For students of an uncompromising 8 semester course, a reprieve is much needed at the end/beginning of every semesters. A means to socialise with like-minded individuals, a means to awaken their dormant artistic sides. Not all of our kind are engineers by choice. A few of us don't even know why we are doing it. In fact, most of the 4 year period is spent contemplating on the same. A college festival helps us free our minds from the monotony of having to go home, write assignments/experiments and go to bed dreading the same banausic web we have woven for ourselves. For once we get to be....ourselves.

Cultural fests help us to discover that the shy guy on the second last bench in the last row is an incredibly gifted sketcher or that the awkward girl on the 2nd bench with 100% attendance looks really hot with her hair open. As overrated as they are, everyone enjoys treasure hunts, battle of the bands etc. Bob Marley said that one good thing about music is that when it hits you, you feel no pain unless of course a bathroom singer decides to take center stage and belt out a raucous sounding song. That of course is why most major festivals have auditions. These fests serve as huge platforms for upcoming talent. IIT B is home to Asia's largest cultural fest Mood Indigo. Its meticulous management, colourful themes and flawless execution attract famous artists from all over the world.

And for those who have a knack for building things, there's the technical fest. In most Mumbai University colleges, 7 out of 10 entries for technical festivals are usually for LAN gaming. Why? Because everyone games, you get to go to your friends' college and the entry is cheap. I was the Marketing head for my college's technical festival. There, I observed that 10 people registered for a section of the LAN gaming event, out which only 3 turned up. So, to our disappointment and to the particpants' joy, the first round was in fact the final. During my time as Marketing Head, I had to really stick it to my sub-ordinates on occasion, something which I didn't enjoy but someone had to do it and also learnt a lot about how companies and enterprises manage and invest their money. I learnt a lot about people, in general.

Leadership and micromanagement are the cornerstones of any successful festival. Here are a few things one can observe/learn from festivals:

- The core committee is always accused of scandalous money laundering activities, colloquially termed jhol.
- Pre fest nights (reserved for putting up banners and other last minute preparations) are spent with a pint (or more) of your favourite drink.
- These nights soon become raves.
- Bunking lectures for 'fest meetings'.
- Howling for attendance at the end of the fest.
- Finally having a conversation of more than 2 sentences with seniors.
- To Juniors "Abbey, tu jaanta hai main is college mein 8 saalon se hoon?" and lastly but most importantly,
- Seeing your classmates, professors and seniors in ways you've never seen before.

Other than Industrial Visits, festivals are the only opportunity to actually know your classmates on a personal basis. Do not miss the chance. After all, you'll need that memorable fest story to look back and laugh about when you glance at your class photo a few years down the line.

Image Credits - listdose.com