A thoughful tribute to the international community

Fun Unlimited

Garden City College recently hosted its five-day annual fest, ‘Gardenia’, in which more than 25 colleges participated enthusiastically. The events were all structured around the theme of ‘Green Promise’ and this year’s fest was dedicated to the Indian Armed Forces.

After the inauguration by several dignitaries, including additional commissioner of police (traffic) M A Saleem, the fest kickstarted with a host of cultural performances by the students of Garden City College.

Day one began with ‘Afro De Asia’, a band performing a fusion of traditional Africa rhythms with various Asian and Latin percussion instruments.

The ensemble made the crowd sway to foot-tapping beats as they passed around a hundred African drums to those in the audience to play along.

The fest had around 30 events. The crowd-pullers were the ‘DJ Nite’, the dance party and the get-together of international students, which attracted more than 3000 students from 80 countries. 

The departmental events were spread over two days and the prizes were handed out on the day after. They were given away by Col B M Cariappa, who says, “To serve one’s country is the highest privilege. I am glad the college has done its bit to popularise that message among the students.” He also shared with the students his experience of being a part of the Kargil War.

The highlight of day three was the ‘DJ Nite’, where the students grooved to popular Bollywood numbers. Another crowd-puller was the fashion show, where one got to witness the best work of the student designers. 

Appreciating the students and staff for putting together a successful fest, Joseph V G, chairman of the Garden City Group of Institutions and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Maldives, says, “I am overwhelmed by the response that I have received and the efforts that have gone into making the fest a grand success.”

The students were thrilled with the various events and enjoyed themselves to the hilt. They not only participated in as many events as they could but made sure they encouraged and cheered their fellow participants as well. Abhishek Gurung, a first-year BCA student, says, “The best part about ‘Afro De Asia’’s performance was being given a chance to play the drums. It was an experience of a lifetime.”

Shweta, a student of Kristu Jayanti College who participated in almost all the events, adds, “For the first time, I came across events that were themed on war and the armed forces. I liked the radio transmission, where participants had to act as journalists reporting from the war-front.” 

The concluding day saw the ‘Battle of Events’, dedicated to the international student community in GCC and across the City. The event comprised several cultural and sports activities, in which more than 15 colleges participated.  Among the various events were the solo dance, group song, group dance, solo song and beat-boxing. The sports-related events were basketball, volleyball, cricket and football. There were students from Maldives, China, Nepal, East-Africa and Sri Lanka.

   There were stalls showcasing a glimpse of each country. The five-day evening drew to an end with exciting events, including a Chinese song, an African ramp walk, a Maldivian skit and Nepali and Sri Lankan dances.