Sway to the beat of festivities

By Supriya Chaudhary 

An unprecedented online musical concert, “WOKRA”, which brought together artists from various genres such as Ags the Silver, Willivonka and many more, was organised by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Apeejay Stya University, on October 23.

 The artistes kicked off the event by expressing what music means to them and sharing insights from their musical journeys. Kirti and Agastya from the BJMC 3^rd year batch, the hosts of the event, proceeded to explain the name given to the event.  Kirti said, “WOKRA can mean different things to different people,” whereas Agastya said, “It’s the idea of love.”

The pièce de résistance of the show was when Novacane and Ags the Silver jammed in an impromptu collaboration! The audience vibed to the performances the entire time! WOKRA was a remarkable experience. For an event this steeped in tradition, with a dictionary of Rap lingo, full of inside phrases and jokes, it was the spirit of the event and the free spirit of the people that created this experience.

The organisers got the ball rolling with melodious tunes which people could sway to and even sing along. These melodies were sung by performers such as Shaurya Kamal, Arpit, Deeksha Singh and Agniva Bose. Soon after Ags the Silver triggered the line-up with Rap and R&B with performers such as Syntaxx, Willivonka and Novacane. For the uninitiated, Rhythm and Blues, often abbreviated as R&B is a different genre of music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s, had moved the audience to the next level of enjoyment.  

The event officially commenced with the performance of musician Arpit Saini. Saini is a self-taught musician and has already performed for more than 60 events. He also exclusively performed a piece from his debut album which will be released by the end of 2021. Carrying forward the aesthetic vibe, Deeksha Singh enchanted the audience with her mesmerising soft rock performance. The latter half of the event proved to be astounding with its musical hard-core performances by artists.

Syntax, a 19-year-old rapper, who started with poetry at the tender age of nine, performed heart-touching rap originals that revolved around real-life experiences. Williwonka hyped the show up with his dynamic musical blends of hip-hop, R&B, and pop songs. Ags the Silver and Novacane wrapped it up with their collaborative piece, “Straight outta Delhi”.

Professor Pushpa Nair addressed the audience, performers, and the team with words of appreciation. Snigdha Nigam, BJMC 3^rd year student, concluded the event with a vote of thanks. Overall, the event was a big hit. The audience loved the overall vibe of WOKRA. The feedback from them was also incredible, to quote one attendee, “The performers were all amazing!! I am not a rap follower but I loved the lyrics and rhymes that the artists came up with”. Shivani, a bachelor’s student, who was part of the audience, found the event quite fascinating. She said, “I swayed through the performances. I loved the mashups the most and I wish more such events would take place in the future.”

The organising team of WOKRA was super enthusiastic during the show. One of the anchors, Agastya, told us that his nervous energy converted into gusto and zeal during the event.