Medals for mettle

CHENNAI: The excitement was palpable at MOP Vaishnav College for Women’s open-air theatre. That’s nothing out of the ordinary for this women’s college keeps its students engaged in one activity after another — be it the entrepreneurial students’ bazaar, multiple cultural events, highly-anticipated sports events or the varied expressions of the department clubs’ works. But on Thursday evening, the students were gathered for a bigger cause — the third edition of MOP Yuva Sammaan. Started in the college’s 25th year to celebrate the young women working wonders in the field of sports, performing arts and entrepreneurship, Yuva Sammaan has grown to be much more than just another award event — not just for the people behind the initiative but for those receiving it too.

For many among the nominees, it was a homecoming. Though the college had no plan to favour its alumni, that many of the applications they received turned out to be from former students, stand testament to how much the institution has managed to achieve with each of its wards. Singer Saindhavi Prakash, who received the award under the performing arts category, gushed about how much the college served as a pat on the back through her career. “I put forth only one request when I joined the college — that they should give me permission for all the recordings and concerts that come up during the course time. And the then principal Nirmala Prasad assured me that I would be free to pursue this without any restrictions,” she recounted. 

For the young sports achiever, K Shamini too voiced similar appreciation for her alma mater, pointing out that the push they had given for sports had gone a long way in helping accomplish everything she has managed to do far in the arena of table tennis. Principal Lalitha Balakrishnan couldn’t be more proud. “We don’t want to restrict it to MOP (we do have outsiders among the nominees) but every second applicant turned out to be an alumna. That goes to show how much effort has gone in over the years and how that has translated into good work,” she remarked. 

For Aishwarya Manivannan,  creator of Maisha Studio, not having studied in the college did not stop her from having a history with it. “As a student, I’ve performed here more than ten years ago. Over the past few years, I’ve come in as a visiting faculty. I have a lot of students at Maisha who come from MOP as well. Now, to be acknowledged by MOP, it means a lot to mean,” she pointed out. That the event was graced by the presence of music director and Madras’ own AR Rahman only added to the fervour. True to his love for brevity, he turned what was supposed to be his chief guest address into a resounding rendition of Singapenney and had the entire audience joining him in the chorus. The night couldn’t have had a better ending.