EUPHONIOUS 2024

“Where words fail, music speaks.”

— Hans Christian Anderson

Music flowed, beats dropped, and voices roared. Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting before you Euphonious 2024, where the stage turned into a battlefield, witnessing the best of musicians and singers of Kolkata competing against each other with their groundbreaking performances, taking this inter-college competition to a different level and setting the bar the highest. Crescendo, the Music Collective of the Bhawanipur Education Society College, organised Euphonious 2024 on 28th September 2024, which kicked off at 10:00 A.M. with the Opening Ceremony. With 8 different events taking place in Jubilee Hall and Concept Hall of the college, respectively, Euphonious witnessed a blast of events. There were battles of rappers, extraordinary beats and rhythms of the beatboxers, melody of Eastern and Western music, trailblazing Bollywood numbers and some iconic band performances that one could have ever thought of.

OPENING CEREMONY

The Euphonious 2024 began at 10:00 A.M. with the Opening Ceremony, where the melody queen Sonakshi Kar, the winner of Indian Idol Junior, Saregamapa Lil Champs and Indian Idol Season 13, officially commemorated Euphonious with the song “Ghar Mode Pardesiya”. Interestingly, 28th September also marked the birthday of Prof. Dilip Shah, Rector and Dean of the Students’ Affairs, BESC, making the occasion even more memorable and worthy of celebrations. The theme of Euphonious 2024 was “Monsoon”, and keeping in mind the theme, the Art-In-Me Collective of The Bhawanipur Education Society College decorated the Halls, which Mr. Shah and the entire house commended and applauded. He then introduced Mr. Sourav Goswami, the Mentor of Crescendo and together they paired to give the audience a melodious song and officially announced the beginning of Euphonious 2024.

SOLO EASTERN

Representing the rich culture and language of our vast demography, Solo Eastern was an event that successfully brought out the talents of the young singers, highlighting their love for their own diversified culture and ethnicity. With 12 participants, the event took place in the Jubilee Hall of the college, starting sharp at 10:30 A.M. Mr. Krsna Dwaipayan Mukherjee, a melodic icon, vocalist, playback singer, composer, and arranger, judged the Solo Eastern Competition. He debuted on stage at 5 with Padmasree Usha Uthup Ji and has performed in over 3000 shows. Trained by his mother, Indrani Mukherjee and other renowned musicians, he excels with his band Humsufi and has completed 1500 shows globally and also received the prestigious ‘Pride of Bengal’. He was felicitated by Prof. Dilip Shah. Solo Eastern event witnessed a variety of songs which included folk songs, songs of different cultures and diversities, and to name a few, “Thakur Jamai Elo Barite”, “Tapur Tupur Brishti Nupur”, “Tumi Koto Je Dure”, R.D. Burman’s Tumi Koto Je Dure and Manna Dey’s famous “Behag Jodi Na Hoy Raji”. The event saw an end at around 11:30 A.M. The Bhawanipur Education Society College OTSE Team bagged the first prize, followed by Jaipuria College and Jadavpur University, who jointly came second.

SOLO INSTRUMENTAL

Music proves to be the voice of our soul, and Solo Instrumental was an event where the participants pleased the audience with music with the help of instruments like guitar, piano, keyboard or mouth organ. The event took place in the Concept Hall, from 10:30 A.M. sharp, with 8 participants. Somak Sinha was the judge who is an award-winning music composer and performing artist known for his innovative approach to blending genres and creating evocative soundscapes. A few of his notable accolades are the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for the music video “Aigiri Nandini” along with the band Adbhutam, the Global Icon Award for the best-emerging youth guitarist & composer in eastern India, awarded from Harvard (London) for contribution in the field of World Music and Brooklyn Award for outstanding contribution in Indian Music. Prof. Dilip Shah felicitated Mr Somak Sinha. This event was soothing enough to calm the chaos going around and bring peace to the floor with its mesmerising performances with musical instruments. The event ended at 11:30 A.M. For Solo Instrumental, Jaipuria College bagged the first prize and The Bhawanipur Education Society College Main Team came second.

SOLO WESTERN

The Solo Western event took place from 11:30 A.M. onwards in the Jubilee Hall of the college and was judged by Mr. Kaustav Banerjee, who started his musical journey in the year 2010 and formed a band with the name “The Grooverz”.

Since 2011, The Grooverz has seen a lot of success in the form of international shows, like Indonesia, Bhutan, Dubai, Bangkok, and Bangladesh. Mr Banerjee was felicitated by Mr Sourav Goswami. The event witnessed 11 participants competing their best to win the champion trophy. Performances based on Taylor Swift and Coldplay songs kept the audience seated throughout the event with excitement and enjoyment. The event ended at 1:00 P.M. Jadavpur University rose to be the winner, and The Bhawanipur Education Society College OTSE Team bagged the second prize for this event.

RAPPING

Where words rhyme and hearts vibe, that’s where rappers steal the show. The war of rappers had set the stage on fire! The face-offs, the beats, the emotions, the words and the energy that the stage of The Bhawanipur Education Society witnessed were beyond expectations. The Concept Hall of the college witnessed the blast, which began at 11:30 A.M with 7 participants and Mr. Valentino being the judge for the event. Valentino Salvador, the freestyle virtuoso from the vibrant streets of Kolkata, transcends the conventional realms of rap. Through a fusion of rhythmic lyricism and raw emotion, Salvador has become the storyteller of untold tales, a beacon for those who seek solace in shared experiences. His creative process is a symphony that harmonises with the stories, happy, sad, or bad, that often go unheard. Valentino Salvador is not just a rapper; he’s a messenger of emotions, a conduit for the unspoken stories that weave through the collective human experience. He was felicitated by Prof. Dilip Shah. No doubt, the performances kept setting the bar higher, and it was of great pleasure to witness that the performances were based on real-life issues, where one of the participants based the rap on the sensitive topic of suicide and mental health and was also applauded by the judge. Every rap had its own identity and was unique. 12:30 P.M. marked the end of this event. The Bhawanipur Education Society College Main Team stood first, and Jadavpur University came second.

