The campus of RV College of Engineering was abuzz with activities during the weekend as all the departments had their fests.

One of the fests was ‘Vortex 2011’, a techno-cultural fest organised by the department of mechanical engineering. With the theme of ‘Think Peace’, the fest saw the participation of around 20 colleges from the City.

Students from many colleges outside the City like NITK-Suratkal, IIT-Madras, BVB College of Engineering and Technology, Hubli etc participated in the two-day fest. Nearly 5,000 students attended the fest, which had around 200 student volunteers.

The events were broadly divided into technical, cultural, sports and gaming categories and most of the competitions had a big turnout. The technical events such as ‘Splash-o-mania’, ‘Race it’, ‘Mechathon’, ‘Wright Design’, ‘Stock Simulator’, ‘Junkyard Wars’, ‘Paper Presentation’, ‘Design Competition’, ‘Industry Define Problems’ and ‘CAD Master’ tested the practical and technical knowledge of the contestants.

‘Splash-o-mania’ was a big hit where the participants had to build motor boats and run it on water. ‘Mechathon’ was another popular event wherein contestants were asked to make a structure through dismantled pieces. There was a huge cheering group for the participants as well.

As usual, the gaming events like ‘Counter Strike’, ‘Dota’ and ‘NFS’ caught the attention of the boys. Sporting events like ‘Mini Football’, ‘Mini Cricket’, ‘Mini Basketball’, ‘Arm Wrestling’, ‘Angry Birds’, ‘Slow Drag’, ‘Pocket Tanks’, ‘Paintball’, ‘Anti Chess’, etc were filled with funny moments. Many girls took part in the ‘Arm Wrestling’ event.

The cultural events like ‘Western Music’, ‘Karaoke’, ‘LOL’, ‘Mad Ads’, ‘Dance Sensation’, ‘Turn Coat’, ‘Street Play’, ‘General Quiz’, ‘Potpourri’, ‘Photography’, ‘Dumb Charades’, ‘Drink-a-thon’, ‘Hit The Target’ and ‘Treasure Hunt’ were some of the main attractions of this
extravaganza.

Said Mayank, a participant of ‘Drink-a-thon’, a beverage drinking competition, “I took part in this first-of-a-kind competition thinking it would be fun. In the first round, we were asked to drink nimbu pani and later, buttermilk. In the next round, we were served tea, lemon juice and ‘Maaza’ one after the other. I started getting a burning sensation in my throat and couldn’t get through to the final round.” 

“Some of the events like ‘Drink-a-thon’, ‘Hit The Target’ and ‘LOL’ were conducted for the first time and they succeeded to pull the crowd. Most of the students walked away with gift vouchers and attractive prizes as the fest was sponsored by premier multinational brands,” said Boris, one of the student organisers.