Thomso (festival)

Thomso is the annual cultural festival of Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. It is held in the month of October every year and is the "Premier Youth Festival" of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. In its 34th edition in 2016, it witnessed a record footfall of about 40,000 participants, making it the largest cultural fest of Northern India. Started back in 1982 by the students of IIT Roorkee, it plays host to a multitude of talented scholars and media moguls in an annual celebration of culture and intellect. Thomso now celebrates its 35th year, with this year’s theme being "A Magical Fantasia".

Thomso
Status Active
Genre Cultural Festival
Venue Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Location(s) Roorkee
Country India
Years active 1982-present
Attendance 20000
Area Roorkee, Uttarakhand
Activity Cultural Festival
People Ashish Kaushik, Convener
Website
http://www.thomso.in

Introduction

Thomso, a majestic three days cultural fest is recognised as one of the greatest pomp youth festivals of India. Thomso encompasses lavish history, splendid culture and a profoundly rich heritage of IIT Roorkee, which is indeed special.[1][2] Recognising this event of gigantic proportions, the Government of Uttarakhand proclaimed Thomso as the "Annual Youth Festival of Uttarakhand" in 2005.[3][4]

With themes of thrill and adventure, Thomso embodies the spirit of life. Apart from amusement, this giant occasion brings to the students, a chance to explore the world of passion.The lasting experience it provides is crucial in life, which inculcates leadership, courage, pragmatism, optimism, and much more through a range of events. Participants often acclaim these eventful days as one of the most memorable moments of their youth and herein lay the real beauty and splendor of Thomso, which leaves the audience yearning for more.

History

A performance by rock band Indian Ocean at Thomso

The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (previously, The University of Roorkee) was recognised as the First Technical University of independent India in the year 1949. However, it had a modest beginning as The Thomason College of Engineering in the year 1847, hence the obvious inspiration for the name of the event. The 150 glorious years not only signify rood history of this institution but is also an indication of the service that it has provided in the process of technical escalation of the country. The institution has an inimitable record of nurturing the enormous talent of this country and providing them with the best of the scientific and technical education of the world and yet never losing its lustre. The institution has always provided the path and has been idol for the other upcoming institutions and universities to follow. These 150 years have been great years of technical advancement for our country and the institution pledges to provide much more in the upcoming years.[3]

The annual cultural fest Thomso held in October every year attracts an enormous crowd from more than 600 colleges across the country. The festival is named after its founder, Sir James Thomason, lieutenant governor 1843–53, the founder of the Thomason College of Civil Engineering in 1853. The annual cultural fest of University of Roorkee was previously known as "Tarang". In 1982, after a general consent to alter the coinage and an open competition, the term ‘Thomso’ was coined after its founder. Thomso has now snowballed to become one of the largest college cultural festival in the country.

The fest plays host to the extremely talented scholars and academicians from all over the country, attracts media moguls and celebrates the divine congregation of culture and intellect. With a gigantic footfall of more than 20,000 students, comprising several IITs, NITs, and many other nearby colleges, Thomso becomes the abode of this glorious combination.

Thomso is devoted to creating an unforgettable experience for each and every visitor, simultaneously providing unique opportunities to the youth for showcasing their talents in front of extremely large audiences and top-notch judges. The fest plays host to the most strikingly talented scholars and academicians from all over the country, attracts media moguls and celebrates the divine congregation of culture and intellect. With a behemotic footfall of more than 15,000 students, comprising several IITs and NITs, Thomso becomes the abode of this ambrosial combination. It boasts of electrifying performances by the stalwarts of the entertainment industry, from India and abroad. Prominent celebrities like Farhan Akhtar, Sonu Nigaam, Shaan (singer), KK (singer), Sunidhi Chauhan, have graced the stage in recent years.

Encompassing a lavish cultural heritage, Thomso has witnessed concerts by several celebrated personalities since then Thomso has also hosted a number of Indian Rock and Fusion bands like Indian Ocean, Euphoria, Jal – The Band, The Local Train and international bands like Benea Reach from Norway. Apart from this, it has also been a launchpad for many budding rock bands like Zero, Parikrama and Aagman. The Fashion Pronite Vogue has been glorified by noted actresses like Sushmita Sen and Udita Goswami.

The Theme

Everyone is looking for a spark. That little bit of magic, we believe will ignite our lives. Magic holds us captive. It conjures a strange, innate smile upon our faces through it’s mystique and charm yet leaves us dazed for long. Fantasy is one of the things that gives wings to our imagination, exercising our sense of wonder in magic and monsters. Fantasy makes us experience the world from a different perspective, opening the dimensions to a new world far more magical than ours, and far more adventureous. It is this magic that we aim to recreate.

