Dhwani (festival)
| Dhwani | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Cultural |
| Frequency | Annually/biannually |
| Location(s) | Trivandrum, India |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Most recent | 2015 [1] |
| Participants | 40,000[2] |
| Attendance | 160 colleges[3] |
| Organised by | College of Engineering, Trivandrum |
| Website | |
|
www | |
Dhwani is the annual social and cultural festival of College of Engineering, Trivandrum. Dhwani is the biggest cultural fest of Kerala hosted by College of Engineering, Trivandrum.
History
Dhwani started in 1999 when the first edition of Dhwani was held as a sideshow to the CETEX exhibition, which was celebrating the 60th anniversary of CET. A group of students who wanted to break free from the routine stressed academic life came up with the idea of conducting a cultural fest annually. It was named "dhwani" meaning "echo" symbolizing the echoing of talents.
In spite of countless challenges later the team, which included among others Arun Kunjunny, Thanvi Thomas, Balakrishnan M., N.P. Brahmaprakash, Jobin George Mathew, Megha Sathya and Aparna Menon, managed to cobble together a three-day event with a number of firsts for Kerala: a full-scale ‘informals' events schedule, satellite TV broadcasting, and a ‘pro nite' – a concert by Balabhaskar. The alumni association also stepped in to raise funds to build an-open air amphitheatre on campus, especially for the event . Dhwani 1.0 was held in February 2001 and attracted about 30 colleges from across Kerala.[3]
The Most recent version was a four-day event in 2013 with a total prize money more than a million rupees. Other than cultural events it had Folk Nite by The Raghu Dixit Project, Popular Nite by famous play back singer Suchithra, DJ Nite by DJ Jino, Informal events Slip Soccer, Call of Duty: Campus Take over and CET Roadsters anchored by Raghu(MTV Roadies) and RJ Amit and RJ Merlin which dragged a huge crowd of about 40K to the fest . Even with a fest on the same dates, in the same city, it had about 1500 participants for the events with prior registration.
Past associates and sponsors
With big corporate names like Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Servo, Tata DoCoMo,Fastrack, media giants like Asianet, Amrita, Rosebowl, Red FM 93.5, Asian School of Business sponsoring the event, Dhwani becomes a hot spot for brand recognition and brand promotion. And indeed, Dhwani has carved a niche for itself in corporate circles.
Dhwani 2015
Dhwani 2015 promises to be a magical journey. It is never easy to articulate a concept of such magnitude, but there are three pillars which form the crux of this mega-event. The first of three pillars - FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION - is an over-used and often misused term and Dhwani 2015 will redefine this cliche by ushering in a never-before-seen culture. Literary freedom to publish views on a national-level canvas, social freedom to redress burning issues and raise awareness, artistic freedom to exhibit unconventional works and political freedom to openly raise tough questions at political heavyweights.
Dhwani 2015 will not just welcome future engineers(or engineering college students?). To-be (future) hipsters, rappers, fashion designers, bureaucrats, theater artists and social activists will connect and revel in their comfort zones. Do what you love, and love what you do, and Dhwani 2015 will be a hotspot for people from all walks of life, who not only find their own space, but feel welcomed into other spaces as well. A street movie screening, sipping coffee on couches, literary as well as audio-video reporting- just glimpses into Dhwani 2015's universe.
Our second pillar, HAPPINESS, like the Happy pages say, will be 4 days at Dhwani 2015. It will be jumping in unison at the booming beats and tunes of late night proshows, chilling with your gang at numerous informal events, and packing your bags not just with memories and smiles but also exciting goodies. It will be taking the funny selfie (with a stranger?), enjoying a pizza/donut and exploring every little event with your best friends. It will not just be winning, but participating, pushing your friends on stage for the fun of it. It will be the euphoria of watching dance troupes light up stages, fashionistas sizzling up the ramps, and bands soulfully strumming right into our hearts.
Dhwani 2015 will have all the ingredients of a larger-than-life carnival, with street performers and trance DJ's sending our party crazy youth into delirium.
Dhwani 2015 will be a Dhwani of purpose. With thousands of students converging on campus, thousands of ideas, voices and perspectives could also converge if given a proper channel. This brings us to ETHICS-our third and final pillar which seeks to facilitate a Young India idea-breeding platform through workshops, discussions and brainstorming sessions. Young India will voice their beliefs, and eminent experts will stimulate response regarding contemporary issues like campus politics, women empowerment and social awareness. The entrepreneurship wave calls for effective tapping. India needs engineers, doctors, bureaucrats and the musicians, but above all, it needs thinkers. Dhwani-15 will do its bit. An opportunity, a platform, a slice of history which you wouldn't want to miss.
Under the huge umbrella of Dhwani 2015, several mini-festivals would add flavor to the festivities. A food festival amalgamating the best tastes of the state, a film festival screening offbeat films, a design festival tailor-made for arts and fashion experts;all of these dotted by several competitions and workshops.
Organisation
Dhwani is a completely non-profit organisation managed entirely by the students of CET The organisational structure of Dhwani comprises the Core group members(or Cores), Co-ordinators and volunteers. The Cores lead the various departments of Finance, Publicity, Sponsorship, Events, Design, Hospitality, Facilities and Requirements, Security and QMS (Quality Management System).They are assisted by the co-ordinators who are assigned more specific roles.In most cases, the co-ordinators are further assisted by volunteers. The students of CET as a whole organises the event now.
References
- ↑ "Dhwani all set to begin on March 7". The New Indian Express (India). 5 March 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ↑ "Let the revelry begin". The Hindu (India). 6 March 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- 1 2 "Rock the stage". The Hindu (India). 6 January 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.