SOLO BOLLYWOOD

“Ajeeb daastaan hai yeh, Kahan shuru kahan khatam,

Yeh manzile hai kaunsi, Na woh samajh sake na hum.”

Bollywood never disappoints us with its aura and vibe, and to bring the magic of Bollywood on stage, BESC had the Solo Bollywood Competition, which witnessed the finest performances. The event took place in the Jubilee Hall of the college, 1:00 P.M. onwards, with 12 participants delivering the best they had. Mr. Suvham Verma judged Solo Bollywood and rightfully selected the best of the talents to be awarded. With no doubt, the event took us through the evergreen Bollywood numbers. 2:30 P.M. marked the end of this event.  The Bhawanipur Education Society College Main Team stood first, and St. Paul’s Cathedral Mission bagged the second position for this event.

WESTERN BAND

Where musical notes and talented voices create melody and instruments create magic, the stage witnesses the fiercest battles, and we call it the Western Band Performances. The Concept Hall of The Bhawanipur Education Society College witnessed the Western Band Competition from 1:00 P.M. onwards, which had 4 participating teams putting forward their best performances. Mr Faizaan Khurshid was the judge for the event, a professional singer since 2009, the Indian Karaoke World Champion (2012) and the winner of MTV Bollyland (2015). He has represented India among 30 other countries in Lappeenranta, Finland, in 2012 at the KWC World Finale and reached the Top 10 in the Male category. He has performed with celebrities like Atif Aslam, Sukhwinder Singh and Neha Kakkar and has also been a solo act as well as a part of the Indian boy band – VOICEZ and is currently a part of Shaandaar, Eastern India’s first DJ-based band. Mr Khurshid was felicitated by Mr Sourav Goswami. Some of the most electrifying performances were witnessed, which kept the audience on the edge of their seats. The event came to an end at 2:00 P.M. The Bhawanipur Education Society College OTSE Team bagged the second position for Western Band, whereas Jadavpur University came first.

BOLLYWOOD BAND

Some songs are forever engraved in our hearts, and Bollywood is such a genre. No doubt, one of the most anticipated events of the day was the Bollywood Band, which witnessed a tough competition between the 7 best teams of the City of Joy. The event started at 2:30 P.M. and took place in the Concept Hall of the college. The judges for the event were Abhirup Dutta, Live and Session Artist, associated with NandySisters live, Prasener Dolbol, Bolly Sufi, Upal Sengupta Live Zen Trio Project and Akash Bansal, and they were felicitated by Prof. Dilip Shah. Songs like “Teri Deewani” and “Dil Se Re” were performed, which seemed to be a treat to the ears on the other hand, one of the band’s performances chose songs “Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai” and “Tum Kyu Chale Aate Ho”, which without any doubt was a tribute to the legendary singer K.K. One of the band performances set the stage on fire with their outstanding performance of the song “Ami Je Tomar”, and the last performing band of the day made it even tougher for the judges with their performance, which was a mashup of “Har Kisi Ko” and “Nadaan Parindey”. The end of the Bollywood Band event was even more energetic with the showcase performances of the esteemed judges, which proved to be the cherry on the cake. The event ended at 4:30 P.M. The Bhawanipur Education Society College Main Team successfully bagged the first position, followed by Jadavpur University coming second in the competition.

BEATBOXING

Where beats vibe and rhythms set the tone, the extraordinary human vocal percussion skills master over the stage, we call it Beatboxing. The Bhawanipur Education Society College witnessed a Beatboxing competition in the Jubilee Hall of the college from 4:00 P.M. 4 participants were judged by Mr. Kanishk Chatterjee, who is a Beatboxer and Vocal Percussionist with a focus on genres such as House, Tráp, Psy, and Progressive. Concentrating on trap music and new school or advanced beatboxing, live gigs to studio sessions, and more, Kanishk continues to touch fans around the world with their distinct and enjoyable musical style. He was felicitated by Prof. Dilip Shah. The event was successful and proved to be even better when Sir Valentino jammed with Mr. Kanishk Chatterjee, and the audience couldn’t be happier. The iconic beats of Mr. Kanishk Chatterjee and the rhythmic words of Mr. Valentino Salvador proved to be one of the most energetic performances of the day, and with this performance, the event ended at 5:00 P.M. The winners for Beatboxing included Scottish Church College, bagging the first prize and The Bhawanipur Education Society College Main Team becoming second.

CLOSING CEREMONY

Throughout the day, BESC witnessed the toughest battles and made it difficult for the esteemed judges to decide upon the winners. Finally, with the closing ceremony from 5:00 P.M. onwards, the awards were handed over to the winners, and the time came for which every audience was waiting. Prof. Dilip Shah, Prof. Minakshi Chaturvedi and Mr. Sourav Goswami, along with the judges, gave out the trophies, medals and certificates to the winners. The Overall Winners were announced when The Bhawanipur Education Society College secured the runner-up position, and The Jadavpur University rose to be the Champions.

Euphonious 2024 came to a fruitful conclusion at around 5:30 P.M. and was a resounding success for the student volunteers and participants.

REPORTER – Moubani Maity and Aanya Singh
PHOTOGRAPHER – Agrag Ghosh, Ankit Maji, Sourish Kumar Deb, Arka Mukherjee, Papon Das