“Magic exists. Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers, the music of the wind and the silence of the stars? Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic. It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part of the lives we live.”

So on 27th-29th October, 2017 let’s plunge into the world of wizardry and mystery, and relish the pledge, the turn and the prestige.

IITR has strived to attain perfection by making Thomso a brilliant masterpiece of grandeur and transcendence. Thomso has contributed to the welfare of the socially and economically backward factions of the society, among both the urban and rural population to the best its our ability.

Pronites

Thahake - Day 0

Thomso kicks off with a laughter extravaganza boasting of comedy stalwarts like Sunil Pal, Ragiv Nigam, Kumar Vishwas, Pratap Fauzdar who have graced the stage in past years. Thomso has hosted poets excelling in the genre of humour which made the audience split in satire, comic poems, and witty one liners to appeal to the younger generation. In recent years, Thomso witnessed performance by upcoming stand-up comics like Azeem Banatwala, Daniel Fernandes and Abhijit Ganguly.

Vogue - Day 1

The breath-stopping fashion fiesta at Thomso where handsome men and gorgeous women light up the stage displaying sensational outfits. The likes of Sushmita Sen, Annie Thomas and models from São Paulo, Brazil have sizzled the ramp in past. Vogue is set to attract numerous scorchers from all over the country.

Wargasm - Day 2

Wargasm gives a stage to budding bands to perform with professional headlining bands in front of a massive crowd.

Xhileration - Day 3

Xhileration is the event which brings renowned artists to the stage and take the crowd on the adventure of a lifetime. It has stunned and amazed the audience and most of all xhilerated them.

Events - Centre Stage

Footloose

Footloose is a competition in which one can perform any dance from kuchippudi to parsa doble as long as it entertains the audience and keeps the judges interested.

Sargam

Melodious vocalists and talented instrumentalists are given an opportunity to astound the audience with live performances.

Mr. and Ms. Thomso

Beautiful divas and handsome hunks compete at the runway right here at IIT Roorkee for the coveted title.

Abhivyakti

Abhivyakti is a stage play competition of thomso which brings forth the theatrical abilities of the participants.

Thomso Carnival

IIT Roorkee's very own version of the very famous TV Show "Takeshi's Castle"

Nukkad Natak

Street play competition centered on creating awareness.

Apocalypse

It is an ultimate cyber gaming contest in which participants are tested on their gaming skills in FIFA, DOTA, Counter Strike and NFS.

Thomso’s Got Talent

This features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and all other performers to be the best talent of thomso.

Battle of Bands (hindi)

This is a stepping stone for aspiring bands to showcase their talent.

Mary Jane Green Field (english)

Chance for bands to bring their musical talents to stage.

16 Frames

Event which gives an opportunity to present your cinematographic skills.

Step Up

Face-off Dance event.

Rap It Up

Aspiring rappers from all over the country congregate to rap battle till the last man standing.

Street Soccer

A 4-a-side soccer tournament caged inside the basketball courts where numerous teams thrive to bag the championship.

Corporata

The management quiz which stimulates and teases the minds of participants while teasing the sharpness and intuitive skills that they possess.

Telly Sporcle

An exciting quiz based on favourite TV Shows.

Literati Events

Stumped: Cricket commentary competition.

Wordsworth: Constructing smaller words from a long one.

Jam: Event which tests speakers command on their language and grammatical accuracy.

Improvo-a-Ganza: Event to put up a comedy sketch.

Syncity: Event testing your knowledge of words.

Spin a yarn: Challenge your storytelling skills.

Events - Informals

Seiger: IITR style roadies

El Castillo: Sand castle making competition

Quiriosity: Quiz Competition

Enigma-X: Treasure Hunt

Paint Fiesta: Impromptu painting competition for budding artists

Show the Strip: Cartoon making competition

Mad @ Ads: Ad making competition

Umang: Kite flying competition

I-Rock: Karaoke fun event

Social Initiatives

To remove dust, getting dusty is a necessity. The line fits appropriately for Thomso, which works at the ground level for underprivileged ones, getting acquaintained with them and their problems which form the backbone for a stable social working that this cultural fest does. The crux of Thomso lies in touching hearts and lives of people across all societies, rising above economic barriers with ebullient and soothing hands. Thomso proposes to host several art exhibitions displaying fine art by young students from lower class society in a lauded effort to create opportunities for all. The major task is to help mainly the disabled, malnourished young ones and uplifting their families from dreadful scratches of poverty. This tremendous task is carried out with overwhelming support of Thomso’s social associates including NSS and Anushruti, CRY, MARD, have contribute significantly throughout the year with a motive to make this world a heaven to live in and an egalitarian society where opportunities do not fade away as per the descending societal hierarchy.

