Revels: Day 1

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Comix Trip

Category: Kalakriti

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For an event that saw only twenty-one participants, Comix Trip was anything but a buzz kill. The eagerness with which the participants entered the room was unmatched by any other event on the first day of Revels. The impatience with which everyone awaited the announcement of the theme of the event was comical (ironically).

The theme for this year’s event was ‘Childhood Fantasies’. Comix Trip required all participants to make a creative and original comic strip on the very well thought out theme all in less than an hour. It required everyone, from the computer nerds to the chemistry geeks, to shed their engineering mindsets and instead invoke their inner sense of creativity and individuality.

As the participants trudged their way through crafting their comics, event head Rohan Purushothama carefully examined everyone’s progress. Nevertheless, the result was astonishing: the judges were perplexed by the astounding quality of the comic strips that had been made. Comix Trip was an event people didn’t expect a lot out of, but which turned out to be a truly enriching experience.

Moods

Category: Dramebaaz

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When the eyes spoke,

And actions roared

When the silence was understood

And emotions felt

Staying true to its title, the event Moods under the category of Dramebaaz was a kaleidoscope of expressions. It was a team event wherein each team was given a catchy line from a popular movie. They were then to realize and enact that dialogue in a random expression as stated in the chit they picked. Recall the husky voice of Ranveer Singh when he charms the theatre with “Bajirao ne mastani se mohabbat ki hain ayashi nahin.” Now try saying that in a sad tone. This is what the event was about. After every performance, the team interacted with the audience asking them to guess the emotion. From confusion to clarity, anxiety to assurance, depression to euphoria, the participants did it all. MOODS quintessentially was a depiction of contrasts — of the power to make a disappointing dialogue enthusiastic, or an ecstatic one monotonous. After all, what’s an actor if he can’t convince his spectators?

Conquest

Category: Psychus

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Everyone is always in awe of the ‘conquests’ of Psychus. One such conquering event they organised today was a quiz testing the different aspects of a person’s personality. Think about how we think. We are all similar on the outside but completely different on the inside. Considering this idea the intelligence quotient, emotional quotient and problem-solving capabilities of each participant were judged in ‘Conquest’. A set of questions, concluding with two videos were presented to them. The first video handled situations tackling the struggles of war and the critical decisions involved. Later the ethical credibility of breeding a generation of children whose sole purpose was to grow on and become organ donors was questioned. Now the issues may seem complex but what it really does is categorise the type of approach we have to a problem. This information will then be used to place each individual into a certain ‘house’. (Not Harry Potter houses; that’s a different event. Shout-out to all the Game of Thrones fans, Snow is coming back, don’t worry. ) The second round awaits us tomorrow.

Lie to Me

Category: Psychus

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As is the norm in all student-organised fests across the country dictates, the event began fifteen minutes late with the audience eager to try their hand at spotting lies. The questionnaire handed out to the participants consisted of three unsolved cases that had two videos linked to each of them. One depicted the interrogation of a guilty perpetrator and the other showed an innocent suspect. The participants were expected to spot the liar using their knowledge of “tells” that the body subconsciously emits. The volunteers had to repeatedly explain the process to the audience, some of whom struggled to come to terms with the challenge. But in the end, each and every participant enjoyed jumping in Sherlock Holmes’ boots as they sat through the confessions of the suspects that left everyone reflecting over the event and perhaps made them a tad bit cleverer too.

Extempore

Category: Paradigm Shift

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The first round of Extempore was based on the concept of 3 people being on a sinking ship, and trying their hardest to convince the captain, who has only two life-jackets, that they deserve to be saved. Three participants were called upon the stage at a time and asked to randomly select one of the many chits. Each chit had a famous personality’s name written on it. The participants were supposed to adapt the persona of the mentioned personality, and indulge in an impromptu debate-cum-persuading session with the captain and fellow shipmates.

The personalities belonged to completely different genres, leading to hilarious and totally impossible combinations of people seated together. Some of the best combinations included Bob Marley, Shahid Afridi, Barack Obama and Donald Drumpf, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, all fighting their way out of the shipwreck by engaging in hilarious speeches and arguments. Participants were judged based upon the amount and quality of witty comebacks they had up their sleeves. Stay tuned for round 2, which is poised to be even more hilarious.

The Apprentice

Category: EQ IQ

apprentice

Business Quizzes are supposed to be quite boring and unattended, but the number of participants entering for The Apprentice gave it a different look altogether. Surprisingly excited for the question papers, people were soon seen struggling over the notions of  Mathematics, Reasoning, General Knowledge and the Corporate World.

