vain. Finally, I ran up to my hostel room, grabbed my own pillow, and handed it over to him. The pillow seemed to have done wonders and lasted for the entire event. It was a proud moment for me, though for the next 10 days I didn’t have a good pillow to sleep on; I was glad that I could handle the pressure and find a constructive solution when no one else could.”

“We totally freaked out!” said Shalini Sur from Team Pre-K. “The day after the fest, when we distribute gifts to the winners, we just couldn’t find our sponsor’s gifts, which had to be given to our winners! It just went missing from the den and we had no idea about how we could arrange gifts at the last minute, when our winners were waiting right outside. In such a moment, the other event team very kindly helped us with their gifts like a saviors. Luckily, we managed to find our gifts later from the storage.”

“Pleasing them was difficult” claims Divya Tejwani, from Team Fine Arts. “While we didn’t have any major problem, finding gift sponsors and getting them on board was a bit of a task. We sat day and night making calls, buzzing all art galleries and customized gift shops of the city. We found rather impressive places but there were a few differences in opinion, which made it difficult to get them. But we didn’t give up, we helped each other out by relentlessly going for sponsor meetings with our juniors and we now have 4 amazing sponsors on board!”

“You can’t really be sweet all the time” says Nikita Golhar, a. Assistant Coordinator for Team Security. “There was an event at the Bhabha Hall and members from a particular college wanted to barge in, breaking away from the queue. I felt it was terribly unfair on the part of the others who were waiting patiently in a line. It was very hard for me because I had to tread the thin line between being polite but firm at the same time, even if they perceived it as being rude. Ultimately, rules must prevail and the decorum must be held. At that moment you’re under so much pressure to act quick but diplomatically.”

CAMPUS LEGENDS: IS THE COLLEGE HAUNTED?

by Nandita Potnis (Team Creative)

College life is incomplete without a few exaggerated, dramatic, but entertaining and possibly true ‘legends’. And the students of our college do not disappoint us with their enthusiasm to tell us these stories. So here are some exciting, yet creepy stories.

1) The Spirit of a Princess

Many hostelites from the 1960’s, up until now, strongly believe that a ghost of a princess resides in the college. It is believed that one Princess, who lived in this former Palace, was buried where the Library now stands. Some hostelites claim to hear her walking down the lodge staircase and even down the hostel corridors. She is believed to be wearing a pale white sari, and a payal on one leg, which makes its signature sound every night.

2) The Angel of the Chapel

Some hostelites and students also claim to hear the Chapel bells ringing at odd hours of the day and night, which they claim is an Angel who looks over our college, and the bells ringing are a sign that she is around. Though some believe the bells are a rather scary sound and think of it as another ‘spirit’.

3) The Spirit that Haunts The Chapel Corridor

Many students suspect that the Chapel corridor has a spirit that plays pranks on the students, and he is supposedly a companion to the Angel. A lot of students claim that this “spirit” flicks their hair or trips them over in the corridors, just for fun.

Whether these tales are true, or just some spicy banter for the college experience, one will never know for sure. But one thing is true, these stories are always going to intimidate us, and we’re always going to be on the lookout for any of these spirits! Best of luck, I guess?

SOCIAL CAUSE RALLY 2017

By Milana Prakash (Team Creative)

As a part of the Pre-Kscope events, the yearly social cause rally at Carter Road is back! This time with one of the nation’s most prestigious NGOs, CRY (Child Rights and You), as our partner. The entire K'scope Workforce, Contingents and Contingent Leaders from other colleges will be present to extend their support for the cause of ‘Right to Education’. The social cause rally will witness the culmination of music, dance and of course, a lot of fun, all directed towards supporting a very relevant and important cause.

When and where is the Social Cause Rally?

The Social Cause Rally will be held on the Friday, 8^th of September 2017 at Carter Road, 4:15 PM onwards.

How do I get there?

If you’re considering public transport, hop off a train at the Bandra Station and catch an auto (you’ll find a dozen willing auto wallas to ferry you a ride) to the Carters Promenade. If not, there’s always Ola/Uber, or the trusty old kaali-peelis.

Why should I be interested?

It’s Carter Road! Why not? A walk in the promenade facing the serene seawater lapping at the rocks and soaking up the evening breeze is in itself cathartic and therapeutic. If that isn’t it, this isn’t just any other ordinary walk; it’s a rally for a bigger cause! The event starts with the flash mob (so get your dancing shoes along), followed by a performance for CRY, and then the main rally, where the workforce will be armed with colorful posters and slogans.

What is the points system?

If you’re a CL or an ACL, or a Contingent Member, make sure that you are present, with five or more students from your college! Next, click a picture with any of our coordinators after the rally (you’ll find them with vibrant yellow ribbons around their wrists), and then post it on social media with our hashtags (#Kaleidoscope2017, #KscopeGoesFilmy, and #ItsShowtime!). And don’t forget to tag us! This will act as proof of your participation in the rally, and it’s worth THREE POINTS.

We look forward to seeing you there!

FLASH MOB 2017

 By Nandita Potnis (Team Creative)

Kaleidoscope is only a week away, and we’re more than just excited! We’re ready for another week of fun, creativity and intoxicating energy.

But before the Kaleidoscope fun begins, we have some great events in store for everyone. The Flash Mob has been one of the most awaited Pre-Kaleidoscope events, along with the Social Cause Rally. Our team this year has put together their amazing dance moves and created something fun and interesting to watch.

When is it?

This year we have a Flash Mob organised on the 7^th of September, Thursday, which is open to not only the workforce but all the contingents as well!

How do I get there?

This Flash Mob will be held at Infiniti Mall, Malad, in the Main Atrium. Getting to the venue is super easy, local transport, such as trains, metros, taxis and rickshaws all ride to and back from there. And Uber's and Ola's are always an alternative option!

What is the Point System?

This event is open to one and all, and does not hold any point system.

Why should I attend this event?

Our team has put in all their love and effort into creating something stunning for the crowd, their dedication and hard work is truly something you should come and observe. This event will also get you all geared up and ready for Kaleidoscope.

The workforce is very delighted to be there and is hoping to see all the other contingents there too!