‘FESTIVALS’- the word itself brings along package of all good things like colors, music, vibrancy, happiness, energy and most importantly the people who gather together at such occasions. Festivals form an indigenous part of lives and help us to define culture and values.
College festivals are an ongoing trend and form an integral part of the life of every student and the college itself. College festivals act as a symbol that defines the culture, rituals, and rules of the institute and more importantly represent their true spirit. They are a platform where different kinds of people from diverse backgrounds share the same stage and showcase their talents. It’s the college festivals that to some extent give an identity to the college and bringing in the element fun and excitement that a student would look for while entering the institute.
The season of college festivals brings with itself a lot of excitement and a wave of enthusiasm in the air, which is characterized by a lot of activities, creativity, hustle and bustle, fun and management. Today, college festivals are not only about coming together for an event and having fun and are not just confined for those 5-6 days of work but they have now become serious business. College festivals are getting huger in all respects, in terms of money invested, in terms of participation and exposure with dedicated teams working on marketing, finance, public relations, security, workshop and various other departments throughout the year.
Multi national companies (MNCs) have started being associated with such events College festivals have a magnetic appeal. In fact, the fests of certain colleges assume such grand stature that companies wait for the entire year round to sponsor the events, that help them market well. For instance ‘Malhar’ – the annual fest of St Xaviers’ college, Mumbai whose strong association with Vodafone not only does wonders to the standard of celebration but at the same time also benefits and promotes Vodafone by manifold.
Let me introduce you to some of the most talked about and famous College festivals.
Malhar Festival at St. Xavier’s College: is among one of the biggest and the most popular college fest in Mumbai conducted by the students of the college. The intercollegiate festival is conducted usually in the 1st or the 2nd week of August and marks the beginning of the season of college festivals in Mumbai. Almost all the colleges in Mumbai participate in the various events at Malhar. Every year, the festival has the different theme, last year it was Malhar – The Movie. The festival conducts more than 50 events in various in various segments performing arts, literary arts and fine arts events, Street Dance being one of its most famous events, and also has various impromptu games and competitions for the audience and many interesting exhibitions and workshops. Malhar every year witnesses great participation and a huge audience, which makes it a bit crowded but fun. The college has various other festivals that are conducted by the different departments in the institute.
Umang at NM College: Umang is probably the biggest college festival in the western suburbs which is organized and managed by the NM College in Juhu. Mention about how Umang has grown in popularity compared to other festivals The college also conducts Drishti, which a festival hosted by the management department (BMS) of the college. “College festivals provide a great opportunity for networking and interacting with great minds. They are important in fostering an individual’s personality and makes them ready for their future.” Says Mr. Rahul Mallya, Head of Department for Workshops in Umang and VP in Drishti. This clearly indicates that College Festivals are no more only fun but are taken up sincerely and are an enriching experience that offers a lot of learning beyond what is taught in the classroom environment.
Mood Indigo at IIT Mumbai: This IIT, Indian Institute of Technology, festival is more popularly known as Moodi, and is usually held every year in December end. the festival was started way back in 1973 by a group of enthusiastic students of the college. The festival is carried out over a period of 4-5 days and conducts a host of events that are targeted towards wide range of talent, attracting almost 70,000 Students every year from over 500 colleges all over the country. The festival though held by the Institute of Technology is not only for Tech Savvy but is open for all be it musicians, dancers, orators, quizzers, actors, artists or photographers.
Brouhaha at Sydenham College: was previously known as the Rainbow Lane when it started of in the year 1985. The festival conducts various events in nine departments – sports, workshops, gaming, fine arts, literary arts, performing arts, management, telematters and informal events. Students who display their excellence in all the nine departments are finally crowned as Mr. and Miss Brouhaha. Apart from the above mentioned events, the festival also has other events like rock art, movie set designing, script writing, body tattoos, fashion shows and a number of impromptu games.
Talaash at Jai Hind College: Talaash is an inter-collegiate festival that is hosted by the BMS students at Jai Hind College. it also is one of the most popular college festivals in Mumbai. The main USP events at Talaash are EVD (BMS) , Market King (BMM) and Escape from Alcatraz (BAF).
Apart from the above mentioned ones there many other college festivals that are hosted by various colleges, to name a few,
Tsunami at Lala Lajpat Rai College
Kaleidoscope at Sofia College
Kshitij at Mithibai College
Euphoria at NMIMS
College Festivals have gained a lot of importance over the years. Students look up to it as an opportunity to grow and develop their talents and bring out their best flair in the field of their choice. At times these students land up choosing their career based on their performance in these competitions. For instance, Comedy Actor – Satish Shah, decided to take up acting as a career because of the encouragement and appreciation he received from the events he participated in during his college. College festivals have now become a breeding ground for talent, where students from all over with different talents come forward and put up their best performances, which are judged by celebrities, producers, directors and famous entities who are looking out for young talent.
All of this together, make college festivals a great platform to showcase one’s skills, to learn and develop one’s personality and provide a huge exposure to new talent, people and a great future ahead.
thnx soo much 4 dis it really helped me…
your welcome ruksar