The LitSoc 2010 Western Music (WM) Solo competition was conducted on September 19th at CLT.
One of the first few events of the LitSoc calendar, the WM Solo competition garnered an impressive turnout at CLT. Every hostel had representation, and the competition was fierce.
- Disgruntled Participant
The Vocals competition began with a non-competitive performance from a student from Sharavati, after which the coordinator announced, “from now on, all competitors will be competitive” [sic].
Some performances stood out – Vaaruni ‘Vaa’ Eashwar, from Sharavati Hostel, finished first for her rendition of ‘Fell in Love with a Boy‘ by Joss Stone. Aarathi Kumar, from Sharavati Hostel, came second for her spirited version of ‘You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch‘. Sanjay ‘Pojo’ Guruprasad,from Saraswati Hostel, finished third for his performance of ‘Desperado‘ by The Eagles. Last year’s winner, Kaushik ‘Pinky’ Vishwanath from Tambi Hostel performed two versions of ‘I Gotta Feeling‘ and was placed fourth. It is worthy to note that there were a significant number of M.Tech participants. TFE hopes that this trend continues in other events at LitSoc.
The second part of the competition began an hour behind schedule, but with a larger audience. Some performances were stunning, with a wide variety of genres being represented. Hariharan ‘Lollipop’ Mohanraj, received a well deserved first place for his composition on the bass guitar. After accompanying every second vocalist, Lolli performed a piece that can, at best, be described as an amalgamation of Monoacting and WM. Chandrashekar, from Alakananda Hostel, came second, for an impressive rendition of ‘Revolutionary Etude‘ by Chopin, and the First Movement of ‘Moonlight Sonata‘ by Beethoven. Nikhil ‘Pony’ Bandale, from Jamuna Hoste, came third for a cover of ‘Cliffs of Dover’ by Eric Johnson. Advaith ‘Sappola’ Mohan, from Pampa Hostel came fourth for a cover of Andy Mckee’s ‘Drifting‘. Surej Simon, from Tambi Hostel, finished fifth for a highly energetic own-composition drums solo.
The final results were :
Vocal
1st Place: Vaaruni Eashwar – Sharav
2nd Place: Aarathi Kumar – Sharav
3rd Place: Sanjay “Pojo” Guruprasad – Saras
4th Place: Kaushik “Pinky” Viswanath – Tambi
5th Place: Prince John – Tambi (Freshie)
6th Place: Hariharan “Lollipop” Mohanraj – Saras
7th Place: Jozirre “Sex Text” Lyngdoh – Jamuna (Freshie)
8th Place: Nishanth Sharma – Pampa
Instrumental
1st Place: Hariharan “Lollipop” Mohanraj – Saras
2nd Place: Chandrashekar – Alak
3rd Place: Nikhil “Pony” Bandhale – Jamuna
4th Place: Advaith “Sappola” Mohan – Pampa
5th Place: Surej Simon – Tambi (Freshie)
