Above: CJI Ranjan Gogoi lighting the inaugural lamp of the final round of the SCBA talent hunt show held at the Supreme Court in the presence of Chairman, Cultural Committee, SCBA, Pradeep Rai (third from right), and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta (second from right) 

In a first-of-its-kind, the Supreme Court Bar Association organised a cultural extravaganza that showcased the many-splendoured talents of its lawyers

In the evening of April 4, the Supreme Court, a place usually packed with busy lawyers and worried litigants, turned into a different sort of meeting ground. A massive canopy in purple-pink and gold-white hues hung over the central lawn of the Court premises as a bevy of lawyers, taking a break from their packed schedules, showed up to attend an event organised by the Cultural Committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

And it was no ordinary event. It was the final round of a talent hunt reality show titled “Mera Bhi Naam Hoga” organised by the SCBA, a first-of-its-kind event, with the aim to showcase the talent of Supreme Court lawyers in singing, dancing and drama, and even anchoring. The quarter-finals and semi-finals had taken place earlier on March 30 and 31, respectively, at a studio in Noida where former Chhattisgarh High Court Chief Justice Yatindra Singh and senior advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover were the special guests.

The final round was inaugurated by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi who was accompanied by Justices NV Ramana, Indira Banerjee and KM Joseph. Several senior advocates and members of the SCBA executive committee including PH Parekh, Rakesh Khanna, Rupinder Suri, Vikas Singh, Aishwarya Bhati, HS Phoolka, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta were also in attendance. The dignitaries were welcomed with flowers and were presented with their sketched portraits as a token of appreciation.

Senior advocate and ASG Pinky Anand, who was present at the final, told India Legal: “Honestly, I was in two minds about coming for it. I was hearing about it only for the last two days. But it’s a very magnificent effort and it is fun to see people relax in a legal environment which can be very stressful otherwise. I think the SCBA should do more such events which are on a lighter side and have scope for social interaction. This is a great beginning.”

What was even more commendable was the enthusiasm and talent which the contestants put on display. Young and old, men and women, singers, dan­cers and actors, the contestants were a motley mix and regaled the audience for the better part of the evening. Some of the participants later shared their experience with India Legal. Shobha Gupta, who danced to the Waheeda Rehman number “Aaj Phir Jeena Ki Tamanna Hai”, said: “It was a wonderful experience. It has given a very good platform for lawyers to show their talent. I performed on a stage after 20 years and am looking forward to more such events.” Stuti Chopra, who sang a song from the movie Raazi, said: “It was an amazing experience. This event is historic as something like this has not happened before in the Supreme Court. The event was organised very professionally and transparently with auditions and several rounds. The huge turnout shows how well it has been planned and executed.”

Indeed, the event was a packed house as lawyers kept trickling into the venue, some sitting on sofas, some crowding around the stage and others enjoying the sumptuous buffet of evening snacks and dinner. Cheers of “wah wah!” and “Once more!” kept reverberating through the grounds. And, as evening turned to dusk, a special guest arrived to regale the audience with his trademark wit—stand-up comedian Surendra Sharma. He began by saying: “I am not associated with this Bar (SCBA) but definitely associated with the other bar” and the audience got a sense of what was coming. In his inimitable comic style, he also espoused the message of peace and nationhood while lamenting the charged political climate we live in. He was full of praise for the performers and lauded the SCBA for organising the event. Ending his performance, he told the audience: “The legal profession is a service not an industry. Don’t let it degrade into one. Keep laughing and make others laugh.”

Later, another powerhouse of talent—Padma Shri Soma Ghosh—graced the stage. One of the special guests for the event, she mesmerised all with her singing. The other special guests were playback singer Tripti Shakya, Kathak dancer Sinjani, film director Dhananjay Kapoor, anchor Ravleen Sabharwal, music director Satish Tripathi and choreographer Jhalak.

In the midst of all the fun and frolic, the SCBA executive committee did not fail to honour various employees for their continued assistance and support to the SCBA.

The event wrapped up around 10.30 pm with the Antakshari competition. The following were declared the winners in the various events:

Dance: Ipsita Behura, Pushpa Kishore and Sneha Kalita.

Singing (Male): Jitendra Singh, Naveen Kumar Singh and Gautam Das.

Singing (Female): Sasmitha Tripathi, Swati Jindal and Manjula Gupta.

Drama:  Team 1 headed by Kuldeep Rai.

Antakshari: Sasmitha Tripathi from Team Suriley and Deepika Kalia from Team Chabeeley.

Painting: Anirudh Kumar

Besides these, various special category awards were also given:

Amrendra Kumar Singh: Showstopper Award

Kanhaiya Priyadarshi: Perfect Performer

Kuldeep Rai: Best Expression

Prerna Kumari: Perfect Performance

Shobha Gupta: All Rounder Award

Ashok Arora: Melodious Voice Award

Umesh Babu Chaurasia: Anchoring

The prize distribution ceremony was held on April 12 in the Supreme Court library. Supreme Court judge Justice NV Ramana was the chief guest for the ceremony and gave away trophies and certificates to the winners.

The grand event would not have been what it was but for the tireless efforts of the Cultural Committee of the SCBA headed by Pradeep Kumar Rai, who is also senior executive member of the Association. He was ably assisted by Co-chairman Jana Kalyan Das, Joint Secretary Preeti Singh, Treasurer Vikas Bansal, Joint Treasurer Rohit Pandey, Convener Amrendra Kumar Singh,

Co-convener Sadhna Sandhu, and members Mukti Chowdhary, Aditya Singh, Upendra Narayan Mishra, Anjali Chauhan and Shamsravish Rein.

—Text by Vrinda Agarwal; Photographs by Anil Shakya