Some of the initiatives in light of this helpful dogma are:

Associates

Association to reach the goal of a healthy and educated world has been the top priority.

NSS

With a compassion and objective to develop young students with social and helping virtues for the betterment of underprivileged ones and as a whole the society, NSS was established in IIT Roorkee at institute level that is currently headed by the Dean of student welfare. Over 700 active participants including students from various fields work rigorously for community’s welfare. Blood donation camps, AIDS awareness camps, informative lecture on human values, surveys and other such events are organized regularly. Over the years it has abided by its motto "Not for me, but for the nation" generating engineers with a social responsibility to help others and it has impacted the society highly with education, food, clothing etc. for those who are in their need due to other’s greed.

Anushruti

A humble initiative by IITR for differently able students with listening and hearing disabilities it is a sparkling candle in dark. This School came into existence in 1989 and has risen to be one of the finest initiatives of IITR, with a team of 12 teachers and volunteers from IITR it has brought a revolution in the life of 90 disabled children. Above this exhilarating feat of achievement Anushruti is stepping into a future every new moment through nurturing silence and creating lives.

Thomso Hitherto 2016

The charm and enigma of Thomso can be traced back to 1982 when this fest was established. Initiated as a cultural fest, it has now acquired the kudos to call itself among the biggest youth festivals in India. The 2013 edition consisted of over 150 events and hosted 10000 guest students from 200 colleges across India, with an enthusiastic theme "Live free, die hard." The theme was illuminated with the likes of Farhan Akhtar, who followed the same principle in life. He came to the event with his Rock concert thrilling the whole campus and left an ever lasting impact on everyone’s heart.

Based on similar line of action, came Thomso 14 themed "Devil’s symphony", to enhance and signify the independence of human thought, spirit and culture. The theme focussed on hearing the devil’s symphony and abided with the saying "When there is a conflict between the heart and mind, follow the latter", as there is always a glorified beam of light following dark caves of sufferings. Thomso 14 had an electrifying impact with the concert by KK leading the spot in enabling us to experience the music’s symphonies and get exhilarated.

Thomso has had a glorious past in terms of celebrity participation with a long list of famed people being a part like Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Shaan, Kumar Vishwas and many more. Every year there is a cheered participation by them and this year also there is a surprise package, full of charisma and craziness.

Achievements So Far

The essence of Thomso lies in achieving what other fests fail to do. Irrespective of the unlimited fun and relish it provides us with, it has deep rooted achievements in the field of Social work and grooming young talent by providing a platform with an ebullient audience. The government of Uttarakhand proclaimed Thomso as the "Annual Youth Festival of Uttarakhand" in 2005, which is an achievement to brag about by its organisers. The event is organised by students and this displays a great teamwork and management skills, again a triumph for Thomso. Many NGO’s like CRY have actively participated with Nukkad Natak’s aimed at creating awareness for issues like women empowerment, child education and poverty alleviation. Accomplishments are many and much more are waiting for this triumphant fest with growing support and raging student database.

Media And Publicity

Media and Thomso are attached with a chord on either side. Media has been actively involved in highlighting Thomso and its events. The popularity of Thomso we see today could not have been achieved if media had not anticipated. PVR cinema had sponsored Thomso earlier by displaying its creative film and advertising during every movie show. Channel V and NDTV have added wings to this fest’s voguishness with extensive media coverage. Mails and scraps are sent to a student database of almost 1,50,000 students on the major social sites Google Plus, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. With all these efforts the expanse of Thomso is getting bigger day by day.

Many of the sponsors including NTPC, Monte Carlo, coca cola and others also indulge in publicity of this event which promises full guarantee of thrill and pomp with an endeavour to help all in playing with colours of life and tasting the flavour of freedom as the time to break free from the bounds and following what lies within ourselves has come and all required is to have a vivid memory of this event.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Annual Events". Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
  2. ↑ "Thomso Encore: IIT-Roorkee's annual fest". Rediff.com. 23 October 2006. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
  3. 1 2 Sangeeta Yadav (9 October 2013). "THOMSO 2013". The Pioneer (newspaper). Retrieved 2014-08-28.
  4. ↑ "IIT Roorkee cultural fest concludes". Business Standard News. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
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