Top 10 engineering college fests in India

Today we talk about one of the most happening as well as (often termed to be) the most awaited event of the year in almost every student’s life. Yes! We are talking about “college fests”. Almost every semester of a student’s college life is spent in day dreaming and saving up for this event. After all, with so many institutes performing in various events you wouldn’t want to look or sound stupid in front of all the good looking and interesting people of your generation.

The college fest is one event which easily takes away all the study pressure and for these 3-4 days in a year, students tend to really have fun and party hard.

No doubt every college student feels that their annual fest is the place to be. But to point out facts we did a little research of our own to find out which are the coolest college fests that take place in India.

MoodI

Euphoria performs at MoodI

Conducting Institute: IIT Bombay

Commonly referred to as MoodI or MI, Mood Indigo is the annual cultural fest of IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Bombay which was initiated by a group of students in 1971. Conducted every year in December over a span of four days, MoodI is known to welcome more than 80,000 students from around 700 colleges of the country. The fest is known to hold various competitions in the field of dance, music, dramatics, literary arts, digital and design etc. As part of MoodI, IIT Bombay organises various concerts and informals (masti ki basti, casino, streets, mass-acre, mind games and crossovers). Apart from the star night, “Pro shows” wherein international and national artists (musicians, singers and stand-up comedians) perform, tend to attract huge crowds.

OASIS

Students perform at OASIS

Conducting Institute: BITS Pilani

Started as a small fete in 1971, OASIS is the annual cultural fest of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. Known to receive participation from more than 200 colleges in India, OASIS is a 96 hour non-stop fest that is conducted over four days in the month of October. Events at this happening fest include dance, music, stage shows, drama, fashion shows and treasure hunts. Prominent events of this fest are Exposure, Rocktaves, Rap Wars, Choreo as well as Mr & Ms Oasis (MAMO). The events that attract maximum crowds are the “prof show” or professional shows wherein artists/groups such as Good Shoes, TAAQ, Neeraj Shridhar, The Shakey Rays and Kailash Kher have performed in the past.

Incident

Fashion show performed at Incident

Conducting Institute: NIT, Karnataka

Being conducted since 1980s, Incident the annual festival of National Institute of Technology located at Surathkal, Karnataka is considered to be one of the largest student driven cultural fest of South India. During this five day fest, events such as singing competitions like Bandish (eastern classical music completion) and Pulse (western heavy metal competition) as well as dance competitions like solo dance, couple dance, street dance, Tandav and Promenade (western group dance) are conducted. NIT K has a private beach wherein students can chill out or take part in competitive events such as beach volleyball, football as well as sandemonium.

Spring Fest

Vishal Dadlani perfroms at Spring Fest

Conducting Institute: IIT Kharagpur

Commonly referred to as SF, Spring Fest is the annual cultural and social fest of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. Being conducted since 1960, this fest is conducted in the month of January and is spread over a duration of three days. Known to have a massive footfall, SF conducts various literary, dramatics, photography and film based competitive events. But the main highlight of this college fest is an all day open dance floor called “Perpz”. Another very popular event of this fest is ‘Hard Talk’ wherein eminent personalities present their point of view on important topics.

Riviera

Hariharan performs at Riviera

Conducting Institute: VIT University, Vellore

This famous cultural and sports fest of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University, Vellore spans for 3-4 days in and around the month of January- February. Known to hold more than 100 events in the fields such as dance, music, literary arts, fine arts debates etc, Riviera is known to welcome more than 4000 students from different colleges of the country apart from seeing participation from some 45,000 VIT students. Like other fests, the star night at Riviera is worth boasting about and is known to attract massive crowds. Popular artists such as Shankar Mahadevan, Euphoria, Parikrama, KK and Hari Haran have graced VIT Vellore’s fest in the past.

Waves

Concert night at Waves

Conducting Institute: BITS Goa

Known to be conducted in the months of October-November, Waves, the cultural fest of Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Goa campus first took place in 2006. A three-day cultural festival, Waves is known to see participation from around 100 colleges with more than 2000 students participating in its various events. Popular celebrities who have graces the fest with their presence include Vidya Balan, DJ Suketu, KK, Parikrama, Shafqat Amanat Ali and Kailash Kher, among many others.

Antaragni

Students perform at Antaragni

Conducting Institute: IIT Kanpur

Inaugurated in 1966, Antaragni literally meaning “the fire within” is the annual cultural fest of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. A four day festival conducted in the month of October, Antaragni is known to attract participation from some 200 colleges in India. This fest is known to include events such as Kavi Sammelan, Model United Nations, workshops and talk shows. Professional shows by the name of Prima Nocte, Synchronicity, India Haat and Ritambhara are also conducted at this cultural fest. In the past performers such as Poets of the Fall, Sunidhi Chauhan, KK, Glyder, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Farhan Akhtar and Atif Aslam have drawn huge crowds to this fest.

Rendezvous

Farhan Akhtar performs at Rendezvous

Conducting Institute: IIT Delhi

One of the most popular fests, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi’s cultural fest Rendezvous is known to draw a footfall of approximately 50,000 students from some 350 colleges spread all across the country. Conducted in the month of October every year, this four day event holds many competitive events such as Stage play, Street play, Cue games, Western and Eastern group song competition, Street painting, Parliamentary debate, Ad-Mad , Quizzing events, Photography etc. The four main events which lead to the creation of all the hype around Rendezvous are Bigwig, Kaleidoscope, Blitzkreig and Dhoom.

Raagam

Benny Dayal performs at Raagam

Conducting Institute: NIT Calicut

Known to be renamed in 1987 as ‘Raagam’, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut is known to hold more than 80 competitive events for students during the fest. Known to attract a good footfall, this cultural fest is known to hold events ranging from singing and dancing to kite flying as well as catering competitions. Raagam is known to welcome an impressive line-up of celebrities such as Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan, Sukhwinder Singh, Krishnakumar Kunnath (KK), Benny Dayal, Ranjith, Naresh Iyer, Suraj Jagan among many others. Popular bands which have been a part of this cultural fest are Silk Route, Parikrama, Whitenoise, Motherjane, Jail break and Higher-on-maiden and Breathe the Floyd. At the end of the event "Nataraj", the rolling trophy is awarded to the overall champion of Raagam.

Alcheringa

Rock-o-phonix event at Alcheringa

Conducting Institute: IIT Guwahati

Commonly referred to as ‘Alcher’, Alcheringa the annual festival of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati was started in 1996. Known to see participation from more than 350 colleges along with a footfall of 50,000, Alcher is mostly held on the first weekend of February and lasts for four nights. Pro Nights is one of the most important and interesting aspect of the fest wherein every night a different theme and genre is explored. Known to be a star-studded event, this is a fest you would not want to miss.

So this as per us is the list of the top 10 college fests that take place in India. But we suggest that do not believe us go out and attend them, witness the fun and madness and then tell us if we were right or wrong!