WAVES FEST MAKING WAVES
Art and Deal Correspondent
Ever since it’s humble inception in 2007, Waves has quickly grown to become a national level festival with participation from colleges all over the country and footfalls reaching over 60,000. Being the fastest growing cultural festival with euphoric entertainment, captivating events, vibrant crowd and the appeal of a festive atmosphere unique only to Goa, Waves, the cultural festival of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus prides at being a social and cultural phenomenon, setting it apart from every other festival in the country. Through the years Waves has been graced by illustrious personalities such as Vidya Balan, Mani Shankar (Bollywood director), Chandni Sahgal (MTV India ex-Country Head), VJ Bani (MTV host), Tarla Dalal (international chef), Ashish Shakaya, Rohan Joshi and Tanmay Bhat(Stand-up comedians).Last year they were the proud hosts of the official pre-Sunburn Event, the electro-dance music festival that has been creating a rage all over the country. The crowd was also blown away by Australia’s foremost Alternative Rock band- ‘Dead Letter Circus’ and the Pakistani band- Strings. Waves 2013- Hit the Rewindhad its grand inauguration on the 7th of November which saw the breathtaking performance by the Mime Club among several other engaging performances such as that by Monsieur Gusto. A myriad of events were lined up for Day 1 such as Drama events- The Nukkad Natak (Street play) competition and Rang Manch (Stage play). Eliminations of the Indian Rock competition and the solo dance competition known as Sizzle were also held. The Quiz club had also organised the Science and Entertainment Quiz followed by the Food and Beverages Quiz. The literary events comprised of Press Corps, Word Games and Contention- the Waves Debate. Moot Courts was organised for the first time and witnessed a respectable participation. For the art enthusiasts, events such as portraiture and the art marathon were also organised. One of the Big Three events- Natyanjali was held in the evening with a jam packed auditorium. As a part of the I.A.M (Intervene act motivate) Initiative, a self-defence workshop for girls was conducted by KK Makhija, Chairman, Makhija Rotary Vocational Training Institute in Bangalore. The day ended with the crowd swaying to the tunes of the famous Indian Disc Jockey- DJ NYK. Day 2 kick started with an even greater fervor. Events such as Dhinchak (Bollywood Dance Competition) and Impromptu kept the audience engaged. Other equally enticing events included the Vices Quiz, the Silence of the amps, creative writing competition and solo singing. The much-awaited event, Mr and Miss Waves was organized later in the day which drew in a lot of cheering from the enthusiastic audience.
The event was preceded by a scintillating performance by the Dance Club of BITS Goa. After showcasing their talent and going through several quirky rounds, Siddharth Santosh from Christ University was crowned Mr. Waves and Zenia from HR College was given the title of Miss Waves for 2013. One of India’s largest semi-professional Rock Band Competition, Searock had its finals held late in the evening. Four bands were shortlisted out of the sixteen bands which were selected from all over India.The winners were Paradox from VIT, Red Shorts from Delhi, and Dark Light from Bangalore. The prize money of Rs. 75000 was split amongst the 3 winners, and scholarship from the Swarnabhoomi Music Academy was awarded to them. The crowd was blown away by the sheer brilliance of the performances by the prominent jazz and blues act Blackstratblues, Mumbai based vocalist and playback singer Nikhil D’Souza and world renowed Indian – American percussionist Karsh Kale. Actress, Kalki Koechlin made a surprise visit to the campus and attended the concert.
Not a hint of exhaustion could be seen among the audience and participants as Waves moved to its final day, Day 3. It started off with the final round of several music, dance and art events. Innumerable cash prizes and goodies were awarded and there were exciting informal events for the audience too. Students occupied the auditorium in droves for the much anticipated Big 3 event, FashP. After some brilliant display of performances, NIFT Delhi was adjudged the winner by none other than the Winner of Femina Miss India 2012, Rochelle Maria Rao. This was followed by the eliminations for Femina Miss India 2014 which saw four girls getting the opportunity for a direct entry into the regional finals. Waves 2013 concluded with an enthralling performance by the highly acclaimed duo- Vishal and Shekhar. Priyanka Chopra’s surprise guest appearance had the audience left the audience begging for more. Vishal and Shekhar sang their popular songs, Balam Pichkari, Jee Le Zaara and Om shanti Om to mention a few. They also sang Madari as a special request from the audience. Waves 2013 ended with the promise of coming back next year with the same fervour and organisation if not better. It has left memories that will last a lifetime for all those who were fortunate to have experienced what has now become one ofIndia’s biggest fest.
