Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi(HB)
Udupi, Feb 10: ‘Article 19’, a three-day core communication fest concluded with several informative, thoughtful sessions, along with fun fair activities here on Saturday, February 9 at auditorium of School of Communication, Manipal.
On the second day, February 8, citizen journalist and historian Omar Mohammed, known as the ‘The Mosul Eye’, delivered his first address to an Indian audience. He was joined by Telugu director and SOC alumnus Nag Ashwin, the key speakers of the three-day event.
A native of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Omar talked about the inhumane conditions that prevailed owing to the Islam extremists. “The ISIS, they don’t like life; they like death. They don’t like me because I promote life, and that’s why they hunt me,” said Omar in his address.
When asked about the reasons for his address to an Indian audience, he spoke of his mission to put Mosul on the map. “I have tried to promote Mosul in many countries - Europe, Asia, and now India. This is a very successful mission for me. ISIS wants to represent Mosul as a city of death but we want to represent Mosul as a city of life; a city of diversity” he emphasized.
Director of the blockbuster biopic Mahanati, Ashwin talked about his journey from a student in Manipal to making his first film, Yevade Subramanyam. A significant portion of his talk and the question and answer session that followed was about Mahanati.
“The idea behind this film came from a three-part podcast where an old man talked about her (Savitri) entire story,”’ he added. The questions posed by the students paved way for some previously unknown facts about the film. “For the role of Gemini Ganesan, I tried talking to Nivin Pauly, but I believe that the only actor who could have done the role except for Dulquer Salmaan was R Madhavan,” he revealed.
Apart from the cultural contests that happened, the second day also played host to sporting competitions such as Futsal, where teams from Manipal and Udupi participated.
In the evening of second day, ‘Shipwreck Finals’, ‘Slam Poetry’ and ‘Taran Tells’ and ‘Channel Surfing’ competitions were conducted.
The second day concluded with Express Awards, the award ceremony for the winners of the fest’s events. The winners for these events were awarded prizes at pleasant moonlight at the SOC campus.
On third day and concluding day of Article-19 event, February 9, Archisman ‘FeTT’ Pradhan, an e-sports personnel, delivered a talk. He spoke on the various aspects of gaming as a professional sport and the current scenario of the gaming industry in India.
A twenty-six-year-old graduate from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, talked about the evolution of gaming competitions at a professional level. “The best teams have a strict diet to follow, along with workout sessions every day. The bigger teams even hire a sports psychologist, who helps them cope up with the stress that comes when you play these games,” he said. A major issue he stressed on was the disrepute that exists for the gaming community. “Sexism is a major stereotype that exists for e-sports. If you’re a girl and you play online, it becomes disgusting. The problem is that we try to find excuses instead of addressing the issue,” he added.
In the interactive session that followed, Archisman encouraged the students to explore career opportunities in gaming. “The gaming industry in India only has 10-20 gamers who are paid to play. We need a lot of people for the back-end work; the production and technological aspects of a gaming event,” he said.
Followed by the third day morning, there were funfair activities - where students dressed as fictitious characters. During three-day event, students enjoyed and gained thought provocative, career building information in all sessions.
Daijiworld.com and Daijiworld247 were the web and television media partners of the event.