Every year, colleges all across India host cultural festivals, or fests, to help students break the monotony of their demanding and stressful student lives. Eagerly awaiting the chance to break free, students hold their breath until finally, it’s time for the fest! Finally, time to indulge in an exciting, vibrant, environment that is most definitely free of stress. I like to think of it as a temporary holiday, an opportunity to shut off your buzzing mind and ease your nagging stomach. Your attention need only be on all the excitement filling the air. Breathe it in!
Why go?
Other than everything mentioned above, fests are a great way to meet new people! They could also be great learning experiences. You may even bump into your professors. Good chance to meet them in an informal setting. Students, and people, from all over the country to immerse themselves in extracurricular activities focusing on their skills and interests.
There are a ton of different engaging and dynamic options to choose from. Multiple competitions, singing and dancing platforms, painting, drama, quizzes, gaming and a whole lot more. For me, one of the best parts is the delicious variety of food. Good time to pig out I’d say. It’s also very important to take a nice break to ease your mind. If you’re a student, this might help you do better when you get back to college.
But most importantly, college fests bring people together, making these annual events an integral part of student life. Usually, most fests invite celebrities and sometimes have exclusive closing performances.
Now, with time gone by and expectations soaring, colleges around India have developed an unsaid drive to be the best college fest in the country. Good thing about fests is that there can be more than one winner.
You see, there are simply too many categories to consider when it comes to which fest is the best. While one might have better food, the other might have better competitions. I’d say FUN is the decisive criteria. Fun is imperative, one of the only times that something being imperative is actually great.
Below you will find an awesome list of some of the best college fests in India. These are all also colleges that are associated with StuCred. Which means that you’re in luck if you need a student loan to attend, or continue at, any of these schools!
1. Saarang, IIT Madras
Previously known as Mardi Gras, which as you probably know is also a famous carnival, Saarang has been around since the 70’s. Oldie that it is, Saarang has experience in showing you a great time. Every year, a stampede of over 50,000 people race to this festival for 5 frolicsome days. You’re invited to take your pick from an abundance of things to do, including an adrenaline zone. Yeah, an adrenaline zone. I have no idea what this entails but it sounds awesome, and a little scary.
To give you an idea of what Saarang is like I’ll tell you a little about what they did this year. The fest took place in January, as it usually does, and had a ton of workshops, shows, pro shows, and competitions. One that stood out to me was a salsa workshop. I’ve wanted to learn how to salsa for so long! I would have jumped at this opportunity.
They also had a workshop on fruit carving! Sounds like a lot of fun. Few of the other activities included gaming, poetry, and drama competitions. So you could go to play DOTA or CS with all your friends in one place, at the same time!
A good way to condense this fest appropriately is to use Saarang’s words itself,
The festival that has reached a milestone in celebrating the talent and catering to a wide variety of interests, is synonymous with everything that falls under the vast hood of culture.
2. Alcheringa, IIT Guwhati
The Etherial Conquest is what you first see when you open the Alcheringa website. Not as old as Saarang but not lacking in excitement, Alcheringa is nothing less than desirable. Students from over 450 colleges rush to compete in over 80 events to potentially win a prize of 11 lakhs. That’s a lot of money for anybody and what better way to win than to have fun while you’re doing it. Alcheringa also usually takes place in January so you might have a decision to be between Saarang and Alcheringa.
What strikes me about Alcheringa are its themes. In 2017, for instance, Alcheringa hosted the S-World Series to educate people about the taboos associated with the word ‘sex’. And in 2016, they organised North East Unveiled to promote the culture, integrity, and traditions of eight Northeastern states in the hopes of bridging cultural gaps.
The Ethereal Conquest, the overarching theme, addresses the Genesis of Alcheringa,
Alcheringa meaning ‘ the coming of the golden age’ represents the triumph of dreams and hopes over the fear of failure. Having dreams and living in them is in itself a magical experience and that world of fantasy is what we will give you through various events, competitions and interactions the people have during the fest.
3. Unmaad, IIM Bangalore
Unmaad, a three-day event, is filled to the brim with entertainment and excitement. Students from over 200 colleges go to Unmaad and explore their talents. Not just students, people from all over the country also rush to experience the many events at Unmaad. Some of which include, dramatics, music, dance, quiz, debate, street play, professional concerts and the grand Unmaad fashion show.
Unmaad usually takes place in February. I think Farhan Akhtar was there in 2018, an example of the celebrity performance I talked about earlier. But that’s not all. Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Lucky Ali, and The Local Train amongst others have also been featured at Unmaad.
Unmaad seems pretty cool. Some of the quizzes mentioned on their website sound really interesting. Like the Get Sp-ent Quiz on sports. You could potentially win Rs. 23,000! If you’re in a band, you could compete in events like the B School of Rock and win up to one lakh! There is so much incentive to go to Unmaad. They have tons of options in various different categories.
Unmaad has had some cool themes too, like Lose Yourself and Escape Yourself. They sound pretty similar but I assure you that there will be enough different things to do at the fest. Also, they have a food village that sounds awesome. It’s where I’d go first. So what does Unmaad do?
