Spring Fest

Months of preparation, weeks of sleepless nights and days of deadlines paved the way for the 53rd edition of Spring Fest, the annual cultural extravaganza of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. With events ranging from the serious to the wacky, one of the largest student fests in eastern India, held in association with The Telegraph from January 20 to 23, saw participation from colleges across the country. There was something for everyone — singers, thespians, musicians, painters, writers, quizzers, rock enthusiasts and of course fun seekers. After four days of fierce competition and intense fun, XLRI Jamshedpur walked away with the SF Championship Trophy even as the SF team wound down enough to celebrate the success of yet another chapter of Spring Fest.

They roared, they chanted, they sang along to Parikrama, a Spring Fest favourite, as they entertained the audience with originals and covers on the third day of the fest. Two students had their dream come true when they were asked to take the stage and sing along with by the band

The heart of the “Kingdom of Kharagpur”was the Arena, the central point for all informal competitions, activities, food stalls and more. Done up in red and black — the colours of the card deck — in the likes of a castle, the Arena was one of the busiest spots on the Kharagpur campus.

Students brought out their creativity not on paper, T-shirt, canvases or walls but on the faces of fellow students! All for Face Canvas, the face-painting competition held at the Arena on the third day of the fest.

’SaT, a metal band from Bangalore, got the audience going from the word go as they head-banged their way to victory in the coveted best band category of Wildfire, the rock band competition at SF

The Jnan Ghosh Stadium was brighter than the sky as thousands of students waved their cellphones in tune with the songs

The Family Cheese from Chennai, who “loooove their breakfast” swept the best vocalist, best bassist, best guitarist and best drummer categories in Wildfire

Blakc, a five-piece alternative/post grunge band from Mumbai, set the stage for Parikrama with songs like Rift and Sold

“SF ka tempo high hai!” chanted the crowd so loudly that “hip-hop fakers”
Vishal and Shekhar learnt it, put music to it and sang it right there, sending the crowd into a tizzy. The Bollywood music director duo were the biggest star draws of Spring Fest 2012. A 15,000-strong crowd drove away the late-night chill dancing to numbers like Right here right now, Dus bahane, Dard-e-disco, Chammak challo and even Sheila ki jawani. A tribute to disco king Bappida preceded Ooh la la that left the crowd howling for more