In the previous semester, with one club banned and the other largely inactive, there was a complete lack of thespian activities on campus. Thus, the lifting of the ban on the Hindi Drama Club (HDC) and its merger with the English Drama Club (EDC) to form a single entity called Drama Club came as welcome news for all theatre enthusiasts on campus. This step might very well be a great step in the direction of revival of theatre on campus, especially given that only two plays have been staged last year.

While the EDC and HDC have had talks about merging previously, no concrete decision was ever made. The actual process of negotiations of merger started after the HDC’s ban in August last semester. According to the HDC, the Chief Warden believes that many clubs on campus are redundant, and that merging them would make communication between the SU and the administration simpler. The HDC, after discussing with the Chief Warden about the conditions put forth by him, finally accepted the decision to merge the two clubs.

The HDC admitted to being reluctant about this decision at first. Since the original split over two decades ago, the clubs have been evolving separately, each developing its own culture, with distinct presentation style, and work ethic. The HDC feared that these differences were too vast to allow a smooth merger. Their views have changed since, and they now perceive the merger as a new beginning for both parties involved. The EDC, on the other hand, was completely for the move as they believed it would aid their productivity.

The vision of this united Drama Club is to revive theatre on campus and bring together everyone still interested in theatre as an art. For the near future, the club will function with two distinct cells which will work independently, sharing resources. After the completion of the auditions, the HDC (Hindi Drama Cell) plans to resume their daily sessions and the EDC (English Drama Cell) will join them until they implement their own routine. Both divisions are aiming to present two plays this semester.

In the long run, the HDC, depending on the response they receive, aims to put up four plays per semester as they used to nearly a decade ago. Oasis and other outstation competitions are also part of their goals for the future. The EDC intends to use this opportunity to build a proper work ethic and set a precedent for the newer batches. One hopes this attempt will yield fruits soon.