Today the Annual Function and the Horse Show of the AMU Riding Club, the Equestria 2018, was held in the Athletic Ground of the University. Incidentally AMU is the only University in India having a full fledged century old Riding Club!
As usual, the AMU Vice Chancellor was the Chief Guest. It was a relief that unlike last year’s function, the event had less politics on display, nor apparently last minute and deliberate changes were made in the distribution of awards. And lastly, unlike last time, neither the sequence of events were changed, nor the programme was curtailed to suit the whims and fancies of the VC. The VC too arrived at the start of the function and left only after the award distribution!
The flip side of the programme, however was that there were too many ‘events’. But more irritating was the fact that the below-mediocre performance of some senior members led to quite a few repeats, which should never have been allowed.
Most of the events were interesting and the crowd enjoyed every moment of it.
Further, probably for the first time a huge LED screen was fixed so that everyone was able to actually see the events.
Further this year, the excitement of the programme was not marred by the dry senseless speeches by the “have beens”, nor did the VC, unlike the previous one, bored us with his “mann kī bāt”! The VC gracefully sat through the entire programme and, instead, enjoyed the show.
This year too my daughter took part in the function. In fact she had been preparing for the event since long.
Fatima participated in three events: in one her horse acted stubborn, in another, the Girls Hack, she got the Second Prize, while in the third she emerged the first! In total a large number of participants were awarded.
The first prize was in the Fancy Dress event in which she dressed as ‘Nurjahan’, the Mughal Queen (though the announcer identified her as “a Mughal Princess”. I can but say that my Princess looked everybit a Mughal queen riding a horse with a sword in hand!
Congratulations Beta! May many awards in life come your way!
Last year her scores had been deliberately tampered with and her name struck off from the list where she had been originally awarded second rank! It had also been announced on the mike soon after that particular event. But then last year the organisers were out to please their master who, they thought was anti her father! They had even removed her name from the official list of participants released to the press. That is another matter that she was very much reported in the photographs published by many newspapers!
This year, the event was held as a sport and no scores were settled! Thank you the present dispensation at AMU!
ASHA: Blast From The Past 