Fun in the long run

The 11th annual VTU Youth Festival Pandora 2010, going on at Dayananda Sagar Institutions situated on Shavige Malleshwara Hills, has turned the college campus into a world of fun. With more than 30 cultural events taking place at around ten different venues, the fest offers an astounding visual treat to the young crowd.

As many as 150 colleges from across the State, affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, have been taking part in this four day mega cultural event and showcasing their creative ingenuity in individual and team events.

The sprawling campus of Dayananda Institutions is bustling with students and has proved to be one of the biggest confluence of students from different cultures speaking various languages. Take a visit to the campus and you can feel the energy of the youth and enjoy a wide range of entertaining events.

T V Mohandas Pai, Member of the Board, Infosys Technologies Limited, inaugurated the fest and interacted with the students about the future prospects of the nation. Manasa, a bharatanatyam dancer, formally unveiled the stage by performing a solo dance. The first event held at the main auditorium was mime which dealt with burning social issues like equality of men and women and killing of female foetus.

The folk and tribal dance event, held at the Football Stadium, was a virtual treat for the audience as the participants, dressed in tribal costumes, presented some stunning performances. Students from St Joseph’s College of Engineering portrayed different avataras of Krishna and the killing of demons. An awesome performance of Kamsalae catapulted the audience into a world of traditional art and restored the gaiety of the folk art.

Mallika from Sapthagiri Institute of Engineering was the prime attraction of the Western solo event as she performed Taylor Swift’s Teardrops On My Guitar. The celebrity performer of the day was Raghu Dixit and his programme was a big hit with over 12,000 people attending the concert.

On the second day also, the cultural vigour of the campus was floating high as there were many rocking events to enthrall the crowd. A one-act play, held at Premachandra Sagar Auditorium, witnessed a jam-packed hall. One of the plays dealt with the problems of a ‘dalit adivasi’ woman called Kamli and exposed the cruelty of irrational practices. Another humourous play about HIV was also enjoyable. Along with these events, students tried their hands in poster-making, debate, treasure hunt, quiz and ‘rangoli’.
The event will conclude on April 29 with many more exciting events lined up. “This a great place to meet our old friends especially our PUC classmates. Here, students from different cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds come together, interact and exhibit their latent talent. It’s like a networking site meant for students,” says Raveesh, who has come from Haliyal.