Unmasking the talent

Spark 2009, a festival designed to provide a platform for artistic and creative talent among plus two students, was held at the St Joseph's Indian Composite PU College (SJICPUC) recently.

The festival had 15 colleges participating and was packed with over 1,000 students attending on each day. They took part enthusiastically in the wide variety of events that covered most interests, hobbies and performing arts like music and dance. “This is our third successive year and we are delighted with the response and the level of performances,” said Sukanth Mukerjee, Cultural Secretary  of SJICPUC.

The first day started off with an Ice-breaker that had teams of eight members introduce their respective college to the gathering in a clever, wacky and innovative way. This set the tone for the rest of the 31 events that followed in a warm convivial atmosphere. There were forums for flower arranging, creative and poetry writing, Sudoko, dumb charades and debates.

While these were more sedate and literary competitions, there were other events that were a lively mix of fun and innovation.  Air Crash had teams simulating passengers on a plane that was about to crash and trying to get the pilot to hand over the only available parachute. Mount Carmel girls walked away with the prize amid loud cheers.

Product Launch had students launch a whole range of products from toothbrushes to security systems  using their imagination and advertising skills. Movie Spoof was a good forum for mimicry and acting talents. SJICPUC won most of the prizes on the first day including the ones for ‘Ice breaker’ and Movie Spoof.

The first day drew to a close with a rocking Western and folk dance dance competitions. Day two of  ‘Sparks’ had a completely different range of events from Western music to personality contests, from cooking without fire to cartooning and quizzing.The highlights were the very popular Western music contest, which kick-started the events on the second day.

The different bands played a variety of popular numbers including hits from Iron Maiden and Metallica to more recent groups. Stress Interviews had contestants showing their ability to deal with crisis situations and cope under pressure. The personality round focused on innovation and stage presence. The candidates first introduced themselves, were given props to use effectively on stage and finally fielded the judges questions with a combination of wit and quick thinking.

The winners were Neil Nelson (SJICPUC) and Rachana (Christ University) who were crowned Mr and Mrs Sparks. The festival drew to a close with colourful Indian themes dance and the overall winners were declared amidst much cheering and enthusiasm. SJICPUC won the overall championship but sportingly handed their trophy over to Christ University who were the first runners-up. Mount Carmel came in as second runners-up.