While someone wrote Ram Jethmalani next to the picture of Arun Jaitley (Oops!), many were seen having a difficult time recognizing Tim Cook, even though he looked decent in print. The event did witness some students staring blankly at the paper, lost in the picture of Serena Williams. The event was an easy task for the ones already imagining themselves as executives of the corporate world, as per the process of the second round of The Apprentice.

Chunin Exam

Category: Omniscience

Anxiety, stress, insomnia, fatigue. These are all the phases a student endures during an exam. An exam is usually synonymous with fear and nervousness. But this particular exam hall presented smiling faces and mischievous grins.  And the turnout was amazing! People kept trickling in long after the exam started. Mobile phones were taken advantage of, cheat slips passed from hand to hand, some even thrown around as paper balls. When people were caught, laughter erupted, because usually it was just friends ratting out one another.

Chunin Exam was all about not being caught cheating. A paper with the weirdest questions which only Google could answer, had negative marks only if you were caught cheating. With clues behind tags, and organizers seated among the participants with all the correct answers, you could let your years of experience in copying come handy in this one!

Potpourri

Category: Paradigm Shift

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Unsurprisingly, the event started half an hour late. The turnout for this event was pretty strong despite the fact that only a handful of people could correctly pronounce the name of the event. The participants included Grammar Nazis, kids who thought they excelled at English and those who took it to be a general quiz. Any illusions that the participants clung to about their English prowess were promptly shattered by the question paper that severely tested the puzzle solving and language skills of the students. The vigilance volunteers constantly breathed down the necks of the participants as they raced against time to decode anagrams and puns hidden in the deceptively easy paper. The event ended with volunteers snatching papers out of reluctant students’ hands leaving them clamouring for the next round.

Psychopass

Category: Omniscience

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This event is made up of two rounds. The first round which was held today was a written round  of 35 marks. The questions were based on popular detective animes like detective Conan and Psychopass. The questions mostly consisted of puzzles, clues and mysteries which tested the logical thinking of  the participants. Around 35 people appeared, and at the end of the event many participants remarked that the questions asked were some of the most thought-provoking and intriguing questions that they have ever encountered. The second round is filled with far more interesting things, so don’t miss it!

Improv-Asylum

Category – Dramebaaz

Improv, is an art and one that deserves a lot of acclaim. Being able to come up with a story or a short act at the exact moment as when you are told what to do is definitely no mean task. Contestants for Dramebaaz’s Improv-Asylum not only lived up to the expectations of a colourful audience, but left them in fits of laughter.

Although the event went through a set of minor glitches and a change of venue, it was seamlessly managed. Here, the teams were to choose two out of three games. The first was, ‘Questions Only’, a game where participants must keep a conversation going with only questions. The second was Alphabet, where the conversation must go on with each statement beginning with the next letter of the alphabet and the third was  Freezetag where the moderator would freeze the act, and one of the actors would replace the other and continue.

The audience and judges gave out some crazy scenarios that the participants lived up to. The judges thoroughly enjoying themselves, were hardly seen without a laugh. The actors on stage changed from Nurses to gay men to drug addicts in minutes and won the hearts of everyone sitting there. The funniest part of the event being that with great comic timing and good storylines, participants forgot the order of the alphabet, but saved themselves with some grace and poise. Overall, a brilliant show, and something fantastic to look forward to.

Cognitive Control

Category – Psychus

The first round of this event was designed to test memory, IQ and presence of mind. The question paper was wackier than your usual test papers and a lot more interesting too. It had some of the usual probability and pattern identifications but the unique bit of the test was its subjective Q and A section. It seemed almost as if, the essence of individuality is always above cold cognition.

The participants came with a multitude of demeanors: some tensed, some confident, some flushed at the sight of the paper and others, with their heads buried in thought and in their arms, cracking this test. The eerie silence in the hall and the scratching of pens on paper gave a sense of great awareness. The participants thoroughly seemed to enjoy the event they had decided to come for.

Matka Painting

Category – Kalakriti

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We hear a lot of ‘Everybody has a story’ these days. But the theme turned visually real in the Matka Painting event. Matkas are an important part of Indian folklore and the event aimed at diluting their traditional image by giving them a artistic touch. The matkas showcased various stories like the life of an elephant, the Devil, and the circle of life. A participant who had an idea of making minions on the matka, ended up painting random circles and squares because of the semi abstract theme.

The room turned serene soon with participants creating magic with the paints and the photographers capturing the bright colorful matkas. While some did turn the earthly matkas into a beauty, some were seen putting in their best efforts to just paint it red. The hour went by and ended with the matkas being transformed into beautiful objects.

