UTOPIA: an International Student’s Fest at SIBM

Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Bangalore hosted Utopia, an International Students Festival on September 14, 2013.

UTOPIA is a land often dreamt of, a place often aspired for.... Throughout history, the quest for a perfect world has fascinated mankind. The answer lies in the doctrine of love. Love for one and all. When we come together to forget what divides us but to celebrate what unites you and me, what makes us one, we take a step closer to the manifestation of Utopia. It is for this endeavour that SIBM organized ‘UTOPIA’- a step in the journey towards universal love and harmony.

It aimed to understand cross-cultural sensitivities of International Students in Bangalore. This year around 400 international students got a taste of different cultures.

One of the international students, Nishad Madhurang from Sri Lanka quoted, “The event is a nice exposure and I made friends with students from Sudan and got to learn about their culture.”

The Theme of UTOPIA was “Viva la Vida” which means “Celebrating Life!”
Viva La Vida lifted the participants as well as the audience to a plateau of unknown pleasures – letting go off the restrictions to embrace ultimate happiness. Prasanna Subba one of the organizers said,” The carnival witnessed the true synergy of vivacious talent, seizing every opportunity brings in through an array of events. With the above ideology, the college celebrates International Students Day on 14th September, 2013.” The fest attracted a lot of participation and was an amalgamation of various events like:

• Beats N Feet, a Dance Competition

Dance Competition judged by Mr. Krishna, has worked with “ON 8 DANCE COMPANY” and is an expert in hip-hop style of dancing. He has also been part of “Elan Dance Arts” – Contemporary dance about women empowerment. He has acted in two short films and one Tamil movie. The winner of Beats N Feet was a team of T. John College.

• Panache - The Fashion Statement:

Mr. Javed Khan, whose label ex.pression.ist has been a great success in Lakme Fashion week for the past three years, judged this event. Mr. Javed Khan is currently working with ‘Louis Phillippe’. The winners of Panache were the team from Garden City College, whichproved to the audience as an epitome of high street fashion design.

• Football and Basket ball for sports enthusiastic

Other major attractions were:

• Food Festival (Around the world in 80 plates)

• Treasure Hunt

• Tug Of War

The participating colleges were:

• Christ College

• Baldwin Methodist College

• 3Garden City College

• Jain College

• Sambharam College

• SFS

• St. Joseph’s college

• T. John College

• Bishop Cotton College and many more.

Sponsors & Partners included:

• Fashion Sponsor: People

• Healthcare Partner: Himalaya

• Outdoor Gear Partner: Wildcraft

• Ice Cream Partner: Swensens

• Chocolate Partner: Choco-LOT

• Tshirt Partner: Zero Degree

• Burger Partner: Biggies

• Pizza Partner: Crunch Pizzas

• Salad Partner: Quiznos

• Food Partner: Africano Kitchen (African Food)

• Food Partner: Maria’s Goan Kitchen (Portuguese Food)

Source: Anand, Public Relations and Media Committee, SIBM Bangalore