Meet the Organising Committee of NLIU’s Sports Fest Virudhaka 2015

NLIU, Bhopal will be organising the seventh edition of Virudhaka from October 29, 2015 to November 1, 2015. In this e-mail interview with Shreya Vajpei, the Organising Committee talks about the journey of Virudhaka thus far, and what goes into organising the sports festival..Shreya Vajpei: How was the idea of Virudhaka conceptualised and how has it evolved?.Organising Committee: The idea of Virudhaka was conceptualised by students who were bored of the limited areas law school allows you to explore, both as a student and person. The first edition of Virudhaka took place at a time when the National Law Schools had just come up, and there was no meeting ground or commonality between the students of the same..Virudhaka was the instrument through which the National Law Institute University sought to engineer the synthesis of this commonality at a sporting level. However, with time, Virudhaka has transcended the borders of National Law Schools and we can proudly say that participants now come from law schools across the country..It is safe to say that the OC of the first Virudhaka did not expect the fest to grow to its current size and stature..SV: How are such fests beneficial for law students?.OC: Five years in law school can be very hectic. An average law student spends his most of his time completing academic exercises, and the scope for exhibiting one’s talent in any non-legal field is severely restricted..That is exactly where a fest like Virudhaka comes into the picture, by providing an avenue for those proficient in sports to show those around them how good they are and consequently earn their peers’ respect. Sports also help in the holistic development of a student’s character, and Virudhaka facilitates the same..SV: What are the key events for this year’s fest?.OC: Apart from the traditionally popular sporting events, which are to be held at the Sports Authority of India facility in Bhopal, we are also inviting competition for offbeat sports like kho-kho, tug of war and paintball, where competitors can show a different side of their sporting acumen by demonstrating how quickly they can pick up an uncommon sport and succeed at it..SV: What is the process of organising a sports fest?.OC: Organising a sports fest at such a huge scale requires a lot of manpower, funding and hard work. From inviting double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar as our chief guest to finalising Puma as our official merchandise partner, every single aspect of Virudhaka has required the complete dedication, time and loyalty of the Organising Committee..However, this exercise would have been completely futile had it not been for the support we get every year from our volunteers, college administration and faculty in charge, Mr D.K. Singh. It would have been impossible to organise Virudhaka every year without their help..The Core Organising Committee comprises of Satyambaladitya Bhalawi (Convenor), Ashima Gulati (Co-Convenor), Bhargava D. Bhatt (Secretary) and Sourabh Tirpude (Treasurer). In addition to this, there are forty-four students who are also part of the NLIU Sports Committee..The competition brochure is below.