Bhubaneswar, Jan. 16: The eighth edition of Alma Fiesta, a three-day annual socio-cultural festival of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, concluded on Sunday.
The festival was held on the institute's Argul campus, in Jatni, for the first time. It had a series of cultural programmes, including a sarod recital by Debanjan Bhattacharjee, followed by dance performance by Kumkum Mohanty's dance group.
Children from Argul Village High School and State Disability Information and Resource Centre Swabhiman took part in an event called "Bachpanka Rangmanch-The Children's Fest". Chief executive, Swabhimaan, Sruti Mohapatra was the chief guest on the occasion.
The second day of the festival witnessed participation from local and national college students in various dance, music and literary events.
"Alma Fiesta was a plethora of events and the festival provided an opportunity to the students to showcase their skills and ideas. The festival also had various workshops, competitions and dance, music and drama performances. We had many kinds of events and the winners walked away with a lot of prizes," said student Prishma Jain.
The festival witnessed events such as model United Nations, parliamentary debate and Euphony - Battle of Bands. It concluded with the performance of a rock band from Delhi, The Local Train.
Director, IIT Bhubaneswar, R.V. Raja Kumar and managing director, Utkal Manufacturing & Services Ltd, Paramita Mahapatra, addressed the inaugural evening on January 13.
Rajakumar emphasised on several initiatives by IIT, Bhubaneswar, for the welfare and promotion of students. He highlighted construction activities with focus on various amenities planned for the upcoming student academic centre at the institute.
Mahapatra talked about the role of art and cultural activities to boost talent.
The institute also plans to hold a techno management festival - Wissenaire - on its Argul campus from February 3 to February 5. "It is one of the most awaited techno-management festivals of east India," said an institute official.
