Scholars will pack up their books as they sing, dance, quiz, debate and paint their faces with vibrant colours at Mélange, the annual cultural festival of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna, next week.

The eight-day fest will begin on January 21. Patna Medical College and Hospital, IIT-Patna, BIT-Patna, Chanakya National Law University, Patna Women’s College and Magadh Mahila College have confirmed their participation.

Organisers said one of the unique events would be parliamentary debate (popularly know as a moot or mock parliament). “This is the first time that our institute is organising a parliamentary debate for Mélange,” said final-year NIT student Shashi Shekhar, adding that the event would acquaint students with the way Parliament works.

Disputing over issues of social relevance would not be the only source of fun at the fest, though. Another new and exciting event would be face painting. The source said: “Youths paint their faces with bright colours during cricket matches. So we have organised this event.”