he drum roll has begun and the stage is getting ready for the sixth edition of ‘AURA’ hosted by the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
‘AURA’, which is spread over five days starting from August 4, will attract talents from medical and engineering colleges from across south India.
Set against the rather modest standards of past editions, PIMS is pulling out all the stops this year to bill the event as one of the best academic, cultural and sporting fetes the city can boast of — the benchmark of campus festivals being Jipmer’s Spandan, which incidentally is scheduled next month.
Apart from the staples of campus contests such as quiz, debate and adzap sessions and fashion show, a segment titled Colludium, which is the cerebral equivalent of a steeplechase, is a novelty this year.
Colludium, according to organisers, will bring to life academic gaming skills, from solving medical riddles to playing out dumb charade.
The adrenalin will be flowing, well and truly, on August 5 when the ‘Battle of the Bands’ begins.
“The event is much bigger in scale compared to the previous edition,” said Naveen Kumar, president of the organising committee.
While last year’s event drew about 6,000 contestants from 70 colleges, this time Aura is expected to feature over 10,000 students from over 100 colleges.
A unique aspect of ‘AURA’ is that while the academics-sporting segments are confined to participants from medical colleges, the cultural events are open to engineering streams. “Last, year we even had teams from an agricultural college in Allahabad,” Naveen Kumar said.
A student team has been busy putting in place the logistics for the event which will be staged across four venues. A stadium nearby has been hired for the sports events.
Spare rooms in the PIMS hostels are being let out for participants and a few lecture rooms are being readied to double up as dorms for groups of students from an institution.
In another first, organisers have roped in Kerala-based fusion rock band Thaikkudam Bridge for a rock concert and Thermal Projekt from the VH1 Supersonic 101 stable for the DJ night.
Thaikkudam Bridge, founded by cousins Govind Menon and Siddharth Menon, consists of 19 members and is best known for their covers of AR Rahman and Ilayaraja as well as their pulsating brand of fusion rock. Their live concert is scheduled on August 7. City-based band ‘Frooti for Pappu’ is also performing a prelude.
Thermal Projekt, performing on August 8, features the producer-DJ duo of Shuvro Talukder and Anurag Sen whose penchant for foot-tapping remixes and mash-ups has earned them top billing in Bengaluru’s DJ circuit.
A host of celebrities from the realm of art and cinema, including Janani Iyer of Thegidi fame and Simran, are expected to come on various days of the event.
The event is much bigger in scale compared to the previous edition
Naveen Kumar,president of the organising committee
