Can the death of men lead to peace? Participants went all guns blazing in the debate competition, arguing for and against the topic, ‘The peace of society rests invariably on the death of Men’ at Spandan 2014, Jipmer’s annual inter-college extravaganza.
Predictably, Hitler and Gaddafi on one side and Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. on the other came up frequently in the debate. The moderator, Ravi Philip, kept asking participants to look beyond historical events of destruction. “Look at the broader ethical issues, not just the merits and demerits of capital punishment,” said Dr. Philip.
At the end of a closely-fought contest, two teams from Jipmer tied for first place and Akshat from AFMC was adjudged Best Speaker.
In another venue, a different kind of skill set was on display at the clay modelling contest. Shantanu and teammate Samith Kumar bagged the first place.
When asked about the unique feature of Spandan, Shantanu Singh from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, said it pitted medical students against arts students in categories such as fine arts, something which is uncommon in other inter-college festivals.
“We have portrayed the theme ‘service before self’ in our model. At AFMC, we play dual roles of a soldier and a doctor and we are trained to show care and compassion in a place where there is none-the battlefield,” he said.
The prize winning entry showed a soldier carrying a wounded man. Students from the AFMC also bagged the second place with their entry, ‘She can be your mother, sister, daughter, anyone. Treat them like one.’ The model showed a woman in tears being smothered with a chain depicting her predicament.
In the sketching competition, participants were seen trying to best depict on paper the given themes which ranged from ‘mystery’ to ‘silhouette’ and ‘mirage.’ The day’s literary events included Pictionary and the ongoing Flash Fiction and Poetry Writing competitions.
In the sports events on Tuesday, the Jipmer team did well to win in multiple events as did Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalapuram, and Sree Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences. Other ongoing competitions include the short film competition, ‘La Fete Du Cinema’ and the photography competition. Organisers said entries would be displayed at the ‘Spandan Mess’ for all to see.
Keeping the Spandan community updated on events is ‘The Orient Express,’ the daily newsletter which gives a roundup of the previous day’s happenings with a dash of humour.
The day ended in a burst of guitar riffs and pulsating beats as Carnatic rock band Baiju Dharmajan Syndicate brought the crowds to their feet with a typically effervescent performance. Frontman and lead guitarist Baiju Dharmajan showed why he is considered a virtuoso performer.
Dharmajan showed why he is considered a virtuoso performer and a pioneer of the Carnatic Guitar. After all, it is not for nothing that this artist has won the Best Guitarist award at the Jack Daniel’s Annual Rock Awards thrice. When he took to the stage for Spandan, the crowds gave him a thunderous welcome. He included classics from his former band Motherjane like Karna, Mindstreet, Philia and instrumentals Halo, Rainbow and his version of Vande Mataram.
