Event

An Innovative Beginning

Rakibul Hasan
Photos: Khaled Faisal

Breaking the curtain of mysterious fog came out the zombies; they began to dance with the beats of Michael Jackson's famous number, the 'thriller' and the audience were enthralled seeing the ethereal activities on the stage. Such was the scene at the auditorium of Teachers Students Centre (TSC) of Dhaka University (DU) on the occasion of 'Fresher's Reception and Farewell Programme 2011' organised by the Department of International Relations (IR), DU.

Though all the departments of DU organise fresher's reception to greet the newcomers and at the same time bid farewell to the students who have freshly graduated from the respective department on a regular basis, the teachers and students from the IR Department, DU thought of doing something different this time. The annual Fresher's reception and farewell programme is usually a department fest fofr the students. This year the whole fest was shaped with amusing performances carried out by the students. As the students were determined not to hire any renowned artist which is a trend in such programmes, they came up with their own gang of artists and performers. “It was so much fun performing for my department. I had no idea that we have so many talented people amongst us who can dance, sing and perform so well. It seems that now we can come up with our very own Glee Club where students can get a platform to explore their inner creativity,” says Bivu, an IR student from BSS final year.

To make the festival a success, the students rehearsed their feats on a regular basis for eight long weeks before hitting the final stage. “We practised very hard so that we can warm up the audience with quality entertainments. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the experience thoroughly as those rehearsals became a great substitute for the regular weekend activities like chatting on social networking websites or watching television. Sometimes we practised together at the first floor of TSC and I believe all of us will always remember those engaging moments of going collective and having fun,” says Azhar the co-ordinator of the festival and also a performer at the programme.

On the day of the final performance, students took up the stage by singing, dancing, recitation, drama and everything they had to offer to the audience. The pieces presented by students were diverse starting from patriotic songs and ethnic dance to tango dance and fashion show. The audience at the programme consisted of the present and previous teachers and students of the Department of IR. They were enthralled to see the fascinating performance by their fellow classmates or students, while at the same time they were amused to see the silly mistakes the amateur performers sometimes made during their first ever show on stage.

Md Sajjad Hussein, a teacher from the Department of IR says, “I believe these kinds of collective efforts provide the students with new insights about teamwork and also enhance their leadership qualities.”

The teachers and students of the Department of IR DU will surely cherish the fond memory of enjoying together on the occasion of such an extravagant event for many years to come.