Moonwalk

Category – Footloose

As the sun started to set, the most popular music tracks of the year danced to by 15 crisp, energetic performances set the mood of the evening, step by step and beat by beat.

moonwalk

Moonwalk was a Western Solo Dance Competition judged by Advocate Vijayalaxmi and Mr. Jagdish Bannayia, founder of Rhythm Dance Academy. The competition began at 4:30 pm at MIT Quadrangle where participants enthralled the audience and the judges by displaying pieces which were new, unusual and imaginative. They also provided thorough entertainment with their moves.

Table No. 21

Category – EQ-IQ

Wondering why this event is called what it is? Well, so are we. With a total of 3 rounds, this event promises an exciting, fun-packed experience with a pinch of humor and a smidgen of common knowledge. The first day of revels witnessed round 1 of Table No. 21, a written test which required participants to exploit their grey matter in the most colorful manner possible. The quiz consisted of a set of (fairly difficult) multiple choice questions under suitable sub-headings, and tested general awareness over a spectrum ranging from movies, music, TV shows, and books along with a basic aptitude test. Despite all the pen biting, heated discussions and recurrent “WTF”s, the teams of two had a delightful task to engage their minds with. Just like they half-guessed their answers, people could only speculate why the event was called “Table No. 21”- nobody knew!

Mischief Managed

Category: Omniscience

n 1997, Rowling introduced the world to Harry Potter. 19 years later, the fandom continues that legacy, kick-starting a certain college fest with a Harry Potter themed event!

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Mischief Managed is a logical thinking, IQ and EQ challenging quiz with a magical twist. The aim of the quiz is to place you in tricky muggle conundrums with only the influence of the wizarding world and your wit to aid you. There were questions from all across the Potterverse to pique even the interests of the hardcore fanatic. The quiz follows a simple stage elimination with two rounds of increasing difficulty to sort the individuals into teams followed by brain exercises. The final round consists of a free-for-all feud (on paper) against death-eaters and horcruxes, to become the chosen one!

Grayscale

Category: Kalakriti

Grayscale is a charcoal based sketching event open to all. It allowed artists to showcase their skill in monotone, with a more unconventional twist, in a manner like no other.

Pablo Picasso once said “Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up”. The event in question captured the essence of Picasso’s words beautifully.

Grayscale had enough of a turnout to easily fill up an entire NLH classroom and had people coming in well after the event’s allotted time. The atmosphere in the room was buzzing with excitement. The theme of the day, which was revealed to the artists only moments before the start time was emotions. And so the sketching began in earnest. For the better part of the next hour the only sound to be heard was the scratching of pencil, eraser, and charcoal, after which emerged some truly spectacular work. The artists really put their heart and soul into it, and watching each of those works come to life in stages was visually staggering.

Junk to Jams

Category: Crescendo

junktojams

‘Oh leave that alone, its junk’. But wait. What defines an object as junk? If an object cannot perform its original task, can it really have no other use? This notion was challenged by the participants of Junk to Jams. Their task was to make music out of non-musical objects, essentially junk. From using pencils to beatboxing, the contestants resorted to various ideas.

It started off with MTTN’s very own Kashish Grover who displayed his drumming prowess on an ordinary bicycle. It was fascinating to see the sounds each different component made. Taking aid from his camera and a desk, he proved there really is no limit to creativity. A roar of applause followed the performance, giving way to the next contestant.

The simple and elegant beats achieved with a bowl and a few pencils is truly a spectacle to behold. The crowd took time to catch on, but they appreciated the short and sweet performance by the second contestant.

May the beat be with you. Beatboxing , is always a fan favorite and if you start off with the star wars theme song there’s not much that could go wrong. This next contestant then played a beautiful rendition of ‘Animals’ by Martin Garrix followed by a little freestyling. Unlike him, the next ‘beatboxer’ stuck to complex drops and beats that left the
speakers a little tired. Kudos to their effort though, it’s not easy to make it seem like you have 10 instruments stuffed in your mouth.

Although there were not many contestants, the judges didn’t have it easy. The talent and enthusiasm displayed by every contestant just made it harder. One thing’s for sure, junk never felt any better.

Unplugged

Category: Crescendo

It was a Wednesday afternoon and the MIT quadrangle was rather quiet. Participants roamed about tending to preparatory details. Sound checks were performed, instruments were set up. People started moving into the quadrangle to watch the performances while a couple of photographers captured the candid moments. After quite a considerable amount of waiting, the hosts announced the commencement of the show.

Quiet couldn’t even come close to describing the quadrangle anymore! Music filled the air and spurted a ton of energy into the crowd. Each and every team was unique in its own way. A wide variety of songs was performed. One of them was even an original composition. Such talent definitely has to be appreciated. Saying time flew would be an understatement.

