“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
These great words by Pele, were proved to be true by each and every member of all the teams who were a part of the AWES fest held at Army Institute of Law from 29th October – 31st October 2018. The AWES Fest is a comprehensive contest, held yearly, to assess the holistic development of students in the field of Sports, Literature and Arts. Each college is required to field a contingent of 25 shortlisted students who are all-rounders for competing with the teams from other colleges. This year, the honor of holding this prestigious fest went to our college and the journey was as thrilling and eventful as a rollercoaster ride. Four other colleges apart from AIL participated in the much awaited events, namely- Army Institute of Education (AIE), Noida, Army Institute of Management and Technology (AIMT), Noida, Army College of Medical Sciences (ACMS), Delhi and Army College of Nursing (ACN), Jalandhar. The theme of the fest was aptly decided to be, “SPECTRUM: COLOURS OF LIFE”.
AIL had the onerous responsibility of hosting all the teams as well as to prove its mettle in both organizing and competing with the other teams. There were numerous impediments and hurdles, which the college management, teachers and students had to surmount. The drudgery started almost a month earlier. While the participants of the cultural event, shed sweat and tears (in their very literal sense), picking up some very deft and arduous choreographies, the students participating in the sports events faced greater challenges as their physical capacity was pushed to the limits. The boys, as well the girls, practiced religiously every day for hours to brush up their skills in various sporting events. Those participating in the literary events, held sessions frequently to refurbish their adroitness in various contests including spell-bee, turncoat and institute presentation. The tough grind was not limited to the ones participating in the various competitions. All the teachers, toiled hard and often braved the rain, to ensure the successful completion of the fest. The ones who were a part of the Inaugural ceremony, Social evening and the Closing ceremony worked equally hard to motivate the participants as well as to keep a festive atmosphere. One could hear the consistent echoes, coming from the Multipurpose Hall (MPH), which were the testimony of the travails of these students. As the eventual day was near, the decoration committee worked tirelessly in embellishing the entire Institute. The ardent members of the accommodation committee left no stone unturned in preparing the rooms for the teams. The staff and management of the college ensured that the host institute was fully geared up to host the esteemed guest students and faculty members along with esteemed Judges and referees from various colleges without any hitch.
Finally, the much anticipated day arrived. The inaugural ceremony included an inspiring declamation from our Principal and was followed by some very enthralling performances by our fellow students. This ceremony was followed by a short, but very well prepared, function to perk up the spirits of the fellow contestants. It included a dynamic bhangra sequence, which left the crowd rather spellbound. The day ended with the DJ night, which witnessed some fiery dance moves and friendly inter-college interactions.
The second day of the fest, was an action packed one. The day started with the first rounds of the sporting events. Each team was cheered on by their respective college contingent, and the enthusiasm and the support for their team members resulted in some phenomenal cheering. All literary events, were also held on the same day and the participants put their best foot forward to grab the first position.
The last day of the fest was the most eventful one. The entire college campus was brimming with excitement and zeal for the overall winner’s trophy. The day started with the finals of the sporting events, wherein each team showcased exceptional sportsmanship and talent. These events continued till the afternoon after which each contingent was given a small break to prepare for the impending and much awaited cultural finals. At 5, that evening, the MPH was packed with students full of ambition and fervor to cheer for the last and final event of the fest. The vigour was contagious as the participants too, prepared themselves for the final showdown. Each college put up stunning performances, with steps coordinated to perfection. Each passing performance, left the crowd as well as the judges perplexed. After the last performance was over, it was time for the awards ceremony.
All the winners were given trophies and medals for their extraordinary performance in various events. The winner of the cultural extravaganza, was declared to be AIL. The AIL contingent also ended up winning the overall Sports and Cultural trophy, whereas ACMS bagged the overall Literary trophy. The overall trophy was bestowed upon AIL, which led to extreme levels of euphoria, not only amongst the contingent but also amongst the crowd. Thus, the lively fest came to an end and left us all feeling content as well as sanguine about the fest next year, hopeful that AIL would emerge as winner once again and break all ceilings and expectations in tune with our motto of “ Aspire and Achieve”.
AIL won in the following events:
A. SPORTS EVENTS:
1. Basketball (Boys) – Gold
2. Basketball (Girls) – Gold
3. Volleyball (Boys) – Silver
4. Badminton (Girls; Doubles) – Gold
5. Badminton (Boys; Singles) – Gold
6. Badminton (Boys; Doubles) – Gold
7. Badminton mix (Doubles) – Gold
8. Table Tennis (Girls Singles) – Gold
9. Table Tennis (Girls Singles) – Gold
10. Table Tennis (Boys Singles) – Silver
11. Table Tennis (Boys Doubles) – Gold
12. Table Tennis (Mixed Doubles)- Gold
13. Chess (Boys)- Silver
B. LITERARY EVENTS:
1. Turncoat competition- 1st Position
C. CULTURAL EVENTS:
1. Dance Competition – 1st Position
This write-up has been prepared by Surbhi Ojha and Shivani Anand (IV Year).
