(Top) A glimpse of the fashion show at Eclecia 2009; (above) Indian Idol star Toshi performs at the fest. Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta

Fun knew no bounds at Eclecia 2009, the annual fest organised last weekend by the students of Heritage Institute of Technology in association with t2.

With more than 20 bands registering for On The Rocks, the western band competition, the fest heard three whole days of rock music, belted out over three rounds at the college campus. The finals on Saturday had bands Black Rose, Moshpit, Weapon Shop, Sinful Oath, Banned, Flash Flood and Cynical Recess competing for the top slot, despite the blistering April sun. Weapon Shop came out on top yet again, with its cover of Creed’s What If and its original Redemption. In second place was t2 Rising Rockers Moshpit.

If brain-teasers — and not head-banging — were more up your alley, the campus auditorium was the place to be, with the quiz going on simultaneously. With questions on everything from “ego search” (searching for your name on the web) to nautanki, the quiz covered it all. Did you know that the voice behind the famous milk advertisement “Wonderful doodh” was Kunal Ganjawalla’s? Or that A.R. Rahman’s Chhaiyya chhaiyya was banned in Pakistan for the words “Paaon ke neeche jannat hogi”?

The fashion show had students of NSHM in ethnic wear, showcasing everything from pathan suits and sherwanis to Anarkalis and saris. The home team won with their fun concept of Adam-teasing, which had aggressive chicks — some even with chains! The second team from Heritage saw a line of ‘bad boys’, with students dressed as pathans, Circuit of Munnabhai fame, pirates, DJs and dacoits. Dance team Venus won the dance competition with their thought-provoking theme about a bleeding world that needed to heal. With blindfolds, masks and guns as props and innovative moves that involved throwing red gulaal, their dance came to end with current rage, Jai ho.

The best parts of the fest, however, were the guest performances. UK-based band Breathe — The Delicate Sound of Pink Floyd, a tribute band dedicated to covering Floyd classics, was the star act for Saturday, who rocked the crowd with eternal favourites like Wish You Were Here, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Echoes and The Wall. The band closed its performance with a rousing Comfortably Numb that had the teeming crowd singing along to every word. Indian Idol star Toshi performed on Sunday, the last day of the fest, and had the students jiving to Bolly hits like Marjani marjani and Awaarapan. With all that and a DJ night, Eclecia 2009 came to a fabulous close.

Malini Banerjee
Which is your favourite round in a college fest? Tell t2@abpmail.com