Unmaad provides you with a platform to flaunt your skills, an arena to gape at talent or just an excuse to come and have loads and loads of fun.
4. Riviera, VIT Vellore
Riviera is an annual International Sports and Cultural Festival with a humble yet impactful motive. Riviera is organised in the hopes of facilitating and promoting healthy competition, companionship, and leadership skills. I think that that is a very good reason to have a fest. Healthy competition is definitely encouraging. Students at VIT look forward to having loads of fun at Riviera, which is also known to have brought out their coordination and management skills. The most recent Riviera fest saw participants from over 65 colleges!
Four days of celebration, non-stop fun, tons of events, games, and performances, Riviera promises to help you let your hair down and breathe. I found a little rhyme on the Riviera website and took a little snippet from it to share with you how VIT describes Riviera,
Welcome to this world of frolic and splendour,
Riviera brings you more than what you wonder…
With a pen on paper or mike on stage,
The literary events bring a creative package.
Music and dance to challenge your counterpart,
Here is where the tunes of festivity start…
5. Pragyan, NIT Trichy
Pragyan is a little different from the other festivals I have listed. In 2005, NIT Trichy started Pragyan, which is an international techno-managerial organisation. NIT wanted to provide its students with a platform for them to showcase technical ingenuity. Pragyan prides itself on being awarded the Certification for Event Sustainability Management System. Another interesting fact about this fest is that Pragyan is completely run by students!
Remember that Pragyan is a technical fest, so the whole point of this event is to focus on technical skills. Every year, Pragyan organises over 50 events divided into 10 groups. All carefully designed and intended to capture the essence of the technical and managerial world. Pragyan does have an impressive reputation, known to host world-renowned technology, science, and management experts as guest judges. Not surprisingly, students are drawn towards this fest. They have a ton of workshops covering a wide range of topics like Cross-platform Development, Photography, Internet-of-Things and Data Analytics.
The theme for 2019, which I think is rather cool, was Spectrum. The idea was to celebrate the advancement of technology and its constant strive to achieve new frontiers. If you’re thinking, “oh man, just sounds like too much tech stuff” then think again. You do get breaks from tech. GameSpace is one example, where you have a variety of informal games that you can play with your friends. Pragyan also has this thing called Infotainment Shows. These shows are brilliant displays that combine technology and entertainment.
Wait, it doesn’t end here! In addition to a dazzling display of lights and awesome acrobatic tricks, Pragyan also has beatboxers and dancers in these Infotainment shows! Acrobats and beatboxers sound like fun to me.
Wait again, there’s more! Pragyan also has a Comedy Night. You didn’t think you would just have to do tech stuff for four days, did you? I mean, this is supposed to be a fest. I think this line does a good job of putting it all together,
Pragyan has been on a spectacular trek forward, inculcating a scientific temper and innovative thinking among the young minds of India.
Side Note:
NIT Trichy also hosts a cultural fest, called Festember, with music, dance, food, arts, celebrities, literary events, quizzes, workshops and music concerts. So you have the option to check this out as well.
6. Horizon, Nirma University
Another pretty cool fest, usually held towards the beginning of either April or March. Horizon has over 55 events and three days of absolute fun. Perhaps a well-suited name, this extravaganza encourages people to broaden their horizons and explore their innovative potential.
If you’ve read this far then you know what comes next. At Horizon you’ll find singing, dancing, drama, quizzes, literary events, fashion show, and sports! Something for everyone. Something different that Horizon does is a talent hunt, so bring your best in whatever you chose to participate in. You may also get a few celebrity performances thrown into the mix of sheer excitement.
There is a section I found called Time Busters on the official website, which I thought sounded interesting. The website didn’t have much more information on it at the time, but I assume its a timed competition, an example of nerve-wracking competing if you’re into that kind of thing. Horizon is also involved with a number of social initiatives, like the India Literacy Mission.
So when you put it all together Horizon is,
…the most voluminous and the largest annual cultural youth inter-college festival conceptualized, designed, organized and executed by Rotaract Club of Nirma Institutes…RCNI provides a three-day spectacle of unparalleled excitement and nerve-wracking competitions.
That’s all the fests by colleges that StuCred is associated with! Go escape the humdrum cycle of college life in an explicit fashion. You don’t have to be a student at the college that is hosting the fest. You don’t have to be a student at all to be able to go! These fests are open to everyone. Adult life can get pretty monotonous too.
Remember to check the dates and plan ahead because a lot of the festivals overlap. If you’re interested, I’ve listed a few more fests that you could check out. I’ve heard that the first one, Mood Indigo, is pretty good and worth checking out. I believe it is currently in its 48th edition.
More Fests:
- Mood Indigo, IIT Bombay
- Rendevous, IIT Delhi
- Oasis, BITS Pilani
- Incident, NIT-K
- Malhar, St. Xavier’s College Mumbai
Festivals and travelling eaten into your savings? Download StuCred and keep the stress at bay!
Tags: Best College Fests in India, top college fests in India, top 6 colleges of India, Best 6 colleges of India