The turnout wasn’t as much as was expected, but the music pulled the crowd in. With tapping feet and clapping hands, the crowd swayed to the beat of the music.

With their spectacular performance, VIT claimed the prize. The performances were over, the result was declared, the teams were packing up. But the air that enveloped the quadrangle still shimmered with the beat of the music.

Rush Hour

Category: XVenture

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Adventure, thrill, competition and the adrenaline rush of living are a few things that Rush Hour was all about. Owing to its name it was a fast-paced three-staged race.

The first stage was rappelling down the roof of the Innovation Centre. This stage alone in itself was a tough challenge. After successfully rappelling down to the building the team member had to pass a red bandana to the other team member waiting at the bottom of the building.

Then started Stage 2 of the race which had the second team member tracing the route provided on a cycle. He had to pass the cafeteria and then reach AB1 as fast as he could. The third member was harnessed early on to ensure least wastage of the time. His task was named as Gorilla Walk. It required him to walk over a horizontal rope while connected to a vertical rope provided for support and balance. After successfully walking over to the other side the third team member would pass the bandana to the second team member waiting for him at the end of the rope. The next task for the second member was to simply retrace his original path leading to the IC. This was the finish line of the race. The team which took the least time to complete the circuit were declared as the champions.

Zamir

Category: Crescendo

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Day one of Revels, 2016 presented Zamir, a unique opportunity for students to display their skills in vocal eastern music.

The rules of the competition were simple. Each participant was given four minutes to give their rendition of an eastern non-classical song of their choice. The participants did not limit themselves to Hindi music, as the Tamilian song ‘Krishna nee begane baro’ along with the subtle guitar undertones left the audience spellbound.

Several classics like ‘Maula Mere Maula’ and ‘Pichle Saat Dino Mein’ were an instant hit with the crowd. Several artists took this opportunity to incorporate instruments into their act, one such example was the superb rendition of ‘Ore Piye’ accompanied by the keyboard.

As the lyrics ‘Ram chaahe Leela chaahe Leela chaahe Ram’ floated into the air, the crowd went crazy. The melodies of ‘Alvida’ and ‘Maya Maya’ ensued, leaving no room for even a moment of dullness.

One of the highlights of the night was definitely the remarkable performance of the song ‘Tinka Tinka’. Undoubtedly, the judges faced quite a hard time at choosing just one ‘best’ singer!

The evening was unique, in a way, giving us all an opportunity to get back in touch with our cultural roots.It’s safe to say, Zamir was a smashing success!

Abhivyakti

Category: Anubhuti

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Abhivyakti was an event that had creative writing in Hindi.

The event which was a success in itself. The turnout was fantastic. The room in NLH where the event was being held was filled with Hindi writing enthusiasts. From colleges all over India, students of different castes, backgrounds and cultures were gathered there. A heart-warming introduction was given. It was a plausible and a very inspiring introduction which stressed upon the topic of the writing event. The topic was ‘India-Yesterday, Today and tomorrow’. The story of our country to be written its language. The time limit given to every participant was about 90 minutes in which they have to be completed with their essays.

The environment was peaceful but inspiring. All the student were trying to describe our beautiful country in their own words and through their perceptions.

Bahas

Category: Anubhuti

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For an event that was being conducted in Hindi, Bahas, lived up to its tag of being a featured event. The sheer exuberance with which all participants conducted themselves was palpable. Not only were the participants very involved in delivering their speeches, the energy and gusto with which the entire room was flooded with whilst interchanging questions, made Bahas a truly enriching experience.

Bahas required the participants to speak on any one of the three topics: ‘Implementing the one child policy in India’, ‘Has religion only become a mean of income’, and ‘Were Gandhi’s methods of attaining independence the best way to go forward?’ All participants impressed the judges by making extremely valid points on an array of sub-topics. The arguments put forth over the course of the debate were ones that required in depth knowledge and research, augmenting the entire questioning and counter-questioning experience.

The topic that was chosen by most of the vaad vivaadis, was ‘Has religion only become a mean of income?’. The points made by the partakers delivered an important social message by highlighting people’s blind belief in self-serving godmen. By raising sound, sensible questions about issues that most people unthinkingly accept, Bahas has forced many people to rethink their current perspectives.

The debate was riveting, the questions compelling and the counter questions even more entrancing. For someone interested in generic topics, Bahas was an event that even the ‘not so fluent in Hindi’ folk would enjoy to the core.

MTTN Crew (Safah, Ayush, Yohaan, Nabilah, Alanna, Tejal, Dhruv, Sudhanshu, Shagun, Aditya, Diptark)

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