LAHORE – Day two at the Olympiad 2011 kicked off with enthusiasm, amidst Pakistan Day-revelry and cricket fever. The LUMS campus was bustling with activity as participants flocked to their respective events. While the recreation room was abuzz with the hoots and cheers of cricket enthusiasts, the events were equally vibrant as spectators cheered their friends on.
Colours and Philosophy: Live Art The white tent behind LUMS sports complex became a paradise of color with all sorts of ideas and thoughts being thrown around. Some institutes had a clear vision of what they wanted to portray while some struggled to make sense of the theme. At one hand there was Iqra University Karachi trying to depict how newspapers made life difficult with the help of a Rubix Cube as a symbol and on the other hand LGS JT tried to portray the female anatomy.
PIFD hid their model behind a large board as she got her face painted artistically in a gorgeous magazine cover gown to depict their theme of Sunday magazine. Edwards worked to depict the influence of angel and devil on a new born baby and LGS Faisalabad wanted to do a designer Arabic genie costume. UET hung around casually as they tried to depict effect of cigarettes on our soul with autumn leaves. Teams appeared to be enjoying their journey. It’s was not just about the winning it was about playing.
Music Video : The Music Video competition provided an opportunity for the delegates to exercise their creativity and imagination. Strong in visual effects some of the music videos also provided a steady storyline. LGS JT exposed the class differences within Pakistan and highlighted the need to turn the class structure around. The competition had two themes and delegates had to prepare videos according to their own interpretations. It was the way they put a twist on the theme and brought something new that made some videos stand out from the others. Overall, the participants’ efforts were enjoyed by all present.
Battle of the Bands and Singing: The singing competition was kicked off by a LUMS students jam. Students from the Levels Academy followed up and soon the theme moved onto classical singing. The contestants had to perform two songs; one which was assigned by the judges, and one of their own choice. The first participant sang Tadap Tadap Kay. Bollywood enthusiasts joined in with him on the lyrics, giving him a beat with their clapping. Ali Haider was next, the youngest and smallest participant, but with a voice equal to his much older competitors. Next up was Noor Butt, who decided to sing standing up and danced along to her heartfelt rendition of Dil Se. By the time the fourth singer sang the crowd was restless and impatient for the start of the Battle of the Bands. The stars of the show were the supremely talented boys from LACAS and Levels Academy. However, two more participants were still to go: Salman Aslam, who it seemed had brought the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with him, and Haris Jalal who sang classical songs by two contemporary bands, the Mekaal Hassan Band and Fuzon. In the Battle of the Bands LACAS and Levels Academy performed songs by Tool and Megadeath, catering to the hard rock lovers in the room. LACAS also performed an original composition at par with the songs of established bands that most participants covered. All in all, like every year, the music competition showcased the remarkable talent present in Pakistan, with instruments from Rubab to the electrical guitar, and beat boxing to classical singing.
Speed Filming Workshop: The Speed Filming competition requires participants to make a movie, set within the LUMS campus, using props and sounds provided to them. The workshop for this event started at around 4 PM in Lab 2 and was conducted by one of the heads of Speed Filming – Awais. This workshop aimed to teach delegates how to use software to edit their films. They were taught basic editing techniques such as how to put effects like blurriness and borders in their clip, how to split a clip in two parts, how to slow down or quicken the speed of the clip, and how to put titles and credits in the film.
Movie Trivia: The Movie Trivia brought together movie buffs, individuals who spend a significant amount of their lives glued to the television screen for anything related to films and entertainment. The competition began at noon and continued throughout the afternoon. Every participant had brought all those bits of knowledge they memorized while watching Katrina sizzle to Sheila or Heath Ledger blow up a hospital. While some challenging questions such as “Madhuri Dixit’s latest role refusal” were answered with shocking precision, some seemingly easy ones such as “Al Pacino’s only Oscar-winning role” were gotten wrong by the excited participants. Of the participating teams the top 8 qualified for the much awaited semi-finals today.
Chess Masters: Chess is a game of the mind, intense, time-consuming and well some would say it’s extremely boring, but those who love the game would beg to differ. It’s as they like to call it, ‘a challenging and intellectual game.’ The rest of us are still skeptical about that though. Chess at the LUMS Olympiad started off slow, but participants picked up the pace and made clever and calculated moves. The game progressed and towards the end of the 25 minutes, the participants were extremely engrossed in their game and were trying their best to dissuade their opponents with intense stares. By the time the much awaited words ‘checkmate’ were spoken or the time ran out, not only the participants but those present were relieved.
