On cards,an anthem that Delhi University can call its own

Instead of the usual practice of inviting well-known lyricists to compose the anthem,or adopting an existing song,the University plans to conduct a competition for picking the song that will henceforth represent it inside as well as outside the campus.

The prize-winning anthem will be picked from the entries by a committee of qualified judges,the Vice-Chancellor said. Details of the competition are still being worked out,and it will be done in consultation with colleagues at the University,he said.

Also on the cards for the coming year is a short film competition for students. The films,which will have campus life as their theme,are to be created using mobile phone cameras. The University also plans to conduct a creative writing competition for students in the months to come.

While Delhi University,which was established 1922,has a popular symbol that occupies a prominent place on portals as well as T-shirts and other paraphernalia,this is the first time that a proposal for a university anthem has been mooted.

At present,university anthem is not a popular concept among educational institutions in India. Most of them,including prominent ones such as Jawaharlal Nehru University,do not have tunes to their credit. The exceptions (which are far and in-between) include St Stephen’s College with its ‘Blacksmith’.

The Tezpur Central University in Assam also has a popular anthem,composed by none other than the late Bhupen Hazarika.