MAANVI GAGROO TALKS ABOUT HER DELHI UNIVERSITY DAYS, MAKING FRIENDS FOR LIFE
Maanvi Gagroo talks about her Delhi University days, going to an all-girls college and making friends for life
Dad wanted me to experience DU life, in all its entirety. He said, ‘Bunk classes if you want, participate in extracurricular activities and get good grades’. MAANVI GAGROO, Actor
From being part of Gargi College’s choreo team, Sparx, to taking part in college fests across the country, actor Maanvi Gagroo did it all. And this, she says, was on her father’s insistence to make her get a hands-on “DU experience”. Looking back, the Four More Shots Please! actor feels, she can’t imagine it any other way. Excerpts:
Why did you choose Delhi University (DU) and Gargi College for graduation?
I wanted to study Psychology in my Bachelors. And Dad told me: ‘Since you’re not studying medicine (which is what I thought I wanted to study), and going to a regular college, I want you to experience DU life, in all its entirety. Bunk classes if you want, take up extracurricular activities and get good grades’. He is an alumnus of Hansraj College, and believed DU experience to be unique. Now I can’t even imagine DU not being a part of my student life.
Why did you take admission in Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) before Gargi?
I was sure I wanted to study Psychology (Hons). But, I had to wait for the second or third cut-off list, even with 89% aggregate and 91% in best of four subjects. That’s why, till I could get this course, I took up BA in Journalism (Hons) at LSR. But the minute I got through in Gargi, I switched.
From a co-ed school to an all-girls college, was it challenging to adjust?
No! I looked forward to it. It felt like a safe space, and I wanted to experience college life without worrying about personal safety.
Did you have a girl gang in college? Did you bond with them like in Four More Shots Please?
I did have a gang of four. But the characters in the show are working women, and their experiences are different. Those in my college gang were part of the same society, so we’d spend hours together during rehearsals. One of my closest friends from school was in the same course as me. Our fondest memories would be of travelling together to college fests.
Which were your go-to spots around college to eat?
A mattar kulchawala outside our college, that was a favourite! Then there was GK M-block market and Kailash Colony. For night outs, the faves were Hauz Khas Village and Khan Market.
Did you lead your college life in extracurricular activities, like your father expected?
Yes, I was an active part of our choreo team, Sparx. That was a huge part of my college life. I was also training at choreography classes outside school. But it was only dancing that essentially took a lot of my time through the years in college. Most of my memories involve going to fests, within and outside Delhi. I remember our rehearsals with the dance trainers we’d bring in, budgeting annual productions, fighting for rehearsal space and time, etc. Surprisingly, I was never involved in dramatics society or street theatre.