A blaze of ethnic celebration

It is seldom that students are spotted in traditional ethnic attire in college. However, the students of Oxford Engineering College did just that on their ethnic day, which was celebrated in the college recently.

The students could be seen showcasing their ethnic best during the celebration. Colourful saris, bright kurtis and kurtas were the flavour of the day.  “The entire college celebrated it and students from all the semesters and streams showed enthusiasm and active participation in the programme. The whole idea was to bring out the best of India and showcase its ethnicity,” says Rajesh, a student.

The programme also included a question-and-answer session by the teachers, so as to choose Mr and Miss Oxford. Considerable variety could be seen in the kind of clothes students chose to wear. While some students teamed a jacket with a bright dhoti’, others decided to bring in the flavour of their respective states by wearing ethnic attire from there.

“It was a mini-India — dresses from across the country were worn by the students. It was a lot of fun, a change from the lectures and classes. We interacted with others and were quite involved in the show. This is perhaps the last cultural show in this academic year and we have to wait for the next academic year for all the functions to begin,” says Lohith, also a student.

After the students showcased their clothes, a handful of them were chosen for the competition.

They were then asked questions which tested their presence of mind and other skills. Two students were selected as winners and were given the title Mr and Miss Oxford.
“It was a very colourful event — it was also an eye-opener for students like me. I was not aware that our country has so many ethnicities and cultures. It also gave us an opportunity to get to know the traditional attire of various communities — like people from Coorg, Rajasthan and Gujarat. It was like a melting pot of cultures,” notes Satish, another student.

It was clear that the students had a great time. Some of them had colour-coordinated their attire with their friends and could be seen wearing the same kind of clothes.
“I wore a white punche and a white shirt. It was different from the usual things we wear. Everyone looked different and the college was looking bright and colourful,” sums up Avinash.