On Wednesday, the students of Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC) organised the eighth edition of their annual cultural fest, TROIKA 2018. Nikhil Joshi, a student of BMCC and member of TROIKA’s core committee, shared that the fiesta celebrates the joy of enjoying a great college and campus life and aims at becoming the ultimate go-to destination for college students across Pune. Joshi added, “Troika meaning three in Russian and hosts is a collaboration of three events– Business Talent Hunt, Beyond Horizon and Technotainment. It was formed in 2011.”
Student power
These fests are primarily planned by the students and the preparations start as early as a year in advance. Siddhi Deshpande, second year BCom student and core committee member of Maven 2018 at Sir Parashurambhau College (SP College) said, “The idea is to develop entrepreneurial skills among students. Our faculty and head of departments are there to guide and help us. However, it is the student contribution that holds the event together.”
Aarathi Ganesan, a fourth-year student at FLAME University, talked about their 10-year-old fest ‘Kurukshetra’. She said, “It is a sports, cultural and management festival which was founded a decade ago. When it started, it was primarily a sports event, however, today, we have over 30 events and witness a footfall of over 5,000 people across four days.” This again is a completely student run event, where departments look after logistics, registrations and other requirements for a festival.
{{/usCountry}}Aarathi Ganesan, a fourth-year student at FLAME University, talked about their 10-year-old fest ‘Kurukshetra’. She said, “It is a sports, cultural and management festival which was founded a decade ago. When it started, it was primarily a sports event, however, today, we have over 30 events and witness a footfall of over 5,000 people across four days.” This again is a completely student run event, where departments look after logistics, registrations and other requirements for a festival.
{{/usCountry}}What sets them apart
This year, TROIKA introduced an all new version of Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. It was a replica of the actual IPL auction where the students virtually bid for their respective IPL teams. Nikhil added, “Other than this, 20 orphan kids from an NGO called Bookwala were also welcomed at BMCC with the spirit of goodness. These children, aged between 8 and 12, were involved in many activities and were also shown a movie and magic show.”
On the highlights this year, Aarathi shared, “Our football tournament has 36 teams participating. This is a huge achievement considering our campus is set on the outskirts. The fact that people will be travelling all this way to participate is a win-win for us.”
Medialogue was a two-day long festival held by the department of media and communication of Fergusson College. From celebrity interactions to panel discussions, the festival highlighted the importance of media and threw light on some pressing issues. Student co-ordinator and second year student Shreya Chivate said, “Our highlight this year was the celebrity interaction with director Manoj Kadam, who directed the film ‘Kshitij’.
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, one of the top B-schools of India, will be organising ‘Transcend 2018’, a management and cultural event. Transcend stands tall with a 27-year legacy and sees a footfall of over 10,000 individuals, engaging post-graduate, under-graduate and corporates with 20 plus management and cultural events. Transcend 2017, saw the presence of big names like Raftaar, Sunburn, Raagalogik, Sahil Shah and Miss India Continent to name a few. This year, Transcend 2018 has been launched with an energy packed stunt show in association with iStunt.
Budget tales
Starting from a ₹3.5 lakh to a whopping ₹10 lakh, budgets for these tests are on an all-time high. Siddhi said, “Sponsors and partnerships help us bring in huge amounts of money which we then use to bring out the best cultural fest.”